AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Broad Oak, and What to Do Next
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue went in? That one point decides nearly everything else from here. Wherever your car is — Chapel Cross, Broad Oak — don't run a motor that has not run yet. Call 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor both off. In Broad Oak, that is generally emptied and flushed on the spot. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Anywhere around East Sussex it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
Broad Oak forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Picture it: standing by the pump, holding the bottle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. Somewhere in Broad Oak, then — Shell, Mayfield Garage, or somewhere else close by.
Put simply: there is no better place exists to discover it. Only your tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has taken it in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Get the staff to lend a hand pushing it into a space, save the receipt, then phone us from there. If it can't be moved, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Broad Oak
Days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Right off Highview Road is not different from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Cade Street or Broad Oak: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it is drained. The pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
Broad Oak: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way after the fill. Perhaps it was on Broadhill Close, maybe on the way out towards Brighton and Hove, under 25 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage decides how far it goes: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. More driving, more restarts: further it travels.
Next: pick a safe place, pull in, then turn the engine off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M23, under 25 miles from Broad Oak. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. About how far did it go? Say so when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
Seven days back, the car was new to you. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or somewhere else. On this one, its cap is right by your diesel cap — news to you. Anyone, anywhere around East Sussex, could make the same.
The point: just as above, divided by if it ran, only with one added stage. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Do this: hire firm or fleet manager first, us second, since sorting it early saves time. Stuck near St George or outside Stonegate until someone answers, the vehicle stays switched off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Broad Oak?
Honestly, the best answer might be that you think it did. A faint ammonia whiff lingers near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. A rushed top-up by the gates of All Saints' and St Richard's Church of England Primary School, or a call to a friend in Heathfield: either fits.
The upshot: your motor isn't hurt by a little AdBlue splashed around the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Firing up your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it's been run — so phone then describe to us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Broad Oak has in common
Each situation has the same start to the work. Forecourt, drive, The Half Moon Inn's car park or a road beside Ebenezer Strict Baptist Chapel — our van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: which liquid, which amount, and if it ran. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you hear the price, and those answers decide the work too.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after this drain, matters far more here than with petrol. Last come your filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Where the engine has not been started, allow about half an hour on site, for most jobs.
Firing it up comes last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we confirm it's running properly, and then we leave. If it's noticed quickly, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the whole job happens where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover comes built into many policies.
About Broad Oak
Broad Oak is a rural village in East Sussex, situated inland at an elevation of around 170 metres. Broad Oak lies near the towns of Heathfield and Cade Street, and is approximately 21 miles from Brighton and Hove. Broad Oak has a population of around 1097 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Broad Oak is also close to other nearby places such as Mutton Hall and Old Heathfield.
AdBlue drains across East Sussex, Broad Oak included
Being a rural village, Broad Oak shares its vans with the nearby towns — Old Heathfield, Mutton Hall — all the way through TN postcodes. Fastest of all: a TN21 8 postcode to show your location.
No moving is needed, be it parked in the centre of Broad Oak or on a lay-by en route to Heathfield Park, and so keep it put. Our technicians drain it where it stands. Guessing doesn't help near Heathfield Chapel Evangelical, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Run by now: pull over, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Broad Oak or wherever in East Sussex.