AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Combs, and What to Do Next
Has the engine run since the AdBlue got in? This one point settles almost everything else from here. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is in Combs itself or out in Little Finborough. Leave the engine and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Combs. When your engine has run, pull in safely straight away, then turn the car off. Step one stays unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Match your case to one of the ones below, anywhere in Suffolk you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Combs forecourt
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just spot it as you are standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. It could be the Esso, or the Tesco, or another forecourt around Combs.
Put simply: no better place exists to discover it. Just that tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has taken any in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Have the staff to lend a hand pushing it to a bay, save the receipt, then phone us from there. If it can't be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Combs
Several days had passed with the dash light on. A bottle from the garage, emptied in at the drive — and it was only at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. It takes place on driveways just off Mill Lane as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the bottom of that tank is where AdBlue waits, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — otherwise a person may take it off at breakfast — and call us. Out in Moats Tye or here around Combs, the drain is done on your drive. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Combs: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two beyond filling up, the motor began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Possibly it was on Bildeston Road, perhaps on the way out towards Colchester, under 25 miles away.
Meaning? Your pump has taken the AdBlue up. It's been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and your injectors. Every restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Do this: stop anywhere sensible, then turn your engine off. Service stations further on are too far: from the M11, under 50 miles out of Combs, take the next junction. It will not have cleared, and so there is no sense restarting to check. Phone us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It's a car you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Suffolk.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, which depend on if it's run. Any work on your car frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or company agreements.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Leave it switched off as the reply comes, even if you're parked outside Stowmarket or near Combs Village Sign.
Combs: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is often the most honest as it gets. Which cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. A hurried stop by the gates of Trinity Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Battisford: both fits.
Put simply: a spill near your filler leaves the motor unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be pulled in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it was put in, and never start the key. Phone and give the details: we'd sooner find a clean tank than drain one once the engine has run.
Combs: what every AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the situation, one start is used. Wherever the car is — the pub in the village's car park, a street by St Marys, Combs, a driveway, a forecourt — our van arrives and we ask for the fluid, the quantity, plus whether your engine has turned over. Those answers decide the work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone sets off.
Then your tank is cleared and the fuel system purged 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 does not rinse out on its own. Then comes the filter — cleaned, or swapped where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. Most unstarted cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers arrive.
The final step is firing it up. With clean diesel in, it runs while we make sure it is running properly, and then we leave. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and long-term damage is very unusual if it has been noticed early. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. It is worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents as you wait is worthwhile.
About Combs itself
Combs is a small village in Suffolk, situated inland at an elevation of around 64 metres. Combs lies approximately 19 miles from Colchester and 65 miles from London, surrounded by nearby places such as Moats Tye and Little London. Combs has a population of around 504 people and features predominantly detached housing. Combs is also close to Combs Ford, a nearby settlement.
AdBlue drains across Suffolk, Combs included
Being a rural village, Combs has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Combs Ford, Little London — all the way across IP postcodes. Telling us a IP14 2 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Jack's Grove or in a car park in the middle of Combs, it doesn't need to move. Where it stands, that's where it gets drained. Ring and ask instead of guessing when you are close to Stowmarket Community Centre, near a border, or anywhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
Unstarted? Keep the car off then phone. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout Suffolk and in Combs — once you stop, turn off and phone, if it has run.