River: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Everything hinges on a single detail: if the motor has been run since the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is around River itself or out in Whitfield. Leave the engine and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in River. Pull over the moment you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. Step one remains the same, even if the job grows.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Kent it happened.
At the pump around River: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Anywhere in River, then — Esso, Tesco, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still in your tank, and no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants clearing. Have the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then ring us from there. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in River
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Driveways near River Street get it as much as anywhere.
In short: if your car hasn't moved since, it's nearly equal to spotting it at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: stop any early drive by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Out in Kearsney or right here around River, the draining is done at your driveway. The pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
River: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Beresford Road, say, or the way to Canterbury — a run of under 15 miles.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. It goes further with every mile driven and each restart.
Your move: stop anywhere sensible, then switch your engine off. River lies under 10 miles from the M20; there, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Phone, and say how far your vehicle was driven.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this car hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Kent.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts here — run or unrun — and one further stage. The owner frequently needs to approve the work, under plenty of rental and company contracts.
Sorting it before we turn up is quicker, so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. If you're stuck in the car park outside Kearsney, or by River Methodist Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, River?
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think it did. Which cap was taken off, you can't say; meanwhile the bottle feels lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. The gates of River Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or someone's driveway over in Buckland Valley.
What it means: a little spilled around your filler does no harm to your motor. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not crank it. Ring with the details: we would sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once your engine has been run.
Each AdBlue drain around River shares these stages
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Wherever your vehicle is — The Royal Oak's car park, a street by 17th Dover (River) Scout Group, a driveway, a filling station — the van arrives and asks for the fluid, the amount, and whether the engine has been run. Replies shape the job; the quote follows by phone whilst nobody has set off yet.
Draining the tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more important after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Finally come the filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of the car. Not started? Then about half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Finally, our engineers fire it up. Our test that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before we leave. The entire job is done where your car is, and when it's noticed quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. It is worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your documents while we travel pays.
About River, briefly
River is a suburban area in Kent, situated near the coast and approximately 12.7 miles from Canterbury. River occupies a relatively low-lying area, with an elevation of around 28 metres, and is characterized by detached housing. River is part of a larger residential area that includes nearby places such as Kearsney, Crabble, and Temple Ewell.
AdBlue drains across Kent, River included
River is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Crabble and Temple Ewell among them, across the CT postcode area. Your location comes quickest from a postcode that starts CT17 0.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Kearsney Abbey Gardens or in a car park in the middle of River, it doesn't need to shift. The van empties it in place. Ring and check rather than guess when you are by St Peter and St Paul, on a border, or somewhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Still unrun? Keep the car that way then phone. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within River or wherever in Kent.