AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hogden Bottom: What Now?
Everything turns on one detail: whether your engine has been run after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Wherever the car is — Kingswood, Hogden Bottom — never run a motor that has not been started yet. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor still off. In Hogden Bottom, that is typically drained and cleaned on the spot. Stop the moment you safely can and turn off, if it has been run. It is a bigger job, yet stage one does not change.
Anywhere in Surrey it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the petrol pump around Hogden Bottom: AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Anywhere around Hogden Bottom, then — Texaco, BP, or anywhere else nearby.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it can be. Nothing has drawn it in, so the AdBlue stays only in that tank.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the pump wants clearing. A few jobs: a push into a bay with the attendants helping, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Emptying it there at the petrol pump is fine if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Hogden Bottom
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a container, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and only then checked the cap a second time, after the fact. Just off Chipstead Lane is no different from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. Being reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low in the tank and waits. One night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Your drive is where it is drained, whether around Hogden Bottom or Mugswell. The pumping kit runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Hogden Bottom?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere on Beechen Lane or else heading towards Westminster — under 25 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The injection pump and each injector see it as well on a longer run, once the fuel filter and pipework have had it. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Do this: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn the motor off. Service stations farther on are too far: on the M25, under 3 miles out of Hogden Bottom, take the first junction. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It is a motor you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or somewhere else. On this one, the inlet is just by the diesel inlet — news to you. Anyone, anywhere in Surrey, could make the same.
Meaning? Whatever applies above applies here — run or not — plus one extra step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. Stranded near Kingswood Village Club or outside Kingswood till someone answers, the vehicle remains switched off the whole time.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Hogden Bottom
Occasionally the honest answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A rushed stop by the gates of Kingswood Primary School, or a call to a friend in Mogador: both fit.
Meaning? Spills around the filler don't touch the engine at all. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Do this: behave as if it did, and don't start the 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 Hogden Bottom shares these steps
Each situation has the same opening to the work. Our engineers come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Well House Inn or a side street near St Andrews, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if your engine has been run. Those answers decide the work, and you get the quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush comes after 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. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where your engine hasn't been started, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Starting the car comes last. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running smoothly, and then we go. Permanent damage is very uncommon if it is spotted early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Hogden Bottom itself
Hogden Bottom is a suburban area in Surrey, situated inland at an elevation of 142 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Hogden Bottom lies approximately 16 miles from London and is close to nearby places such as Mugswell and Kingswood Warren. Hogden Bottom has a population of around 846 residents, who live in a setting that is characteristic of the South East region. Hogden Bottom is also near Lower Kingswood, which is another local community.
AdBlue drains across Surrey, Hogden Bottom included
Hogden Bottom is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the places near it too, Kingswood Warren and Lower Kingswood among them, across the KT postcode area. Giving us a KT20 6 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Stopped en route to Smugglers Pit Plantation, or bang in the centre of Hogden Bottom, your vehicle stays where it is — there is no need to move it anywhere. The van drains it in place. Ring and check instead of guessing when you are close to War Memorial [Kingswood & Tadworth], near a boundary, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
Your scenario, summed up
Engine never started: phone, and leave it alone. Started by now? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, across Hogden Bottom and Surrey, on 0333 366 0103.