What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Tenterden
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue went in? This one question settles almost everything else from here. Over in St Michaels or here around Tenterden, an unstarted engine must stay that way. Normally that is draining and properly flushing it right there around Tenterden — so leave your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Further down: the situations our technicians meet, anywhere across Kent. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Tenterden forecourt
You're 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 Tenterden, then — BP, Esso, or anywhere else close by.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Nothing has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits just in that tank.
Do this: stay out of the car, even if the queue needs freeing. A few jobs: a shove into a space with the staff assisting, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is fine when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Tenterden with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Houses just off Malt House Lane get hit as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? As long as the car hasn't moved since, it's second to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then call. Our technicians drain it on your drive, whether that's around Tenterden or out in Broad Tenterden. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Tenterden: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running roughly, smoking, losing power, or flashing up the dash. Possibly it was on Station Road, perhaps on the way out towards Canterbury, under 25 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and every injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it travels.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the first job — then switch it off. Tenterden sits under 10 miles from the M20; on it, pull off at the next junction instead of pushing on for the services. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying how far the vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit side by side here — not like your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. Across Kent, no one is immune.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added step. Any work on your car often needs the owner's approval under hire or company agreements.
Your move: hire firm or fleet manager first, us second, because settling it beforehand cuts time. Stuck near Tenterden Library or outside Appledore (Kent) until the firm replies, your vehicle stays switched off the whole time.
Tenterden: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Strood, or rushing by Tenterden Church of England Junior School on the school run.
Meaning? Spills around the filler never touch the engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, turning on the vehicle would suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Do this: act as if it got in, and don't start your motor. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Tenterden: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every case has the same start to the work. Our technicians come to your car, whether it's on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Print House Inn or a side street close to Tenterden District Museum, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has been run. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the job.
Then the tank is emptied and the fuel system rinsed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Not started? Then roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Lastly, we start it. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it's running correctly, and then we leave. If it is noticed quickly, the vehicle very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many policies cover misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Tenterden
Tenterden is a small town in Kent, situated in a valley near the edge of the Weald, with the town centre at an elevation of around 59 metres. Tenterden has a mix of old and new buildings, including many detached houses, and is surrounded by smaller settlements like Broad Tenterden and Leigh Green. Tenterden is located near the main road and rail links between London and the coast, making it a commuter town for people working in larger cities like Canterbury. Tenterden remains a popular residential area with a population of around 4922 people.
Tenterden and Kent: AdBlue drains across the area
Tenterden is a town, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, The Quarter and Leigh Green among them, across the TN postcode area. A postcode starting TN30 6 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Tenterden Recreation Ground or in a car park in the middle of Tenterden, it does not need to move. Our engineers drain the car where it sits. Assuming doesn't help near The Methodist Church Tenterden, close to a border or somewhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then ring. Run by now? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, in Tenterden and Kent, on 0333 366 0103.