What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Tadley Bottom
Has the motor turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one question decides nearly everything else from here. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Tadley Bottom itself or out in Pamber Green. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your key and engine still off. Across Tadley Bottom, that is generally drained and flushed on the spot. Where the motor has been run, stop somewhere safe first, then turn it off. Stage one remains unchanged, even though the job grows.
Wherever in Hampshire it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
At the petrol pump in Tadley Bottom: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you are standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. It could be the Esso, or perhaps the Shell, or another station around Tadley Bottom.
The upshot: of all places to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Next: resist the urge to fire it up only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking spot, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed away gets drained right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Tadley Bottom drive?
On your dash, a reminder had been lit for days. A bottle from the shop, emptied in on the driveway — and it was only by the bin that the cap got a second look. Just off Giles Road is not less likely from any other place.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not moved since, it is close to the forecourt case. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop an early-morning drive by putting your keys indoors, then ring us. In Tadley Hill or here around Tadley Bottom, the draining happens at your driveway. Night-time clears beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
On the road in Tadley Bottom with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way beyond topping up, the engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Spiers Close, perhaps, or the way towards Winchester — a run of under 25 miles.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. It's been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. It travels further with each mile covered and each restart.
Stop safely — that's the next step — then turn everything off. Exit at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M3, under 10 miles from Tadley Bottom. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone, and say what distance the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
You've had the car barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Throughout Hampshire, no one is immune.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Sorting it before we turn up is faster, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Stranded by War Memorial or outside Bramley (Hants) until the firm answers, your vehicle remains switched off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Tadley Bottom?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Tadley Community Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Court Corner.
The upshot: your engine is not harmed by some AdBlue splashed on the filler. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up the car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't crank it. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank checked is a better outcome than a run one emptied.
Tadley Bottom: what each AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the situation, a single opening is used. Three questions are asked when our technicians arrive — at a forecourt, a drive, a road by Salvation Army Church Tadley or the car park outside The New Inn: the fluid, the quantity, and whether the motor has run. On the phone, before anything else, you are told the price, and those answers decide the work too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not wash out on its own; that's why a full flush, after this drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Not started? Then roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers confirm it's running properly, and then we go. We do the whole job where your car is, and long-term damage is very uncommon when it has been caught quickly. Payment is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Check your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover is included in many policies.
About Tadley Bottom and where it is
Tadley Bottom is a suburban area in Hampshire, situated inland at an elevation of 83 metres, and forms part of the larger Tadley community. Tadley Bottom lies near the North Hampshire Downs, close to Tadley Hill and Pamber Heath, and is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing. Tadley Bottom is located approximately 21 miles from Winchester and 45 miles from London, making it a commuter base for those working in the surrounding cities.
AdBlue drains around Tadley Bottom, and across Hampshire too
Pamber Heath and Tadley get the identical teams as Tadley Bottom, a residential suburb, along with further towns over RG postcodes. Giving us a RG26 3 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Stopped en route to The Green, or bang in the heart of Tadley Bottom, your car remains put — there's no need to move it anywhere. The drain is done right there. Guessing doesn't help beside Pamber Heath Gospel Hall, close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Tadley Bottom or anywhere in Hampshire.