AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Horsell Birch, 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 run since it was put in. Not started so far? Then leave the vehicle like that, wherever the car sits — Horsell Birch or Mimbridge. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush plus a drain, done right where the vehicle stands around Horsell Birch. Already run? Stop when you safely can, then turn everything off. It's a bigger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever across Surrey it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Horsell Birch forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the cap you took off wasn't the correct one. Be it BP, Morrisons or anywhere else around Horsell Birch, the situation is the same.
In short: no better spot to be to spot it. Only that tank has AdBlue; no part past it has taken any in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Have the staff to help rolling it into a space, save the bottle, then phone us from there. Stuck beside the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain it in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Horsell Birch
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the garage, emptied in at the drive — and it's just by the bin that the cap caught your eye. It happens on drives just off Tresta Walk as often as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. On the floor of your tank is where AdBlue waits, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
Put your keys indoors tonight — or a person may drive it off first thing — then phone us. In Littlewick or here in Horsell Birch, the drain happens at your drive. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Horsell Birch with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe it was on Horsell Birch, possibly on the way out towards Westminster, under 25 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through the system. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it as well on a bigger run, after your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, and turn your engine off. Service stations farther along are too far: on the M3, under 5 miles out of Horsell Birch, use the first junction. It will not have cleared, so there is no sense starting it again to find out. Phone, saying what distance the car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just driven the vehicle for days. Your own car either does without AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap was just next to the diesel. Anyone, wherever around Surrey, might make the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager first, us second, since settling it beforehand cuts time. Stuck near Goldwater Lodge or outside Woking until someone answers, your car remains turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Horsell Birch?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia whiff lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. A rushed top-up by the gates of Sythwood Primary and Nursery School, or a call to a friend in Whitfield Court: both fit.
The point: the engine is not harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. Starting your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will draw it in.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn the engine. Describe what you saw on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a happier outcome than a run one drained.
What each AdBlue drain in Horsell Birch has in common
The job opens the same way, whichever your situation. Filling station, drive, The Cricketers's car park or a road beside The Salvation Army - Woking — the van comes to the vehicle, and three questions come next: which liquid, which amount, and if it has run. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the job.
Draining your tank comes next, followed by a careful flush — more important with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Then is the filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Where the engine has not been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to confirm it runs smoothly on clean diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is noticed quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. Nothing is paid upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Horsell Birch, for a moment
Horsell Birch is a locality situated on the shores of lakes in Surrey, with Horsell Birch being close to the nearby villages of Littlewick and Horsell. Horsell Birch has a population of around 871 residents, with detached housing being the predominant type in the area. Horsell Birch is located approximately 23 miles from London, with Westminster being the nearest city.
Horsell Birch and Surrey: AdBlue drains across the area
Horsell Birch is a small village, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Horsell and St Johns among them, across the GU postcode area. Giving us a GU21 4 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Parked en route to Tracious Copse, or bang in the heart of Horsell Birch, the vehicle remains put — there's no need to move it anywhere. Our engineers drain the car where it is. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near TS Dianthus or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Keep the car off then ring. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in Horsell Birch or anywhere in Surrey.