AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Drybridge Hill: What Now?
All of that hinges on one detail: whether the motor has been run since the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Anywhere the car is — Hasketon, Drybridge Hill — don't start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and motor still off. Across Drybridge Hill, such a case is typically emptied and flushed where it stands. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Anywhere in Suffolk it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
On a Drybridge Hill forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the right one. It could be the Shell, or perhaps the Gulf, or a different station in Drybridge Hill.
The upshot: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Nothing has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue stays only inside your tank.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — and so do not get back in. Ask the attendants to help you roll the car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. Can't move the vehicle by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt sensible, and so it can be drained where it is.
At home around Drybridge Hill with AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had shown all week. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap a second time, too late. It occurs on driveways just off Kings Close as frequently as anywhere.
In short: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it's nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and stays put, however long the night.
Put the keys indoors tonight — or a person may take it away at breakfast — and call us. In Maidensgrave or right here in Drybridge Hill, the drain happens at your drive. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
Drybridge Hill: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a lit dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the fill. Old Barrack Road, perhaps, or the way towards Colchester — a trip of under 25 miles.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. It's been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. On the M11, under 50 miles from Drybridge Hill, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, so there is no point restarting to find out. Phone, and say what distance your vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Suffolk.
The point: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with an added step. Work on your vehicle often needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or company terms.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stranded in the car park outside Woodbridge, or by Roger Crompton Notcutt, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Drybridge Hill?
Truthfully, the only answer may be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Kyson Primary School in a rush, say, or someone's driveway over in Melton.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler don't touch your engine at all. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Turning on your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would suck it in.
Take it that it was put in, and don't start the engine. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain around Drybridge Hill shares these stages
The work opens identically, whatever your situation. Three things come once our engineers arrive — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Saint Mary's, Woodbridge or the car park outside The Cherry Tree: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. The price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the work.
Then that tank is emptied and your system cleaned thoroughly, which matters 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. Last come the fuel filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. If the motor hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Lastly, we start the engine. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it's running smoothly, and then we head off. We do the entire job where your car is, and permanent damage is very unusual if it has been noticed quickly. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents as we travel is worthwhile.
About Drybridge Hill itself
Drybridge Hill is a suburban area in Suffolk, situated inland at an elevation of 38 metres, and is located near the towns of Woodbridge and Colchester. Drybridge Hill is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting the area's residential nature. Drybridge Hill sits within a network of nearby places, including Maidensgrave and Mill Hills, and is approximately 73 miles from London.
Drybridge Hill and Suffolk: AdBlue drains across the area
As a residential suburb, Drybridge Hill has the same vans as the nearby places — Mill Hills, Woodbridge — right across IP postcodes. The whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode that starts IP12 4.
No moving is needed, whether parked in the centre of Drybridge Hill or in a layby en route to Fen Meadow, so keep it where it is. Our engineers drain it where it sits. Ring and ask rather than guess if you're by Pump, on a boundary, or somewhere awkward to explain.
The one-line version
If it has not started, phone then keep it that way. Run by now: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Drybridge Hill or anywhere across Suffolk.