AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in West End: What Now?
One thing matters above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your motor has run afterwards. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is around West End itself or out in Hawick. Usually this means draining and properly cleaning it on the spot in West End — and so leave the key and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. Pull over the minute it is safe and turn off, if it has been run. A larger job, then, but the identical opening move.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Scottish Borders it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a West End forecourt
Only now, bottle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the Sainsbury's, perhaps at the Morrisons, perhaps somewhere else around West End.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Just the tank has AdBlue; not one component past it has taken any in.
What to do: don't get back in and start the car to clear the pump. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a West End drive?
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Homes just off Renwick Terrace get caught out as often as anywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and remains there, no matter how long the night.
Next: prevent an early-morning move by putting your keys indoors, then ring us. Out in Lynnwood or here around West End, the drain is done at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
West End: drove off 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. Somewhere along Ramsay Road or heading to Carlisle — under 50 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a bigger run, once your filter and pipework have had it. Each restart, like each mile, carries it on.
Your move: pull up somewhere safe, then switch the motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the A74(M), under 50 miles from West End. It won't have cleared, and so there is no sense starting it again to find out. Phone, and say how far the vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, its cap is just next to your diesel inlet — news to you. Any driver, wherever around Scottish Borders, could make the same.
In short: one extra stage on top of the cases above, which turn on if it has run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Your move: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us next, because settling it early cuts time. Stuck by Viv Sharp Memorial or outside the nearest station until the firm answers, your car remains turned off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, West End?
At times, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Sound familiar? The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's drive over in Wilton.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to the engine. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, turning on your car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, and keep the engine off. 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.
West End: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Stags Head or a side street close to Teri Lynn Power Memorial, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if the engine has been run. Those replies decide the work, and you hear our price by phone, before anybody sets off.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, so it won't rinse out unaided; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Then is your filter — cleaned, or swapped when necessary — then fresh diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Most unstarted cars are a half-hour job from the moment we get there.
The final step is starting the engine. Our technicians make sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel before leaving. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very rare if it has been noticed quickly. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money upfront. Check your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling is built into many policies.
About West End, for a moment
West End is a suburban area situated on the riverside in the Scottish Borders, with a mix of flat housing and a population of around 2953 residents. West End sits at an elevation of 159 metres, near the communities of Lynnwood, Cauld, and Wilton Dean. West End is located approximately 36.6 miles from Carlisle and 291.5 miles from London, in a scenic area of the Scottish Borders. West End has a relatively small and settled community, with the nearby city of Carlisle being a significant urban centre in the region.
AdBlue drains around West End and across Scottish Borders
Cauld and Wilton Dean have the identical vans as West End, a residential suburb, along with further places throughout TD postcodes. Quickest of all: a TD9 0 postcode to show where you stand.
No towing is required, be it stopped in the centre of West End or on a lay-by en route to Moat Park, and so leave it where it is. The van empties it in place. Phone and ask rather than guess when you're by Hawick Motte, near a boundary, or anywhere awkward to explain.
In one line: your situation
Still unrun? Keep the car that way and ring. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Scottish Borders and in West End — once you pull over, turn off and phone, if it's run.