What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Cofton Common
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the motor has run since it got in. Not run yet? Then keep it that way, wherever the car sits — Cofton Common or Northfield. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor still off. In Cofton Common, such a case is typically drained and flushed where it stands. Already started? Stop once safe, then switch everything off. Step one remains the same, even though the job is bigger.
Below: the cases we see, wherever across West Midlands. Pick yours.
On a Cofton Common forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Somewhere around Cofton Common, then — BP, Shell, or somewhere else nearby.
The point: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. Nothing has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
Do this: stay out of the car, even if the pump needs freeing. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed away is emptied right at the pump.
Cofton Common, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the drive. Drives close to Longbridge Lane see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the vehicle has not been driven since, it is second to the pump case. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue drops to the base inside the tank and stays. One night parked alters none of that.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — or a person may take it off at breakfast — then phone us. Longbridge or Cofton Common: wherever your drive sits, that is where it gets cleared. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Cofton Common: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a short way beyond the top-up. Maybe heading for Birmingham, under 10 miles away, or just down Bittell Close.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. It has been through the filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. It travels deeper with each mile covered and every restart.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the next step — then switch everything off. On the M5, under 3 miles from Cofton Common, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Roughly how far did it go? Say so when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had the car barely a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet sits right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around West Midlands.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those depend on if it's run. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under many hire and fleet contracts.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, since settling it beforehand saves time. Hanging on for a reply in the car park outside Longbridge, or beside Christadelphian Hall? Leave your engine off meanwhile.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Cofton Common?
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think so. A slight ammonia-like smell hangs near the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A rushed top-up by the gates of Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy, or a visit to a friend in Rednal: either fits.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no damage to the engine. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different story. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Assume it was put in, and don't start the key. Phone with what you saw: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than drain one once your engine has been run.
The common ground in each Cofton Common AdBlue drain
Every situation has the same opening to the work. Filling station, drive, The Cambridge's car park or a road beside The Genie of Industry (Longbridge Interchange) — the van comes to your car, and three questions follow: which fluid, what amount, and if it has run. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies shape the work.
Draining that tank comes next, then a careful flush — more vital with urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, however long you wait. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If your engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Finally, we fire it up. Our check that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians go. When it is noticed early, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. It is worth remembering: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your policy while you wait pays.
About Cofton Common itself
Cofton Common is a locality in the West Midlands, situated near the River Rea and close to the cities of Birmingham and Worcester. Cofton Common has a mix of semi-detached housing and local amenities, with nearby places including Longbridge, West Heath, and Turves Green. Cofton Common is located approximately 6.6 miles south-west of Birmingham city centre, at an elevation of around 170 metres. Cofton Common is also around 99.9 miles north-west of London.
AdBlue drains around Cofton Common, and across West Midlands too
Cofton Common is a small village, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, West Heath and Turves Green among them, across the B postcode area. A postcode starting B31 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Austin Park or in a car park in the middle of Cofton Common, it doesn't need to shift. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. Assuming doesn't help beside Gas Street Longbridge, on a county line or anywhere hard to describe; phone and check.
Your situation, summed up
Motor never started: phone, leaving it alone. Run by now: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Cofton Common or anywhere across West Midlands.