What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Spitalhill
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it went in. Not run so far? Then keep the car that way, wherever the car is — Spitalhill or Bellevue. Call 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor still off. Across Spitalhill, that is generally drained and flushed where it stands. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Match what happened to one of the ones below, anywhere around Derbyshire you happen to be.
Spitalhill forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Anywhere around Spitalhill, then — Prestons, Lumbards Service Centre, or somewhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Nothing has drawn it in, so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
What to do: don't get back in and start the vehicle to clear the pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Spitalhill, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. It takes place on drives just off Premier Avenue as regularly as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the car has not moved since, it's second to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and stays put, no matter how long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Our engineers drain it on your driveway, whether that's around Spitalhill or out in The Leys. Night-time empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Spitalhill?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Spencer Close, perhaps, or the way towards Derby — a run of under 15 miles.
What it means: the system has pulled the AdBlue in. Past the fuel filter, along the lines, and — the more the mileage — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, and turn the engine off. Leave by the next junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M1, under 25 miles from Spitalhill. No trial starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Roughly how far did it go? Tell us when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Across Derbyshire, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our engineers turn up than after. Hanging on for an answer at the car park outside Uttoxeter, or near Ashbourne/Mayfield Crown Green Bowls Club? Keep the engine off throughout.
Spitalhill: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Hilltop Primary Academy, or on a friend's drive in Nether Sturston.
Meaning? Drips around the filler never touch your engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, starting the vehicle would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not crank it. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one after the engine has run.
What every AdBlue drain around Spitalhill has in common
No matter the situation, one opening applies. Forecourt, drive, The Wheel Inn's car park or a street beside Catherine Booth Birthplace — our van comes to your car, and three answers follow: what liquid, what amount, and whether it ran. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you hear the price, and those answers decide the job too.
Then your tank is drained and your system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally are the filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of the car. If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Our technicians start the car last. Before we head off, it's checked to confirm it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. We do the whole job where the car is, and permanent damage is very uncommon when it has been noticed early. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing in advance. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a check of your policy while you wait pays.
About Spitalhill, briefly
Spitalhill is a suburban area in Derbyshire, situated inland at an elevation of 179 metres, approximately 11.9 miles from Derby. Spitalhill is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, with nearby places including The Leys, Compton, and Ashbourne. Spitalhill sits within the East Midlands region, about 123.8 miles northwest of London.
AdBlue drains across Derbyshire, Spitalhill included
Compton and Ashbourne get the identical teams as Spitalhill, a residential suburb, along with other places throughout DE postcodes. Quickest of all: a DE6 1 postcode to show your location.
Parked heading to Brickyard Park, or right in the centre of Spitalhill, the vehicle remains where it is — there's no need to move it at all. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. Assuming doesn't help beside Ashbourne Leisure Centre, close to a border or somewhere hard to describe; ring and check.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Derbyshire and within Spitalhill — once you pull over, switch off and ring, if it has run.