What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bennetts End
All of it turns on one detail: if the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Over in Leverstock Green or here in Bennetts End, an unrun engine should remain unrun. Keep nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, then expect a thorough flush after a drain, done right where your vehicle sits in Bennetts End. Already started? Stop when you safely can, then switch it off. A bigger job, yes, yet the same first move.
Below: the situations we meet, anywhere across Hertfordshire. Pick yours.
At the petrol pump in Bennetts End: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you are standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Possibly you are at the Tesco, perhaps at the Sainsbury's, perhaps somewhere else in Bennetts End.
The point: of all places to notice, this is the best. Still inside that tank, with no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the pump wants clearing. Ask the staff to help you roll your car into a parking space, keep your receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Bennetts End with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Drives close to Howe Road see it as much as any other street.
The point: no driving since makes it almost equal to finding it at the petrol pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of that tank and stays put, however long it waits.
Keep your keys in the house tonight — or a person may take it away first thing — and phone us. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that is around Bennetts End or out in Apsley. The equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Bennetts End?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way beyond the fill. It might have been driving for St Albans, under 5 miles away, or just down Gate Croft.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. Every restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Do this: pull up somewhere sensible, then switch the motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M1, under 3 miles from Bennetts End. It will not have cleared, and so there's no point starting it again to find out. Call, saying what distance the vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets sit next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you happen to be in Hertfordshire, any motorist could be caught.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we turn up than after. Stranded near Bennetts End Community Centre or at Apsley till the firm replies, the car remains switched off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Bennetts End?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at The Reddings Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Adeyfield.
In short: a spill round your filler does your motor no harm. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the car would pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: act as though it went in, and leave your motor off. Tell us what you noticed on your phone. A clean tank checked is a better outcome than an already-run one drained.
Every AdBlue drain around Bennetts End shares these stages
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Three things are asked when we reach the car — at a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Saint Benedict or the car park at Greenacres Tavern Freehouse: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. The price comes on the call, before a van leaves, and those replies shape the job.
Then the tank is drained and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which counts 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 the filter — flushed, or replaced where necessary — then clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. If your engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is starting the engine. Our technicians confirm it runs correctly on new diesel before leaving. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and when it is spotted quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. Paying comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Many policies include misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Bennetts End
Bennetts End is a suburban area in Hertfordshire, situated approximately 21 miles northwest of central London. Bennetts End sits at an elevation of around 143 metres, near the city of St Albans and close to nearby places such as Apsley and Frogmore End. Bennetts End has a population of around 7557 people, predominantly living in terraced housing. Bennetts End is located near Corner Hall, a local landmark in the area.
AdBlue drains round Bennetts End and across Hertfordshire
Throughout HP postcodes, the vans covering Bennetts End — a residential suburb — reach surrounding towns too, Frogmore End and Corner Hall among them. Fastest of all: a HP3 9 postcode to show your location.
Central Bennetts End or a lay-by near Belswains Playing Field: wherever it sits, the vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. The drain happens right there. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Quwwatul Islam Markazi Jamia Mosque Mehria Ghousia or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
In one line: your scenario
Where it hasn't run, ring and keep it that way. Run already: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Bennetts End or wherever across Hertfordshire.