AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Aston: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your motor has run since it got in. Anywhere your vehicle is — Nechells Green, Aston — never run a motor that has not run yet. Leave the motor and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Aston. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has been run. It's a larger job, though stage one does not change.
Further down: the situations our technicians see, wherever around West Midlands. Choose yours.
On a Aston forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Anywhere in Aston, then — Gulf, Esso, or somewhere else close by.
The upshot: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Nothing has drawn it in, so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
Do this: keep out of the car, even if the queue wants clearing. Three things: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed clear gets drained where it is at the petrol pump.
At home around Aston with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, too late. It happens on drives just off Park Circus as often as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Your move: keys in the house, so nobody takes your vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. In Aston New Town or here around Aston, the draining is done at your drive. The pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Aston: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way beyond filling up, your motor began playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Perhaps it was on Waterlinks Boulevard, perhaps on the way out towards Birmingham, under 3 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it as well on a longer run, after the filter and pipework have it. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Next: pick a sensible spot, stop, and switch the engine off. Aston lies under a mile from the Aston Expressway; there, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on for the services. No trial restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. Phone, and say what distance the vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anywhere you are around West Midlands, every driver could slip up.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and company agreements require the owner's sign-off for work.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Keep it switched off as the answer comes, whether you are parked at the nearest station or near Face to Face.
Aston: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. Maybe at a friend's drive in Nechells, or rushing by Aston Tower Community Primary School on the school run.
The upshot: your motor is not harmed by a little AdBlue splashed on the filler. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the vehicle will suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Take it that it got in, and don't start the key. Inspecting a tank that turns out clean is better than draining one after it has been run — so phone and tell us what you saw.
The common ground in each Aston AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Forecourt, driveway, The Manor Tavern's car park or a road beside Masjid E Noor — the van comes to the car, and three answers come next: which liquid, what quantity, and whether it has run. Those answers determine this work, and you hear the price by phone, before anybody heads out.
Then that tank is cleared and the fuel system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Clean diesel is put in once the filter is flushed or changed, and your car is then checked. If your motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our engineers start the engine last. Before we leave, it is tested to be sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. Permanent damage is very rare when it's noticed soon, and the whole job is done where the vehicle is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a check of your policy as you wait pays.
About Aston, briefly
Aston is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated on the River Rea and close to the city centre of Birmingham. Aston sits at an elevation of around 120 metres, with terraced housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. Aston is located near other local areas such as Aston New Town, Birchfield, and New Town Row, and is home to a population of approximately 6345 people.
Aston and West Midlands: AdBlue drains across the area
Birchfield and New Town Row have the identical teams as Aston, a residential suburb, along with further towns over B postcodes. A postcode starting B6 5 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, be it stopped in the centre of Aston or in a lay-by en route to Sycamore Road Multi-use Games Area, so keep it where it is. Wherever it stands, that is where it is emptied. Assuming won't help near Victoria Road Evangelical Church, on a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and ask.
Your scenario, in one line
Unstarted? Keep it off then ring. Run already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever case, in Aston and West Midlands, on 0333 366 0103.