AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Sherborne: What Now?
Everything hinges on a single detail: whether your motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Over in Haydon or right around Sherborne, an unrun engine must stay unrun. Normally that means emptying and thoroughly rinsing it on the spot in Sherborne — so leave your key and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Dorset it happened.
Sherborne forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the filler you opened wasn't the right one. Perhaps you are at the BP, possibly at the Valero, maybe somewhere else around Sherborne.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. Just the tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has drawn it in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — so do not get back in. Get the staff to help rolling it to a space, hold on to the bottle, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed away gets emptied right at the pump.
Sherborne, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
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 once more at the cap. It happens on drives just off Abbey Road as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the floor of the tank is exactly where AdBlue stays, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — otherwise someone may take it off at breakfast — and phone us. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that is around Sherborne or out in Oborne. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Sherborne with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running roughly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Cheap Street, say, or the route to Wells — a run of under 25 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into the fuel system. It has been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. It travels further with every mile driven and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Services farther along are too far: on the M5, under 25 miles out of Sherborne, take the first junction. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About how far did it gone? Tell us as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have only had the car for days. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap was just next to the diesel. Throughout Dorset, nobody is immune.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those depend on if it has run. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under many rental and company agreements.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. Stranded by Cheap Street Church or at the nearest station till the firm replies, your car remains turned off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Sherborne?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Sherborne Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway over in Longburton.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to your motor. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in your tank will be sucked in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it went in, then leave your engine off. Inspecting a tank that proves clean is better than draining one once it has been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
Sherborne: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Our technicians come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at Cross Keys or a side street close to Powell Theatre, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if the engine has run. On the phone, before anything else, you are told our quote, and those answers decide the work too.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals in fuel systems, so it won't rinse out unaided; that's why the flush, after the drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Last come your filter, flushed or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Most unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive.
The final step is starting the engine. Before our engineers head off, it's checked to make sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. We do the whole job where your car is, and lasting damage is very unusual if it has been spotted soon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Sherborne, briefly
Sherborne is a charming town situated in a picturesque riverside location in north-west Dorset. It lies near the Blackmore Vale, an area of natural beauty, and is close to the town of Yeovil. Sherborne is a notable stopping point on a major route that spans the country from London to the south-west. The town's setting and historic character make it a unique and interesting place to visit.
AdBlue drains around Sherborne, and across Dorset too
As a riverside town, Sherborne shares its vans with the surrounding places — Stallen, North Wootton — all the way through DT postcodes. Fastest of all: a DT9 3 postcode to show where you stand.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Paddock Garden or in a car park in the middle of Sherborne, it doesn't need to shift. Our van empties it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Church Hall or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The one-line version
If it has not run, ring and keep it off. Run already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever case, across Sherborne and Dorset, on 0333 366 0103.