AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Yealmpton, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it went in. Out in Brixton or right around Yealmpton, an unrun motor must remain unrun. Leave your engine and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Yealmpton. Where your engine has been run, pull in somewhere safe first, then switch the car off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Further down: the cases our technicians see, anywhere around Devon. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Yealmpton forecourt
Only at this point, bottle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the Texaco, possibly at the Valero, maybe somewhere else in Yealmpton.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it can be. Still in the tank, and nothing pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Stuck beside the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a live forecourt safe, so we can drain the vehicle in place.
Yealmpton, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had been lit all week. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened at the drive. It happens on driveways just off Market Street as often as anywhere.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and stays there, no matter how long it waits.
Your move: the keys in the house, and so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere first thing. Then, ring. Torr or Yealmpton: wherever your driveway is, that's where it is emptied. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Yealmpton: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and before long your engine was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Somewhere on Yealmbury Hill or else heading to Plymouth — under 10 miles away.
The upshot: the system has pulled AdBlue in by now. It's been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a sensible spot, stop, and switch the engine off. Yealmpton lies under 50 miles from the M5; on it, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to check. Let us know the distance driven when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this vehicle hardly a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet was just next to your diesel. Any driver, anywhere across Devon, could make the same.
Put simply: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those depend on if it's run. Plenty of rental and fleet contracts require the owner's approval for repairs.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. Stranded by St Bartholomew's Church or outside Ivybridge till someone replies, the car remains turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Yealmpton?
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Blackpool, or rushing outside Yealmpton Primary School at the school run.
The upshot: the motor is not harmed by a little AdBlue spilled on the outside. Inside your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in your tank would be drawn in by turning on your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it went in, and don't turn your key. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain in Yealmpton shares these steps
Each case gets the same start to the job. Three things come when our engineers reach your car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a road beside Lime Kilns or the car park at The Rose and Crown: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. Over the phone, before anything else, you hear our price, and those replies decide the job too.
Emptying the tank comes first, then a full flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go on their own, however long you wait. Last come your filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. Never started? Then about half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our engineers confirm it runs correctly on new diesel before we go. If it is spotted soon, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Many policies include misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Yealmpton and where it is
Yealmpton is a small village in Devon, situated near the coast and approximately 6.5 miles from Plymouth. Yealmpton sits at an elevation of around 37 metres, with the village and surrounding areas like Torr and Yealmbridge forming a local community. Yealmpton has a mix of housing, but detached homes are particularly prevalent in the area. Yealmpton is relatively small, with a population of around 663 people.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Yealmpton included
Yealmpton is a coastal village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Yealmbridge and Dunstone among them, across the PL postcode area. Quickest of all: a PL8 2 postcode for where you stand.
Central Yealmpton or a lay-by towards Black Torr: either way it sits, the car never needs to shift at all for us. The van empties it in place. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to Viaduct or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
The one-line version
Engine never started: ring, leaving it switched off. Run by now? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever it is, across Yealmpton and Devon, on 0333 366 0103.