AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Greets Green, and What to Do Next
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue got in? That one question decides nearly everything about what comes next. Over in New Town or here in Greets Green, an unstarted motor should stay unrun. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor both off. Across Greets Green, such a case is typically drained and flushed on the spot. Stop the moment it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Below: the situations we see, wherever across West Midlands. Pick yours.
Greets Green forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Only now, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Maybe you're at the Applegreen, perhaps at the BP, maybe somewhere else around Greets Green.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up just to move away from the petrol pump. Get the attendants to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us right there. Can't move the car beside the pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt sensible, so we can drain it where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Greets Green
Several days had gone by with the warning light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened at the driveway. Driveways close to Stour Street see it as much as any other street.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's second to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of your tank and stays put, no matter how long the night.
Next: stop an early-morning move by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Ryders Green or Greets Green: wherever your drive is, that is where it is emptied. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Greets Green with AdBlue in a diesel
A mile or two beyond topping up, the engine began playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Anywhere on Grenville Place or heading to Birmingham — under 10 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. The injection pump and each injector get it too on a bigger trip, after the fuel filter and lines have it. Every restart, like each mile, pushes it on.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the first step — then turn everything off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M5, under 3 miles from Greets Green. No trial starts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Let us know the distance covered as you ring.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days ago, it was unknown to you. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue cap sits just next to your diesel. Wherever you are across West Midlands, any motorist can slip up.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Plenty of rental and company contracts need the owner's approval for repairs.
Sorting it before the van turn up is quicker, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Hanging on for an answer at the car park at Sandwell & Dudley, or near Jules' Pool? Keep the engine off throughout.
Greets Green: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. Which cap came off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by the filler. The gates of Newtown Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's drive over in Lamberts End.
In short: a spill round your filler leaves your motor no harm. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in the tank would be drawn in by firing up the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it went in, and keep your motor off. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one once it's been run — so ring then describe to us what you saw.
Greets Green: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation has the same opening to the work. Three things are asked once we arrive — on a forecourt, a drive, a road by Ryders Green Methodist Church or the car park at Yew Tree Bar & Grill: the fluid, the quantity, and if it has been started. Over the phone, before dispatch, you are told our price, and those answers decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, since deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and neither rinses out unaided. Next comes the fuel filter — cleaned, or swapped when needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your car. Most unstarted cars are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers get there.
Firing it up comes last. We confirm it runs correctly on fresh diesel before leaving. The whole job is done where your car is, and if it is noticed early, lasting damage is very rare. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Greets Green itself
Greets Green is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Tame and close to the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Greets Green has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are the most common, and its elevation of 137 metres gives it a relatively low-lying position in the area. Greets Green is part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, but retains a distinct local character, with nearby places like Ryders Green and Swan Village.
AdBlue drains about Greets Green and across West Midlands
Over B postcodes, the vans covering Greets Green — a residential suburb — reach surrounding towns too, Albion and Swan Village included. Quickest of all: a B70 9 postcode to show where you stand.
Parked en route to Black Country Millennium Forest, or right in the heart of Greets Green, your vehicle remains put — there is no need to move it anywhere. The drain happens on the spot. Tricky to explain? By United Pentecostal Church of God or a county line? Asking is better than guessing, and so phone.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Keep the vehicle off then ring. Started by now? Pull over, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever case, across Greets Green and West Midlands, on 0333 366 0103.