What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Stroud
Has the motor turned over since the AdBlue was put in? This single question settles nearly everything else from here. Anywhere the car stands — The Butts, Stroud — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Normally this is draining and thoroughly flushing it on the spot around Stroud — and so leave the ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over once safe, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Wherever around Gloucestershire it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
On a Stroud forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Somewhere around Stroud, then — Tesco, BP, or anywhere else close by.
Meaning? Finding out here is the best it can be. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to free up the petrol pump. Three jobs: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Emptying it right at the pump is possible when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Stroud, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had passed with the dash light on. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in on the drive — and it was just by the bin that the cap got your eye. It happens on drives just off George Street as regularly as anywhere.
The upshot: no driving since leaves this almost as good to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and stays there, no matter how long it waits.
Keep your keys in the house tonight — otherwise someone might take it off at breakfast — then call us. Your drive is where it gets emptied, whether around Stroud or Beeches Green. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough that it won't wake the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Stroud?
A short way beyond topping up, your engine started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Rowcroft Retreat, perhaps, or the route towards Gloucester — a run of under 10 miles.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. It's been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Services further along can wait: from the M5, under 5 miles out of Stroud, use the first junction. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Tell us hear the distance covered when you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had this vehicle barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever in Gloucestershire, could do it.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies here — run or not — and one further stage. Many rental and company contracts require the owner's approval before repairs.
Do this: hire firm or your fleet manager first, us next, since settling it beforehand cuts time. Waiting for an answer at the car park at the nearest station, or beside Stroud Congregational Church? Keep the car off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Stroud?
At times, "I think so" is all you can honestly say. A faint ammonia whiff hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. The gates of The Rosary Catholic Primary School in a rush, say, or a friend's driveway over in Uplands.
In short: a spill near your filler leaves the motor no harm. In the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in your tank will be pulled in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and don't start your motor. Ring and give the details: we would sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one after your motor has run.
What each AdBlue drain in Stroud has in common
The work opens identically, whichever the case. Filling station, drive, King Street Social Tap's car park or a road beside Stroud Library — the van comes to the vehicle, and three answers follow: what liquid, which quantity, and whether it ran. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear the quote, and those answers shape the job too.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not rinse out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Clean diesel goes in once the fuel filter is cleaned or replaced, and the car is finally tested. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour job after the moment our engineers arrive.
Lastly, our technicians start the car. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it's running correctly, and then we head off. Permanent damage is very unusual when it is spotted early, and the whole job is done where your car is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing in advance. It is worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents as you wait is worthwhile.
About Stroud, briefly
Stroud is a town in Gloucestershire, situated on the River Frome in the South West of England. Stroud sits at an elevation of 58 metres, surrounded by hills and nearby places such as Beeches Green and Badbrook. Stroud has a mix of housing types, with semi-detached homes being predominant, and is located near the city of Gloucester, approximately 8 miles away. Stroud is also within commuting distance to London, around 91 miles to the east.
AdBlue drains across Gloucestershire, Stroud included
Badbrook and Stroud Hill have the identical vans as Stroud, a riverside town, plus other towns throughout GL postcodes. Quickest of all: a GL5 3 postcode for your location.
No moving is required, whether stopped in the centre of Stroud or in a lay-by heading to Bank Gardens, so keep it put. Draining happens right there. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to George Holloway statue or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your scenario, summed up
Still unrun? Keep the car off then ring. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Stroud or anywhere in Gloucestershire.