Hodgehill: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
One thing counts most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your motor has run since. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Hodgehill itself or out in Glebe Farm. Leave the motor and your ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Hodgehill. When the engine has run, pull in safely first, then turn the vehicle off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases our engineers see, wherever across West Midlands. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Hodgehill forecourt
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. It could be the BP, or the Shell, or a different station around Hodgehill.
In short: no better place to be to spot it. Still inside the tank, and nothing pulled through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Freeing the pump is no reason to start it — and so don't get back in. Three things: a shove into a bay with the attendants assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. Stuck beside the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment keeps a live forecourt safe, and so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
Hodgehill, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Bought a bottle, tipped it in at home, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, after the fact. Homes just off Ventnor Avenue get caught out as much as anywhere else.
The point: no driving since makes this almost as good to finding it at the pump. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Keep the keys in the house tonight — or a person may drive it off at breakfast — then phone us. Your driveway is where it is drained, whether in Hodgehill or Buckland End. Late-night clears outside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Hodgehill?
Topped up, pulled away, and before long the engine was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Somewhere on Sandhurst Avenue or on the road towards Birmingham — under 5 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
Next: find a safe place, stop, and turn your engine off. Service stations further along can wait: from the M6, under a mile out of Hodgehill, use the next junction. It won't have cleared, so there's no point restarting to find out. Ring us and say how far you went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around West Midlands.
The point: just as above, divided by whether it ran, only with one added stage. Plenty of rental and fleet contracts need the owner's sign-off for work.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Keep the vehicle switched off as the reply arrives, even if you're parked outside Stechford or close to Hodge Hill United Reform Church.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Hodgehill?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". Which cap came off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Colebourne Primary School, or a call to a friend in Colehall: both fits.
In short: a spill round your filler leaves the motor unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Your move: behave as though it got in, and never start your engine. Ring and give the details: we would rather find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one once the engine has run.
Hodgehill: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked when we reach your car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a street by St Wilfrid's or the car park outside Hunters Moon: the liquid, the amount, and if it has been started. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told our price, and those replies decide the work too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's essential, because deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and none of that washes away unaided. Clean diesel is put in after your filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is then checked. Never started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Our engineers start the engine at the end. Before our technicians go, it is tested to be sure it runs correctly on new diesel. If it's caught early, the car very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job happens where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents as you wait pays.
About Hodgehill itself
Hodgehill is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Rea and close to the city of Birmingham. Hodgehill has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are predominant, and the area is relatively flat, with an average elevation of 111 metres. Hodgehill is located near several other suburban areas, including Buckland End, Stechford, and Bromford, and is about 4 miles from Birmingham city centre. Hodgehill is also within commuting distance of London, which is approximately 99 miles to the southeast.
Hodgehill and West Midlands: AdBlue drains across the area
Stechford and Bromford get the same teams as Hodgehill, a residential suburb, along with further towns over B postcodes. A postcode starting B36 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Hodgehill or a lay-by towards Hodge Hill Common: wherever it sits, your car doesn't need to shift an inch for the drain. The van empties it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Star Gazer (Washwood Heath Interchange) or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, summed up
If it hasn't started, phone and keep it off. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Hodgehill and anywhere in West Midlands on 0333 366 0103.