AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shop: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it was put in. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Shop itself or out in Constantine Bay. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then expect a thorough flush after a drain, done right where your vehicle stands around Shop. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A larger job, then, yet the identical first move.
Below: the cases our technicians meet, wherever in Cornwall. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Shop forecourt
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. Perhaps you're at the Gulf, perhaps at the Texaco, possibly somewhere else around Shop.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. Still in that tank, and nothing drawn through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to start it — so do not get back in. Ring us from the forecourt once the vehicle sits in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — and keep the bottle. If it cannot be moved, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Shop
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a bottle, tipped it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and only then checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Driveways close to B3276 see it as much as any other street.
Put simply: if the vehicle hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as finding out at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of the tank and remains put, however long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then call. Trehemborne or Shop: wherever your drive is, that's where it is cleared. The equipment works quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Shop?
Topped up, pulled away, and before long the motor was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up the dash. Somewhere on Fairfield or else heading to Truro — under 25 miles away.
The point: the system has pulled AdBlue through already. The injection pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger trip, after the fuel filter and lines have it. It goes further with each extra mile covered and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. On the M5, over 50 miles from Shop, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, so there is no sense restarting to find out. Roughly what distance had it go? Tell us when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You have had the vehicle hardly a week. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so nothing told you the AdBlue cap sits right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Cornwall.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts here — run or not — plus one further stage. The owner frequently has to approve any work, under many hire and fleet agreements.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, since sorting it early cuts time. Stranded by St Merryn Parish Hall and Institute or outside Newquay until the firm answers, your vehicle stays turned off throughout.
Shop: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can honestly say. Which cap was taken off, you cannot say; meanwhile the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of St Merryn School in a hurry, say, or someone's drive over in Treyarnon.
In short: spillage near the filler leaves your motor no harm. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by turning on the vehicle, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it went in, and don't start the engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain in Shop shares these stages
Whatever the situation, a single opening is used. Three things are asked once we reach the car — on a forecourt, a drive, a road beside St Merryn or the car park outside Farmers Arms Inn: the fluid, the amount, and if it has run. Replies shape the job; the quote comes by phone while nobody has left yet.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because deposits build up and certain metals are attacked, and none of it washes away unaided. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive.
Our engineers fire it up last. Before our engineers head off, it's tested to confirm it runs properly on fresh diesel. Our technicians do the whole job where your car is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been noticed soon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies include misfuelling, so look at yours as we head over.
About Shop itself
Shop is a small suburban area in Cornwall, situated near the coast at an elevation of around 50 metres. Shop lies within a short distance of several nearby places, including Trehemborne, St Merryn, and Towan, and is approximately 18 miles from the city of Truro. Shop has a population of around 981 people, predominantly living in detached housing.
AdBlue drains about Shop and across Cornwall
Shop is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, St Merryn and Towan among them, across the PL postcode area. Your whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode that starts PL28 8.
Parked heading to Trevose Golf & Country Club, or bang in the heart of Shop, the car remains where it is — there is no need to shift it anywhere. Draining happens on the spot. Awkward to explain? Close to Tidal Pool or a border? Checking is better than guessing, and so ring.
In one line: your situation
If it has not run, phone and keep it that way. Run by now: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Shop or anywhere across Cornwall.