AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in St Leonards: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your motor has been run since it went in. Out in Exeter or here around St Leonards, an unrun motor must stay unrun. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush after a drain, done just where your vehicle stands in St Leonards. Already started? Pull over once you safely can, then turn it off. It is a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Match what happened to one of the ones below, anywhere in Devon you happen to be.
At the petrol pump around St Leonards: AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: stood by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the cap you took off was not the right one. Anywhere around St Leonards, then — Esso, Valero, or anywhere else close by.
Meaning? Finding out here is the best it gets. Only the tank holds AdBlue; not one component beyond it has taken any in.
Next: avoid the urge to start it only to free up the petrol pump. A few things: a shove into a space with the attendants helping, the receipt saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
St Leonards, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the drive. Houses just off Wonford Road get hit as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue drops low in the tank and waits. One night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Our technicians drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that is around St Leonards or out in Barnfield. The pumping kit works quietly enough that it won't wake the street at night.
St Leonards: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way beyond the top-up. It might have been driving to Exeter, under a mile away, or simply down Matford Lane.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Past your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. It travels further with every extra mile covered and each restart.
Next: pick a safe spot, stop, and switch your motor off. Exit by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M5, under 3 miles from St Leonards. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone, and say how far your vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It is a motor you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it in another spot. Throughout Devon, no one is immune.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added stage. Many rental and company agreements require the owner's approval for work.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers turn up than after. Stranded by Victoria Park Tennis And Bridge Club or outside Exeter Central till someone replies, the car stays switched off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, St Leonards?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? The gates of St Leonard's (CofE) Primary School (VC) in a hurry, say, or a friend's driveway out in Wonford.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to your motor. If it is inside your diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in the tank would be pulled in by turning on the vehicle, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats draining one once it has been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
St Leonards: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The work opens the same way, whichever the situation. Our engineers come to your car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Mount Radford or a side street close to Loving Care, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if the motor has been run. Replies set the work; the quote follows by phone while nobody has set off yet.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, since crystals build up and some metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Finally are your filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of your car. Where your motor hasn't run, expect roughly half an hour on site, in most cases.
Starting it comes at the end. We make sure it runs properly on fresh diesel before we go. Lasting damage is very unusual when it's caught soon, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. Nothing is paid upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Many policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About St Leonards, for a moment
St Leonards is a suburban area in Devon, situated on the River Exe and adjacent to the city of Exeter. St Leonards is characterized by its terraced housing and riverside location, with nearby areas including Barnfield, Newtown, and The Quay. St Leonards has a population of around 6040 residents and is approximately 39 metres above sea level. St Leonards is close to the centre of Exeter, being only 0.7 miles away from the city.
AdBlue drains around St Leonards, and across Devon too
Newtown and The Quay get the same vans as St Leonards, a residential suburb, along with other towns throughout EX postcodes. Telling us your EX2 4 postcode finds you quickest of all.
No moving is required, be it parked in the centre of St Leonards or in a layby heading to County Hall Gardens, so keep it where it is. Where it sits, that's where it gets cleared. Phone and ask instead of guessing when you're by Devon County Hall, on a boundary, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in St Leonards or wherever across Devon.