AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Aldwick, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it got in. Over in Lagness or right around Aldwick, an unstarted engine should remain that way. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and engine still off. Across Aldwick, that is typically emptied and cleaned where it stands. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Step one stays unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Match your case to one of the list below, wherever across West Sussex you are.
On a Aldwick forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it as you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. It could be the Esso, or the Tesco, or a different station in Aldwick.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. Still in that tank, and nothing pulled through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and start the car to clear the petrol pump. A few things: a push into a bay with the staff helping, the receipt kept, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is fine when it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Aldwick drive?
Days had passed with the dash light on. A bottle bought at the shop, emptied in on the drive — and it was only by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Aldwick Road are hit as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. At the bottom of your tank sits where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Keep your keys indoors tonight — or someone may drive it off at breakfast — then call us. Rose Green or Aldwick: whichever your drive sits, that's where it gets cleared. The pumping kit works quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
Aldwick: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, pulled away, and soon the motor was running unevenly, smoking, losing power, or flashing up the dash. Anywhere on Aldwick Street or else on the road towards Chichester — under 5 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. It has been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Services farther along are too far: from the Waterlooville Bypass, under 15 miles out of Aldwick, take the first junction. No test restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Let us know the distance driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week ago, it was new to you. The AdBlue filler sits right beside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across West Sussex.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, only with an added step. Any work on your car frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or fleet terms.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our engineers turn up than after. Hanging on for an answer at the car park at Bognor Regis, or near The Pound House? Leave your car off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Aldwick?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Which cap was taken off, you can't recall; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by the filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Rose Green Infant School, or on a friend's drive in Bognor Regis.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your motor. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, turning on your car would pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: act as though it went in, then keep your engine off. Ring us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Each AdBlue drain around Aldwick shares these stages
Every case gets the same start to the job. Wherever your car stands — The Martlets's car park, a street beside St Richard’s Church, a drive, a forecourt — our van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, and whether your engine has turned over. Those answers determine the work, and you get our price on the phone, before anybody heads out.
Then your tank is emptied and your system flushed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Then comes your filter — cleaned, or replaced when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Where your motor hasn't been started, expect about half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
We fire it up at the end. Our check that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before our technicians go. The whole job is done where your car is, and when it's spotted quickly, lasting damage is very unusual. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Check your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover is built into plenty of policies.
About Aldwick, briefly
Aldwick is a coastal suburban area in West Sussex, situated near the city of Chichester and close to the neighbouring communities of Rose Green, Nyetimber, and North Bersted. Aldwick lies at a low elevation of around 5 metres, characteristic of the coastal lowlands of southern England. Aldwick is predominantly composed of detached housing and has a population of approximately 4420 residents. Aldwick is located about 56 miles from London, making it a relatively accessible coastal suburb.
Aldwick and West Sussex: AdBlue drains across the area
Nyetimber and North Bersted have the identical vans as Aldwick, a residential suburb, plus further towns throughout PO postcodes. A postcode starting PO21 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped en route to Aldwick green, or right in the centre of Aldwick, the car stays where it is — there is no need to shift it at all. Our technicians drain it where it stands. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you are close to Site of Hundred House of Aldwick, on a border, or anywhere awkward to explain.
In one line: your situation
Motor never started: ring, leaving it switched off. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Aldwick and anywhere across West Sussex on 0333 366 0103.