AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in The Harbour: What Now?
Has the engine run since the AdBlue got in? This one point settles almost everything about what comes next. Anywhere the vehicle stands — Farthing Green, The Harbour — don't run an engine that hasn't run yet. Leave your motor and your ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around The Harbour. Stop the moment you safely can and turn off, if it has been run. A larger job, yes, yet the same first move.
Compare what happened to one of the ones below, wherever around Kent you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a The Harbour forecourt
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Be it Texaco, another forecourt nearby or anywhere else around The Harbour, the situation is identical.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it can be. Just your tank has AdBlue; not one component past it has taken it in.
Clearing the pump is no reason to run it — so don't get back in. Phone us from the forecourt after the car is in a bay — the attendants will help roll it — then save the bottle. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a The Harbour drive?
For days the dash had been warning you. Bought a container, tipped it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, too late. Driveways close to The Harbour see it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low in the tank and waits. One night parked changes none of that.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Sutton Valence or The Harbour: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it is drained. Late-night empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in The Harbour?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a short way beyond the fill. It might have been driving for Canterbury, under 25 miles away, or just down Greensand Meadow.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue up. The injection pump and every injector get it as well on a longer run, once the filter and lines have had it. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Your move: stop somewhere sensible, then turn the motor off. The Harbour sits under 5 miles from the M20; there, pull off at the next junction rather than pressing on to the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying what distance the car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
It's a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, and so no one warned you the AdBlue inlet was just next to your diesel. Anyone, wherever across Kent, could do it.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we arrive than after. Stuck near St Mary the Virgin or at Staplehurst till someone answers, your car remains switched off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, The Harbour?
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". Lighter, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear memory of the cap. Sound familiar? It might have been on a friend's drive in Devils Den, or in a rush by Sutton Valence Primary School on the school run.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to your motor. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Turning on the vehicle cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
Your move: behave as though it got in, and never start your motor. Phone and give what you saw: we would rather confirm a clean tank than drain one after your motor has been run.
The Harbour: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the case, one opening is used. Wherever your car is — Clothworkers Arms's car park, a street by Sutton Valence Castle, a driveway, a filling station — the van arrives and we ask for the liquid, the amount, and if the motor has turned over. Over the phone, before dispatch, you hear the price, and those answers decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's crucial, since deposits form and certain metals are attacked, and neither washes out unaided. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Not started? In that case about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Last, our engineers start the engine. Our test that it runs properly on clean diesel comes before our engineers go. Our engineers do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very rare when it has been noticed soon. Paying comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About The Harbour and where it is
The Harbour is a small suburban area in Kent, situated inland at an elevation of around 45 metres. The Harbour lies near several nearby villages, including Sutton Valence, Warmlake, and Chart Hill, and is approximately 21.7 miles from Canterbury. The Harbour has a population of around 790 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. The Harbour is also within commuting distance of London, being around 37.4 miles from the city.
AdBlue drains about The Harbour and across Kent
As a residential suburb, The Harbour shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Chart Hill, Warmlake — all the way through ME postcodes. Giving us your ME17 3 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to New Sports Pavillion or in a car park in the middle of The Harbour, it doesn't need to move. We drain the vehicle where it sits. Awkward to pin down? Close to St Michael's Church or a county line? Checking is better than guessing, so ring.
The one-line version
Motor never started: ring, and leave it switched off. Run already? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever case, across The Harbour and Kent, on 0333 366 0103.