AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Foleshill, and What to Do Next
All of that hinges on a single fact: if the motor has been run since the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Wherever the car is — Edgwick, Foleshill — don't start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Leave your engine and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Foleshill. Pull over the moment you safely can and switch off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Compare what happened to one of the ones below, anywhere around West Midlands you are.
On a Foleshill forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you realise the cap you took off wasn't the correct one. Whether Texaco, Tesco or somewhere else around Foleshill, the situation is identical.
Meaning? Finding out here is as good as it can be. No pump has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to move away from the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you push your car into a parking spot, keep your receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Emptying it there at the pump is fine when it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Foleshill with AdBlue in the diesel tank
Days had passed with the warning light on. 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. It happens on driveways just off Lythalls Lane as commonly as anywhere.
Put simply: if the car hasn't been driven since, it's almost as good as spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and remains put, however long it waits.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Your driveway is where it is emptied, be it in Foleshill or Little Heath. Night-time clears outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Foleshill: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way beyond topping up, your engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on the dash. Perhaps it was on Gateside Road, possibly on the way out towards Coventry, under 3 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through the system. Through the fuel filter, along the lines, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Next: find a sensible spot, stop, and switch the motor off. Services farther on can wait: from the M6, under 3 miles out of Foleshill, use the next junction. No test restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. About what distance did it gone? Say so as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
Seven days back, it was unknown to you. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was just next to the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across West Midlands.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with one added step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our technicians arrive than after. Stranded by Indoor Market or at Coventry Arena until someone replies, the vehicle stays switched off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in Foleshill?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can honestly 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 hurried top-up by the gates of Holbrook Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Holbrooks: both fit.
The upshot: your engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue splashed on the outside. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be drawn in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not fire it up. Ring 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.
Foleshill: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Each case has the same opening to the job. Filling station, drive, The New Horseshoe's car park or a street by Foleshill Road United Reform Church — our van comes to the car, and three questions come next: what fluid, which quantity, and if it ran. Answers shape the job; the quote comes by phone while nobody has set off yet.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals build up and certain metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Last come your filter, flushed or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a test of your vehicle. Where the motor has not been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our engineers fire it up last. Our check that it runs properly on new diesel comes before our technicians head off. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been caught quickly. Payment is that day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Foleshill itself
Foleshill is a suburban area located on the River Sowe in the West Midlands, with a mix of terraced housing and local amenities. Foleshill sits approximately 2.2 miles from Coventry city centre, at an elevation of around 108 metres. Foleshill is close to nearby places such as Little Heath and Monks Park, and is situated near the Parting of the Heaths. Foleshill has a population of around 8787 people, with a range of local services and facilities.
AdBlue drains across West Midlands, Foleshill included
Foleshill is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places near it too, Parting of the Heaths and Monks Park among them, across the CV postcode area. The location is clearest from a postcode that starts CV6 6.
Central Foleshill or a lay-by towards Peggy's Park: wherever it is, the vehicle doesn't need to move at all for us. We drain the vehicle where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Sanatan Dharm or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Engine not started: ring, and leave it switched off. Run already: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, within Foleshill or anywhere in West Midlands.