AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hockley, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is in Hockley itself or out in Brookfields. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your key and engine both off. Across Hockley, such a case is generally emptied and flushed where it stands. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Wherever around West Midlands it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
At the petrol pump around Hockley: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the JET, or perhaps the Texaco, or another forecourt around Hockley.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — and so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Hockley drive?
On the dash, a reminder had shown all week. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Right off Hockley Hill is not less likely from anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Being unable to blend, AdBlue drops low inside the tank and stays. One night parked changes none of that.
Next: stop any early drive by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. All Saints or Hockley: wherever your driveway sits, that is where it gets cleared. Our pumping kit works quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Hockley?
A mile or two beyond filling up, your motor began misbehaving: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Somewhere on Boulton Middleway or else heading to Birmingham — under 3 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into the fuel system. It's been through the filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it on.
Stop safely — that's the next step — then turn everything off. Leave at the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the Aston Expressway, under a mile from Hockley. Starting it again to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Call, and say how far your vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, anywhere across West Midlands, might make it.
The upshot: just as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added step. Plenty of hire and fleet agreements need the owner's sign-off before work.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. Hanging on for a reply at the car park outside Jewellery Quarter, or near Unity Church of God? Keep your engine off meanwhile.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Hockley
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. Which cap was taken off, you can't say; but the bottle feels less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. A hurried stop by the gates of Brookfields Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Lozells: either fit.
The point: your engine isn't harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up your car would draw it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Assume it got in, and never start your engine. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Hockley AdBlue drain
The work begins identically, whichever your case. Our technicians come to your car, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at White House or a side street near The People's Chapel, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and whether the motor has been run. Replies shape the work; the quote comes on the call while nobody has set off yet.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, since deposits form and some metals are attacked, and none of that rinses away unaided. Next comes your filter — cleaned, or swapped when necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the vehicle. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment we arrive.
Lastly, our engineers fire it up. Before our technicians leave, it is tested to confirm it runs properly on new diesel. When it's noticed early, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money upfront. It is worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents as we travel pays.
About Hockley itself
Hockley is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Rea and close to the city centre of Birmingham. Hockley sits at an elevation of around 130 metres, with nearby neighbourhoods including All Saints, Newtown, and Gib Heath. Hockley is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing and its proximity to Birmingham, being only 1 mile away from the city. Hockley is also located approximately 102 miles northwest of London.
AdBlue drains in Hockley, and across West Midlands too
As a residential suburb, Hockley shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Gib Heath, Newtown — right across B postcodes. The whereabouts is clearest from a postcode that starts B18 5.
Central Hockley or a layby near Saint Georges Park: either way it sits, the vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. We drain the car where it sits. Guessing doesn't help near Alfred Bird, on a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Leave it that way and ring. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Hockley or wherever across West Midlands.