AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bockings Elm, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has been started since. Wherever the vehicle is — Jaywick, Bockings Elm — never run an engine that has not run yet. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush after a drain, done right where the car sits around Bockings Elm. Already run? Stop when you safely can, then switch it off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Wherever around Essex it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Bockings Elm forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you are stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Somewhere around Bockings Elm, then — Tesco Filling Station, Esso, or somewhere else close by.
Put simply: there is no better place to be to discover it. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Clearing the pump is no reason to run it — so don't get back in. Three things: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Emptying it there at the pump is fine when it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Bockings Elm, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used at the drive. Driveways near St Johns Road get it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and waits. A night standing changes nothing.
Next: stop any early-morning move by putting the keys in the house, then phone us. Out in Rush Green or right here around Bockings Elm, the drain is done on your driveway. Night-time clears outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Bockings Elm?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Woodrows Lane, perhaps, or the route to Colchester — a trip of under 15 miles.
What it means: the system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance decides how deep it goes: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and each injector. It goes further with each mile driven and every restart.
Stop safely — that is the next step — then switch everything off. Bockings Elm lies under 50 miles from the M2; there, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. It will not have cleared, so there is no sense restarting to check. Call, and say what distance your car went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days back, it was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it in another spot. Anyone, anywhere in Essex, might do the same.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it has run. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we turn up than after. Keep the car switched off as the answer comes, even if you are waiting outside Clacton-On-Sea or near Rush Green Methodist Church.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Bockings Elm?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A rushed top-up by the gates of St Clare's Catholic Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Little Clacton: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no harm to the motor. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Firing up your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will draw it in.
Take it that it was put in, and don't turn the engine. Checking a tank that turns out clean is better than emptying one after it's been run — so phone then tell us what you saw.
Bockings Elm: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Filling station, drive, Brace of Pistols's car park or a street beside FC Clacton — our van comes to your car, and three questions follow: which liquid, which amount, and whether it has run. Those answers determine this work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it's crucial, since deposits form and certain metals are attacked, and neither rinses out unaided. Clean diesel goes in once the filter has been flushed or changed, and your car is finally checked. If your motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our engineers fire it up last. Our test that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before our engineers go. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it is caught early, long-term damage is very uncommon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies include misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Bockings Elm itself
Bockings Elm is a suburban area located on the coast of Essex, with an elevation of 17 metres above sea level. Bockings Elm sits near the towns of Clacton-on-Sea and Great Clacton, and is close to the village of Rush Green. Bockings Elm is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock, and is situated approximately 11.5 miles from the city of Colchester. Bockings Elm has a population of around 7266 residents, and is about 57.7 miles from London.
Bockings Elm and Essex: AdBlue drains across the area
Great Clacton and Clacton-on-Sea have the identical teams as Bockings Elm, a residential suburb, plus other places throughout CO postcodes. A postcode starting CO16 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Coppin's Hall Wood or in a car park in the middle of Bockings Elm, it does not need to shift. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it is. Phone and check instead of guessing when you are close to West Clacton Library, on a boundary, or anywhere awkward to explain.
In one line: your situation
If it hasn't started, ring then keep it off. Run already: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Bockings Elm or wherever in Essex.