AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Windermere, and What to Do Next
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? That one question decides nearly everything about what comes next. Wherever your car stands — Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then count on a proper flush plus a drain, done right where the car stands in Windermere. Already run? Pull over when safe, then switch it off. A larger job, then, yet the same opening step.
Match what happened to one of the list below, wherever in Cumbria you happen to be.
On a Windermere forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, nozzle yet in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the Shell, maybe at the Cosy Logs, possibly somewhere else in Windermere.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Only the tank has AdBlue; no part beyond it has taken any in.
Your move: stay out of the car, however much the pump needs clearing. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, and phone us from the forecourt. Draining it right at the pump is possible if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Windermere, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had passed with the warning light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Houses just off High Street are caught out as much as everywhere else.
In short: if your car hasn't moved since, it is nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops low in your tank and waits. One night standing alters nothing.
Your move: the keys indoors, and so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. We drain it on your drive, whether that is in Windermere or out in Droomer. Night-time drains outside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Windermere?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two after the fill. It might have been heading to Lancaster, under 25 miles away, or simply down Main Road.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in by now. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. It travels further with each mile driven and each restart.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the next job — then turn everything off. Windermere sits under 15 miles from the M6; there, pull off at the next junction instead of pushing on for the services. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Tell us know the distance driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, it was unknown to you. Unknown to you, the two fillers sit side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or keeps it in another spot. Throughout Cumbria, no one is safe from it.
The point: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with an added stage. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
Your move: hire firm or fleet manager first, us second, since settling it early saves time. Stuck near The Phoenix Centre or outside the nearest station until the firm replies, your vehicle stays switched off the whole time.
Windermere: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. What cap came off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by your filler. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Martin & St Mary Church of England Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Troutbeck Bridge.
In short: spillage round your filler does your engine unharmed. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't fire it up. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than emptying one once it has been run — so ring then describe to us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain around Windermere has in common
Whatever the case, one start applies. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Crafty Baa or a side street near St Mary's Church, and ask three things: what went in, roughly how much, and whether the engine has run. The price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the job.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, because crystals build up and certain metals corrode, and none of it washes away unaided. Last are your filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the car. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour visit from the moment we turn up.
The final step is firing it up. Our engineers make sure it runs properly on new diesel before we leave. When it's caught quickly, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Payment is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in many policies.
About Windermere, for a moment
Windermere is a town situated in a picturesque riverside setting in Cumbria, England. It is located near a large body of water, which is a notable feature of the area. The town is nestled within the Lake District, a region known for its natural beauty. Windermere is surrounded by stunning scenery, making it a unique and attractive place.
AdBlue drains in Windermere, and across Cumbria too
As a riverside town, Windermere has the same vans as the nearby places — The Common, Heathwaite — right across LA postcodes. Fastest of all: a LA23 1 postcode for your location.
Parked heading to Victoria Gardens, or right in the heart of Windermere, your vehicle stays where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it is. Tricky to pin down? By From Auschwitz to Ambleside or a border? Asking beats guessing, so ring.
The one-line version
Where it has not run, ring and leave it that way. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, across Cumbria and in Windermere — after you pull over, turn off and phone, if it has run.