AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Swanage: What Now?
Everything turns on one fact: whether your engine has been run after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Not run so far? Then leave the car like that, wherever the car sits — Swanage or Ulwell. Switch nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, and expect a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where the vehicle sits in Swanage. Stop the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Dorset it happened.
On a Swanage forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the cap you opened was not the right one. Possibly you are at the Texaco, maybe at the BP, possibly somewhere else in Swanage.
The point: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Nothing has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays just inside the tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you push the car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Draining it right at the pump is possible if it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Swanage drive?
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the drive. Houses just off The Square are caught out as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: the keys indoors, and so no one drives the car anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that is around Swanage or out in Durlston. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Swanage?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two after the top-up. It might have been heading for Southampton, under 50 miles away, or just down High Street.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. It's been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
Pull in safely — that's the first step — then turn it off. Leave by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M27, under 50 miles from Swanage. No test starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Phone, and say what distance your car was driven.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week back, the car was unknown to you. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you happen to be across Dorset, every motorist can be caught.
Put simply: one extra stage on top of the cases above, and those turn on if it has run. The owner often has to sign off the work, under many rental and company contracts.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before our arrival is faster. Stuck near Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre or outside Poole till the firm answers, your car stays turned off the whole time.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Swanage
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest as it gets. Which cap came off, you cannot say; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Coombe, or rushing by Swanage Primary School at the school run.
Put simply: spillage near the filler does your motor unharmed. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Assume it went in, and don't start your engine. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one once it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
The common ground in every Swanage AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions come once we arrive — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Swanage Library or the car park at Ship Inn: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. Those replies settle this work, and you hear the price on the phone, before anyone sets off.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after the drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Finally are the filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of the vehicle. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Last, our technicians start the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it's running correctly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the whole job where your car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been spotted early. Payment comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling is included in plenty of policies.
About Swanage, briefly
Swanage is a seaside town situated in the southeastern part of Dorset, nestled at the eastern tip of the Isle of Purbeck. The town is surrounded by notable landmarks, including the dramatic Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks to the north, and the picturesque Durlston Bay to the south. Swanage is also close to the bustling Poole Harbour and the stunning natural beauty of Studland Bay. Its scenic location makes it a charming coastal destination.
Swanage and Dorset: AdBlue drains across the area
Herston and New Swanage get the same teams as Swanage, a coastal town, along with further places throughout BH postcodes. Fastest of all: a BH19 2 postcode to show where you stand.
No moving is required, be it parked centrally in Swanage or on a layby en route to Sandpit Field, so keep it where it is. We drain it where it sits. Ring and ask rather than guess if you're by The Mowlem, on a border, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
Your situation, summed up
Unstarted? Leave the car off and ring. Whichever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Dorset and in Swanage — after you stop, turn off then phone, if it's run.