AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bohemia, and What to Do Next
Everything turns on one fact: if your motor has started after the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Wherever the vehicle is — Hollington Park, Bohemia — never run an engine that hasn't been started yet. Usually this is draining and thoroughly purging it right there in Bohemia — so keep the ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment you safely can then switch off, if it has been run. A larger job, then, yet the same opening move.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, anywhere around East Sussex you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Bohemia forecourt
Just now, bottle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. It could be the Esso, or perhaps the BP, or another forecourt around Bohemia.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants clearing. Have the staff to help rolling it into a space, save the bottle, then phone us from there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, so a car that can't be pushed clear gets cleared where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Bohemia
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in on the driveway — and it's only by the bin that the cap caught your eye. Just off Clarence Road is not less likely from any other place.
The point: no driving since makes it nearly equal to finding it at the petrol pump. At the floor of the tank is where AdBlue stays, because it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by changes nothing of the difference.
Next: keys indoors, and so no one takes your vehicle off first thing. Then, phone. St Leonards Green or Bohemia: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it gets cleared. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Bohemia with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. It might have been driving to Brighton and Hove, under 50 miles away, or just along Aldborough Road.
The upshot: the system has pulled AdBlue through by now. Through your filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that is the first step — then switch it off. On the M20, under 25 miles from Bohemia, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Ring us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever across East Sussex, might do it.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added stage. Plenty of rental and fleet agreements require the owner's approval before work.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Stuck near St Leonards-on-Sea Methodist Church or outside St Leonards Warrior Square until the firm replies, the car stays turned off the whole time.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Bohemia
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe on a friend's drive in Blacklands, or rushing by Christ Church CofE Primary and Nursery Academy on the school run.
The point: the engine is not hurt by some AdBlue splashed on the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Firing up the vehicle will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would suck it in.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't crank it. Describe what you saw on the phone. A clear tank checked counts as a better outcome than an already-run one drained.
Bohemia: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation has the same start to the job. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside North Star or a side street near YMCA, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if the engine has run. Answers shape the job; the quote follows by phone whilst no one has left yet.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, because deposits form and certain metals are attacked, and neither washes away unaided. Finally come the fuel filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of your vehicle. Never started? In that case about half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
We fire it up last. Before we leave, it is tested to make sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted soon, permanent damage is very rare. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Bohemia
Bohemia is a coastal suburban area in East Sussex, situated near the towns of St Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings. Bohemia sits on a gentle slope at an elevation of around 66 metres, overlooking the English Channel. Bohemia is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing and is located near other local areas such as St Leonards Green and Silverhill. Bohemia is part of the larger urban area surrounding Brighton and Hove, which is approximately 30 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Bohemia, and across East Sussex too
Being a residential suburb, Bohemia has the same vans as the surrounding places — Silverhill, St Leonards-on-Sea — all the way across TN postcodes. A postcode starting TN37 6 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped en route to Thorpe's Wood, or bang in the heart of Bohemia, the car stays where it is — there is no need to move it at all. Draining happens on the spot. Awkward to pin down? Close to Sonrise Church or a border? Checking is better than guessing, so ring.
The one-line version
Engine not started: ring, and leave it switched off. Run already: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Bohemia or wherever in East Sussex.