AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hollies Common, and What to Do Next
One fact counts most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if your engine has run since. Anywhere the car is — Plardiwick, Hollies Common — don't start a motor that hasn't run yet. Usually that means draining and thoroughly rinsing it right there in Hollies Common — and so leave the key and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already run? Stop when safe, then switch it off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the situations we meet, anywhere around Staffordshire. Choose yours.
Hollies Common forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just now, nozzle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the pump. Possibly you're at the BP, perhaps at the another forecourt nearby, maybe somewhere else in Hollies Common.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it gets. No pump has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue stays only inside that tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you push the car into a parking spot, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is possible when it cannot be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Hollies Common with AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the driveway — and it's only by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Tulip Walk are hit as much as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's second to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then ring us. The Hollies or Hollies Common: whichever your driveway is, that's where it is cleared. Night-time empties outside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Hollies Common?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Anywhere on Knightley Road or on the road to Wolverhampton — under 25 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. Distance decides how deep it goes: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next step — then switch it off. Leave at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M6, under 5 miles from Hollies Common. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Let us hear the mileage driven as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its inlet is right next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Any driver, anywhere across Staffordshire, could do it.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which turn on whether it has run. Plenty of rental and company agreements require the owner's approval before work.
Sorting it before we turn up is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stuck by St Lawrence's Church or at Stafford till someone answers, the car remains switched off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Hollies Common?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. What cap was taken off, you can't recall; but the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by your filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Gnosall St Lawrence Coe Primary Academy, or on a friend's drive in Coton.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet never reach the engine at all. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in that tank will be sucked in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it was put in, and don't start the engine. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Hollies Common AdBlue drain
Every situation has the same start to the work. Filling station, drive, The Horns's car park or a street by Gnosall Methodist Church — the van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: what fluid, which amount, and whether it ran. Those answers decide this work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals build up and some metals corrode, and none of that washes away unaided. Next comes the filter — flushed, or replaced where needed — then clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Where your engine has not been started, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Firing it up comes last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. The whole job is done where your car is, and if it's spotted early, permanent damage is very unusual. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Hollies Common
Hollies Common is a locality in Staffordshire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 102 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Hollies Common lies near several other small settlements, including The Hollies, Gnosall, and Gnosall Heath, and is approximately 15 miles from Wolverhampton. Hollies Common has a population of around 596 residents, who enjoy a relatively rural setting. Hollies Common is also within commuting distance of larger cities, being around 126 miles from London.
AdBlue drains around Hollies Common, and across Staffordshire too
Gnosall and Gnosall Heath get the identical vans as Hollies Common, a small village, along with further places throughout ST postcodes. Telling us your ST20 0 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Stopped heading to Middle Covert, or right in the heart of Hollies Common, the vehicle stays put — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Wherever it stands, that is where it is emptied. Phone and ask rather than guess if you are close to Gnosall Memorial Village Hall, near a boundary, or somewhere awkward to explain.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then ring. Run already: stop, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Hollies Common or anywhere across Staffordshire.