What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Tovil
Has your motor run since the AdBlue went in? This one question settles almost everything else from here. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the car is around Tovil itself or out in Maidstone. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor both off. In Tovil, that is typically drained and cleaned where it stands. When your engine has been run, stop somewhere safe straight away, then switch it off. It is a bigger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Anywhere across Kent it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
At the petrol pump in Tovil: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the pump, holding the bottle, you realise the cap you took off was not the correct one. Perhaps you're at the Esso, perhaps at the Texaco, possibly somewhere else around Tovil.
The point: of every spot to find out, this is the best. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt after your car is in a space — the staff will help push it — then keep the bottle. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Tovil, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a warning had been lit all week. Picked up a bottle, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Drives near Church Street get it as much as anywhere.
The point: no driving since makes it nearly equal to spotting it at the pump. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue drops to the base inside that tank and waits. One night parked changes none of that.
Put the keys indoors tonight — or a person may take it off at breakfast — then phone us. In Lower Fant or right here in Tovil, the draining happens on your driveway. The pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Tovil?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two beyond the top-up. Possibly it was on Wharf Road, maybe on the way out towards Southend-on-Sea, under 25 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. The injection pump and every injector see it too on a bigger run, after your filter and lines have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: pull up somewhere sensible, then switch your motor off. Tovil sits under 3 miles from the M20; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. It won't have cleared, and so there's no point restarting to check. About how far did it gone? Tell us when you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had the vehicle barely a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was just beside the diesel. Throughout Kent, nobody is immune.
Meaning? Whichever applies above applies here — run or not — plus one further stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Do this: hire firm or fleet manager first, us second, because settling it beforehand cuts time. Leave it switched off while the reply comes, even if you are waiting at Maidstone West or near Tovil Scouts Chapel.
Tovil: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia-like whiff hangs around the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. Maybe at a friend's drive in Cherry Orchard, or in a rush by Archbishop Courtenay Primary School on the school run.
The point: the motor is not hurt by a little AdBlue splashed around the outside. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in the tank would be drawn in by turning on the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Do this: act as if it did, and never start the motor. Ring with what you saw: we would sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one after the engine has run.
What each AdBlue drain in Tovil has in common
Whatever the situation, a single start is used. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Royal Paper Mill or a side street near St Michael's, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and whether your engine has been run. Those replies decide the work, and you hear our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying the tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear on their own, no matter how long it sits. Fresh diesel is put in after the filter has been cleaned or replaced, and the car is then tested. If your engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Lastly, our engineers start the engine. Our engineers make sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel before we leave. The whole job is done where your car is, and when it's noticed early, lasting damage is very rare. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Worth remembering: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Tovil and where it is
Tovil is a suburban area in Kent, situated on the banks of the River Medway at an elevation of around 13 metres. Tovil lies on the outskirts of Maidstone, near the neighbourhoods of Lower Fant, Upper Fant, and Fant. Tovil has a mix of housing types, with terraced houses being particularly prevalent in the area. Tovil is located approximately 32 miles from London and 21 miles from the coast at Southend-on-Sea.
AdBlue drains around Tovil, and across Kent too
Tovil is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the places near it too, Upper Fant and Fant among them, across the ME postcode area. The whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode beginning ME15 6.
Parked heading to Bridge Mill Way Play Area, or bang in the centre of Tovil, your car remains put — there's no need to move it at all. The van drains it in place. Phone and ask instead of guessing when you're close to Loose Boy Scouts, near a border, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
Your situation, summed up
Still unrun? Leave the car off and phone. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Kent and within Tovil — once you stop, switch off then phone, if it's run.