AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Winterbourne Down, and What to Do Next
One fact counts above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your engine has been started afterwards. Not run yet? Then leave it like that, whether the vehicle sits — Winterbourne Down or Whiteshill. Call 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor both off. In Winterbourne Down, that is generally emptied and flushed on the spot. Already run? Pull over once you safely can, then switch it off. It's a bigger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, wherever across Gloucestershire you are.
On a Winterbourne Down forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Possibly you're at the Shell, possibly at the Esso, possibly somewhere else in Winterbourne Down.
In short: there is no better spot exists to discover it. No pump has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue sits just inside that tank.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — so do not get back in. Have the attendants to help pushing it into a space, save the bottle, then ring us right there. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment keeps a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained in place.
Winterbourne Down, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. Homes just off Bury View are hit as much as anywhere else.
Put simply: if your car has not moved since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the pump. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue drops low inside your tank and waits. One night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then call. In Moorend or here in Winterbourne Down, the drain happens at your drive. Our pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
On the road in Winterbourne Down with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe it was on Stone Lane, perhaps on the way out towards Bristol, under 10 miles away.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue through by now. Through the filter, through the pipework, and — the further the distance — on into the injection pump and every injector. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Next: find a sensible place, stop, and turn your engine off. Winterbourne Down lies under a mile from the M4; there, pull off at the first junction rather than pushing on to the services. Restarting it to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About how far had it go? Tell us as you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this vehicle barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever in Gloucestershire, could do it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. The owner often has to sign off any work, under many hire and company contracts.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. Keep the car switched off while the reply arrives, whether you're parked outside Bristol Parkway or near All Saints Church Hall.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Winterbourne Down?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". A slight ammonia-like smell lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. The gates of Hambrook Primary School in a rush, say, or someone's drive over in Winterbourne.
The point: your engine isn't hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. If there is AdBlue in the tank, firing up the vehicle will pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't crank it. Checking a tank that turns out clean beats draining one after it's been run — so phone then describe to us what you noticed.
Winterbourne Down: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Filling station, driveway, Cross Hands's car park or a street beside Winterbourne Down Methodist Church — our van comes to your car, and three questions come next: which liquid, what quantity, and whether it ran. Those answers settle this work, and you hear our price on the phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's essential, since crystals form and some metals are attacked, and none of it washes away unaided. Clean diesel is put in after the fuel filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is finally checked. If your motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes at the end. Before our technicians go, it is tested to be sure it runs properly on new diesel. If it's noticed quickly, the car very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job happens where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Winterbourne Down and where it is
Winterbourne Down is a locality situated on the banks of the River Frome in South Gloucestershire, with a mix of rural and suburban landscapes. Winterbourne Down has a relatively low elevation of 56 metres above sea level and is located near several other small settlements, including Moorend and Bromley Heath. Winterbourne Down is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its status as a desirable residential area. Winterbourne Down is also close to the larger city of Bristol, which is approximately 6 miles away.
Winterbourne Down and Gloucestershire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over BS postcodes, the teams serving Winterbourne Down — a small village — reach surrounding towns as well, Bromley Heath and Kendleshire included. A postcode starting BS36 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Winterbourne Down or a lay-by near Frome Valley: wherever it is, the vehicle never needs to move at all for us. The drain is done on the spot. Awkward to explain? By Bury Hill Camp or a county line? Checking beats guessing, and so ring.
In one line: your situation
Motor not started: ring, and leave it switched off. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Winterbourne Down and anywhere around Gloucestershire on 0333 366 0103.