AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Alderbrook, 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. Over in Jarvis Brook or here in Alderbrook, an unstarted engine must remain unrun. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine still off. In Alderbrook, that is typically emptied and flushed on the spot. Where the motor has run, stop safely first, then switch it off. Stage one stays unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Further down: the situations we see, anywhere in East Sussex. Choose yours.
On a Alderbrook forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. Whether BP, Morrisons or somewhere else in Alderbrook, the situation is the same.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is the best it gets. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Do this: stay out of the car, however much the queue wants freeing. Get the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us right there. Can't move it by the pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a busy forecourt sensible, and so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Alderbrook drive?
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Houses just off Stone Cross Road are caught out as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not moved since, it is second to the forecourt case. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop an early move by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. Stone Cross or Alderbrook: wherever your drive sits, that is where it is cleared. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Alderbrook?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere along Aldervale Cottages or else on the road towards Brighton and Hove — under 25 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into the system. Past the filter, along the lines, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, carries it on.
Your move: stop somewhere safe, then turn your motor off. On the M23, under 15 miles from Alderbrook, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, and so there is no sense restarting to check. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
It's a car you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across East Sussex.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Plenty of rental and company agreements require the owner's sign-off before work.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Stranded by St. Richard's Church or outside Crowborough until the firm replies, your car stays turned off throughout.
Alderbrook: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; no clear memory of which cap. Look familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of Jarvis Brook Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Sweethaws: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to your motor. In your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Next: assume it got in, and leave the motor off. Phone with what you saw: we'd sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one after your engine has run.
Each AdBlue drain in Alderbrook shares these steps
Whatever the case, one start is used. Filling station, driveway, The Wheatsheaf's car park or a street by Isenhurst Health Club — our van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: what fluid, which quantity, and if it ran. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told the price, and those answers shape the job too.
Emptying the tank comes next, followed by a careful flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, however long it sits. Then is the filter — flushed, or replaced when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. Where your engine hasn't run, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our engineers fire it up last. Before our engineers head off, it's tested to confirm it runs correctly on new diesel. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it is noticed quickly, long-term damage is very unusual. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Alderbrook
Alderbrook is a suburban area in East Sussex, situated inland at an elevation of 162 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type. Alderbrook lies near the communities of Stone Cross, Whitehill, and Blackness, and is approximately 20 miles from the city of Brighton and Hove. Alderbrook is also within commuting distance of London, being around 35 miles from the capital. Alderbrook has a population of around 2886 residents.
AdBlue drains in Alderbrook, and across East Sussex too
Alderbrook is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Whitehill and Blackness among them, across the TN postcode area. A postcode starting TN6 3 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is needed, be it stopped in the centre of Alderbrook or in a layby heading to Crowborough Community Stadium, and so keep it where it is. Wherever it sits, that's where it gets cleared. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near United Church or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave it that way and ring. Run by now? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, across Alderbrook and East Sussex, on 0333 366 0103.