AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dutch Village: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it went in. Not started so far? Then keep the vehicle that way, whether the car sits — Dutch Village or Hopes Green. Switch nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush plus a drain, done just where your vehicle stands around Dutch Village. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It's a bigger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Compare your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere in Essex you happen to be.
Dutch Village forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just at this point, nozzle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you are at the Morrisons, perhaps at the BP, perhaps somewhere else in Dutch Village.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still in your tank, and no fuel drawn through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the pump. A few jobs: a push into a bay with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a call to us from where you stand. Emptying it there at the pump is possible if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Dutch Village
For days the dashboard had been warning you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Right off Haarlem Road is no different from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and remains there, however long it waits.
Next: prevent an early drive by putting your keys indoors, then ring us. In Canvey Village or here in Dutch Village, the draining is done on your drive. Late-night drains outside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Dutch Village?
A mile or two after filling up, the motor started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on your dash. Limburg Road, say, or the route to Southend-on-Sea — a run of under 10 miles.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. Mileage sets how far it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn the motor off. Dutch Village sits under 10 miles from the M2; on it, come off at the next junction rather than pressing on for the services. Don't restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, and say what distance the vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a car you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Anywhere you happen to be around Essex, every motorist can be caught.
The upshot: just as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added step. Plenty of rental and company agreements need the owner's approval before work.
Your move: hire firm or your fleet manager first, us second, because sorting it beforehand cuts time. If you are stuck in the car park outside Benfleet, or by Dutch Cottage Museum, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Dutch Village: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is all anyone can truthfully say. 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. A rushed stop by the gates of Northwick Park Primary and Nursery Academy, or a call to a friend in Coryton: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to your motor. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up your car would suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Take it that it got in, and don't turn your 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 in Dutch Village shares these steps
The work opens identically, whichever the case. Our technicians come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Lobster Smack or a side street near Canvey Island Heritage Centre Museum, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if your engine has been run. Those answers decide the work, and you get our quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying your tank comes first, then a careful flush — more vital with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, no matter how long you wait. Then is your filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Not started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
We fire it up last. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to be sure it runs properly on new diesel. When it's spotted soon, the vehicle very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Check your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover comes built into plenty of policies.
About Dutch Village
Dutch Village is a small suburban area located on the coast of Essex, near the mouth of the Thames estuary. Dutch Village sits at a low elevation of around 2 metres, close to the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea and the nearby Canvey Island. Dutch Village is characterized by its terraced housing and forms part of the larger Canvey Island community, which includes nearby areas such as Canvey Village and Winter Gardens.
Dutch Village and Essex: AdBlue drains across the area
Winter Gardens and Canvey Island have the identical vans as Dutch Village, a residential suburb, plus other towns over SS postcodes. A postcode starting SS8 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Dutch Village or a lay-by towards First Avenue Green: wherever it is, the vehicle never needs to move an inch for this drain. The van drains it in place. Phone and ask instead of guessing if you are by Waterside Farm Leisure Centre, near a border, or somewhere tricky to explain.
In one line: your situation
Motor not started: ring, leaving it alone. Run by now? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever case, in Dutch Village and Essex, on 0333 366 0103.