What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ashtead Common
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one point settles almost everything else from here. Wherever the vehicle is — Ashtead, Ashtead Common — never run a motor that has not been started yet. Leave the engine and your ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Ashtead Common. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A bigger job, yes, but the same opening move.
Match what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever in Surrey you are.
At the pump around Ashtead Common: AdBlue in a diesel
You are 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. It might be the Tesco, or the Shell, or another station around Ashtead Common.
Meaning? Spotting it on the forecourt is as good as it gets. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a bay — the staff will help roll it — and keep the bottle. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Ashtead Common, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened at the drive. Just off Ashtead Woods Road is no different from anywhere.
The point: no driving since leaves this nearly equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. On the floor of that tank sits where AdBlue stays, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Keep your keys indoors overnight — or a person might drive it away first thing — then call us. Your driveway is where it is emptied, be it around Ashtead Common or Lower Ashtead. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Ashtead Common: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two after filling up, your motor began misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. It might have been heading for Westminster, under 25 miles away, or simply down Kelmscott Place.
The point: the system has pulled AdBlue through by now. Past your filter, through the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next job — then turn everything off. Ashtead Common sits under a mile from the M25; on it, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. It will not have cleared, so there is no point restarting to check. Phone, and say what distance the vehicle went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is right by your diesel inlet — news to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Surrey.
In short: one extra step on top of the situations above, which turn on if it has run. The owner often has to sign off any work, under many rental and fleet contracts.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. If you're stuck in the car park outside Ashtead, or by First Ashtead Pelham Scout Group, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in Ashtead Common?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A slight ammonia whiff lingers around the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. The gates of Barnett Wood Infant School in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway out in Malden Rushett.
The upshot: your motor isn't hurt by some AdBlue splashed around the filler. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in your tank will be sucked in by turning on your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it was put in, and never start the engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain around Ashtead Common has in common
Every case has the same start to the work. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Star or a side street near Earthwork, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and whether your engine has been run. Those replies determine the work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, since deposits form and some metals corrode, and none of it rinses away unaided. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where the engine has not been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Last, our technicians fire it up. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians confirm it is running smoothly, and then we leave. When it's caught early, the car very rarely has permanent damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Ashtead Common, briefly
Ashtead Common is a suburban area in Surrey, situated near the River Mole and close to the neighbouring communities of Lower Ashtead and Leatherhead Common. Ashtead Common sits at an elevation of around 59 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. Ashtead Common is located approximately 15 miles from central London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Ashtead Common has a small population of around 731 residents, with nearby Pachesham Park also being a notable local landmark.
Ashtead Common and Surrey: AdBlue drains across the area
Pachesham Park and Leatherhead Common have the same vans as Ashtead Common, a residential suburb, plus further towns over KT postcodes. A postcode starting KT21 2 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, whether stopped centrally in Ashtead Common or in a layby en route to the green space at the edge of the village, and so leave it where it is. Our engineers drain the car where it sits. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to Ashtead Baptist Church or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off and call. Run by now: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Ashtead Common or wherever in Surrey.