What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Underwood
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your motor has run since it was put in. Over in Woodford or here around Underwood, an unrun motor should stay that way. Leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Underwood. Pull over the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. Step one remains unchanged, even though the job grows.
Match your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere around Devon you happen to be.
Underwood forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you spot the filler you opened wasn't the right one. Anywhere in Underwood, then — Texaco, Sainsbury's, or somewhere else close by.
Put simply: there is no better place exists to discover it. Still in that tank, with no fuel pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump wants clearing. A few jobs: a push into a space with the attendants helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is emptied right at the petrol pump.
Underwood, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used at the driveway. It occurs on driveways just off Underlane as frequently as anywhere.
Put simply: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it is almost equal to finding out at the pump. On the bottom of your tank is where AdBlue waits, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Out in St Stephens Place or here around Underwood, the drain is done at your driveway. Late-night drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
On the road in Underwood with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Plymouth, under 5 miles away, or just down Lavinia Drive.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in by now. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger trip, after your filter and lines have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: pull up anywhere safe, then switch your engine off. Underwood lies under 50 miles from the M5; on it, come off at the next junction instead of pressing on to the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the mileage driven when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
A week ago, it was unknown to you. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap sits just beside your diesel. Anyone, anywhere in Devon, might do it.
The upshot: just as above, split by if it ran, but with an added step. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and fleet contracts.
Settling it before we turn up is faster, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stranded in the car park at Plymouth, or by St Mary's Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Underwood?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. A hurried stop by the gates of Plympton St Mary's CofE Infant School, or a visit to a friend in Plympton St Maurice: either fit.
The upshot: the motor isn't hurt by a little AdBlue splashed around the outside. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Turning on the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it will suck it in.
Assume it went in, and don't turn your engine. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than draining one once it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
The common ground in every Underwood AdBlue drain
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Anywhere your car is — The Sir Joshua Reynolds's car park, a street beside Plympton Library, a driveway, a forecourt — our van gets there and we ask for the liquid, the quantity, plus if the engine has been run. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers set the job.
Emptying the tank comes next, then a full flush — more important with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where your motor hasn't run, allow about half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Lastly, our engineers fire it up. With clean diesel in, it runs while we check it's running smoothly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very rare if it has been spotted soon. Paying comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Underwood itself
Underwood is a suburban area in Devon, situated near the coast and approximately 3.6 miles from Plymouth. Underwood has a relatively low elevation of 24 metres and is characterised by semi-detached housing. Underwood is close to other nearby places such as St Stephens Place, Plympton, and Colebrook, and is part of the larger Plymouth urban area.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Underwood included
Plympton and Colebrook have the same vans as Underwood, a residential suburb, plus other towns over PL postcodes. Quickest of all: a PL7 1 postcode to show where you stand.
No towing is needed, whether parked centrally in Underwood or on a layby en route to Hardwick Wood, so keep it put. Our technicians drain the car where it stands. Awkward to explain? Close to Living Well Church or a border? Asking is better than guessing, and so phone.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Underwood or anywhere across Devon.