AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shorton, and What to Do Next
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one point settles almost everything else from here. Out in Torbay or here in Shorton, an unstarted engine must stay unrun. Usually that means emptying and thoroughly purging it right there around Shorton — and so keep your key and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A bigger job, yes, but the identical first move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Devon it happened.
On a Shorton forecourt with 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. Perhaps you're at the Texaco, maybe at the Harvest Energy, maybe somewhere else around Shorton.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it can be. Still inside your tank, with no fuel pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
Do this: keep out of the car, even if the queue needs freeing. Ring us from the forecourt after the car sits in a space — the staff will help push it — and keep the bottle. Stuck beside the pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt safe, and so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Shorton drive?
On the dash, a reminder had shown for days. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in on the drive — and it's just by the recycling that the cap got your eye. It occurs on drives just off Sleepy Lane as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and remains put, however long it waits.
Put your keys indoors tonight — otherwise someone might drive it away at breakfast — then call us. Churscombe or Shorton: wherever your drive is, that's where it is emptied. Our equipment runs quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
On the road around Shorton with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Lammas Lane, perhaps, or the route to Exeter — a run of under 25 miles.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. Past the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the further the mileage — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It goes further with every extra mile covered and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Shorton lies under 25 miles from the M5; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on to the services. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. About what distance had it gone? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have had this car hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever across Devon, might do the same.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. The owner frequently has to sign off any work, under plenty of rental and company contracts.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. If you're stranded in the car park at Paignton, or by Oldway Mansion, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Shorton: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Hollicombe, or in a rush by Oldway Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to the engine. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by firing up the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't crank it. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than emptying one once it has been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
Every AdBlue drain around Shorton shares these stages
Every case has the same opening to the job. Our technicians come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Old Manor Inn or a side street near Saint Boniface Community Church and Hall, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if your engine has run. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told our quote, and those replies decide the job too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Next is the filter — cleaned, or swapped when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Not started? Then about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Starting it comes at the end. Our check that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before our engineers head off. We do the whole job where your car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been spotted quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of policies include misfuelling, so look at yours as we head over.
About Shorton and where it is
Shorton is a suburban area located on the coast of Devon, with a mix of detached housing and other residential properties. Shorton sits at an elevation of 68 metres, overlooking the surrounding coastline and nearby towns such as Paignton. Shorton is situated near other local places, including Churscombe and Preston, and is approximately 19 miles from the city of Exeter. Shorton has a population of around 6505 people, making it a small but established community.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Shorton included
Shorton is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the places around it too, Preston and Paignton among them, across the TQ postcode area. Giving us a TQ3 1 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Central Shorton or a layby towards Shorton Woods: either way it sits, the car never needs to shift an inch for this drain. The drain is done on the spot. Phone and check rather than guess if you're close to Foxhole Community Association, near a border, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
In one line: your situation
Where it hasn't started, phone then leave it off. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Devon and in Shorton — once you pull over, switch off then ring, if it has run.