AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Adderley Green, and What to Do Next
One fact matters above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the engine has been started since. Wherever the vehicle stands — Meir Hay, Adderley Green — never start an engine that hasn't run yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor still off. Across Adderley Green, that is generally drained and flushed on the spot. Stop the minute you safely can and turn off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Wherever around Staffordshire it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the pump around Adderley Green: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Be it Esso, BP or anywhere else in Adderley Green, the case is identical.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants freeing. A few things: a push into a space with the staff helping, the receipt kept, and a call to us from where you stand. If it cannot be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Adderley Green
On your dash, a reminder had been lit for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd used at the driveway. Driveways near Anchor Road see it as much as any other street.
The point: zero miles since makes this almost as good to finding it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and remains put, no matter how long the night.
Your move: keys in the house, and so nobody takes your vehicle off first thing. After that, phone. We drain it on your drive, whether that's in Adderley Green or out in Sandford Hill. Night-time clears beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
On the road around Adderley Green with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. It might have been heading to Stoke-on-Trent, under 3 miles away, or simply down Mossfield Road.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. Past the filter, along the lines, and — the further the mileage — on into the injection pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the first step — then switch everything off. On the M6, under 5 miles from Adderley Green, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to find out. Tell us hear the distance driven when you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have only had this vehicle a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anyone, wherever across Staffordshire, could make the same.
The point: exactly as above, divided by if it ran, only with an added step. Plenty of hire and company contracts require the owner's sign-off for repairs.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Leave it switched off while the reply arrives, even if you're parked at Longton or close to SS Mary and Chad Parish Church.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Adderley Green?
"I think so" is often the most honest as it gets. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. A rushed stop by the gates of Sandford Hill Primary School, or a call to a friend in Weston Coyney: both fit.
The point: the motor is not harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the outside. If it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Do this: act as if it did, and never start the motor. Inspecting a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it has been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
Adderley Green: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the case, one opening is used. Three questions are asked once we arrive — at a forecourt, a driveway, a road beside Sandford Hill Methodist Church or the car park at The Corner Pin: the fluid, the quantity, and if the motor has run. Your price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers shape the work.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it won't wash out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Then is your filter — cleaned, or replaced when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. Where your motor hasn't been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
The final step is starting the car. Before we head off, it is checked to make sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is caught soon, permanent damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while you wait pays.
About Adderley Green and where it is
Adderley Green is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated near the River Trent and close to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Adderley Green has a mix of semi-detached housing and local amenities, with nearby areas including Sandford Hill and Bentilee. Adderley Green sits at an elevation of around 183 metres, overlooking the surrounding countryside. Adderley Green is located approximately 2.7 miles from Stoke-on-Trent city centre, making it a popular residential area.
AdBlue drains around Adderley Green, and across Staffordshire too
Being a residential suburb, Adderley Green has the same vans as the surrounding places — Bentilee, Ubberley — right across ST postcodes. Giving us a ST3 5 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Stopped heading to Springfields Short, or right in the heart of Adderley Green, your car remains where it is — there's no need to move it at all. Our van empties it in place. Guessing won't help near Lawn Farm, on a border or somewhere hard to describe; phone and ask.
In one line: your scenario
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and ring. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Staffordshire and in Adderley Green — after you pull over, switch off then ring, if it's run.