AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Southrop, and What to Do Next
One thing counts most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has been started afterwards. Anywhere the car is — East End, Southrop — never run an engine that has not run yet. Normally this is emptying and properly purging it right there around Southrop — and so leave the key and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over once safe, then turn it off. Stage one stays the same, even though the job is bigger.
Match what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever around Oxfordshire you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Southrop forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the pump, gripping the bottle, you realise the cap you took off was not the correct one. Be it Shell, Esso or anywhere else around Southrop, the case is identical.
In short: no better place to be to discover it. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to start it — so don't get back in. Get the staff to help pushing it to a bay, save the receipt, then ring us right there. Can't move the car beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so it can be drained where it is.
At home around Southrop with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the drive — and it's just by the recycling that the cap got a second look. It happens on drives just off Southrop Road as often as anywhere.
In short: if the car hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the pump. On the floor of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by changes no difference.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then call. Hook Norton or Southrop: whichever your driveway sits, that's where it is drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Southrop?
Topped up, drove away, and soon the engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up your dash. Park Road, say, or the route to Oxford — a run of under 25 miles.
What it means: the system has pulled the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it as well on a longer run, after your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a safe place, pull in, then switch your motor off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M40, under 10 miles from Southrop. It will not have cleared, and so there is no sense starting it again to check. Roughly how far did it go? Say so as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have only driven the vehicle for days. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever around Oxfordshire, could do the same.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies here — run or not — plus one further step. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under many rental and company contracts.
Your move: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because settling it beforehand saves time. Waiting for a reply in the car park outside Banbury, or near Saint Peter? Keep the engine off meanwhile.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Southrop?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Hook Norton Church of England Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Swerford.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no damage to the engine. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Any AdBlue in your tank would be pulled in by firing up your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, then leave your engine off. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank looked at is a better outcome than a run one emptied.
Southrop: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the situation, a single opening applies. Filling station, drive, The Sun Inn's car park or a road by Hook Norton Library — our van reaches your vehicle, and three questions follow: what liquid, which amount, and if it ran. Your price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those answers shape the work.
Then your tank is cleared and the system purged thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If the engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Firing it up comes last. Our technicians check it runs properly on fresh diesel before leaving. If it is noticed early, the vehicle very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover comes built into plenty of policies.
About Southrop itself
Southrop is a suburban area in Oxfordshire, situated inland at an elevation of 153 metres, approximately 19 miles from Oxford and 67 miles from London. Southrop is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its development as a residential area. Southrop sits near other local places such as Hook Norton, Down End, and Scotland End, and is home to a population of around 1989 residents.
AdBlue drains across Oxfordshire, Southrop included
Down End and Scotland End have the identical vans as Southrop, a residential suburb, along with further places throughout OX postcodes. Giving us a OX15 5 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No towing is required, whether stopped in the centre of Southrop or in a layby heading to Hook Norton cutting, and so keep it where it is. Wherever it stands, that's where it gets emptied. Phone and ask instead of guessing when you're by Hook Norton Baptist Church, near a border, or anywhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
If it hasn't run, ring and leave it that way. Run already: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Southrop or wherever in Oxfordshire.