AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ifield Green: What Now?
One fact counts most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if your motor has run afterwards. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is around Ifield Green itself or out in West Green. Usually that means draining and properly flushing it on the spot in Ifield Green — and so keep your ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has been run. Stage one remains unchanged, even if the work is bigger.
Match your case to one of the ones below, wherever in West Sussex you are.
Ifield Green forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere around Ifield Green, then — Sainsbury's, another forecourt nearby, or anywhere else nearby.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it can be. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Do this: stay out of the car, however much the pump wants clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once the vehicle is in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — and keep the receipt. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Ifield Green, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had shown for days. A bottle bought at the shop, emptied in at the driveway — and it's just by the bin that the cap caught a second look. Houses just off Burlands get hit as much as everywhere else.
Put simply: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Langley Green or Ifield Green: wherever your drive is, that's where it is drained. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in Ifield Green with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way after the top-up. Stafford Road, perhaps, or the route towards Brighton and Hove — a run of under 25 miles.
The point: your system has drawn AdBlue through by now. It's been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Do this: stop somewhere safe, then switch the motor off. On the M23, under 3 miles from Ifield Green, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Let us hear the distance driven as you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It is 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 motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever in West Sussex, could do the same.
Meaning? Whichever case above counts here — run or not — and one extra stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. Leave the car off while the reply comes, whether you are waiting outside Ifield or near Apple Tree Centre.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Ifield Green?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. Which cap was taken off, you can't say; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. A rushed stop by the gates of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Primary School, or a call to a friend in County Oak: either fit.
In short: spillage near the filler does the motor no harm. In your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Assume it went in, and don't turn 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.
Ifield Green: what every AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the case, one opening is used. Anywhere your vehicle is — Dr Samuel Johnson's car park, a road beside Shree Swaminarayan Temple, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the amount, and if the motor has been run. The price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those replies shape the job.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, since crystals form and certain metals corrode, and none of that washes out unaided. Fresh diesel is put in once the filter has been flushed or changed, and your car is finally checked. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment we turn up.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Before our engineers head off, it is checked to confirm it runs correctly on fresh diesel. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's caught early, permanent damage is very unusual. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Ifield Green, for a moment
Ifield Green is a locality in West Sussex, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 64 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Ifield Green lies near the towns of Crawley and Horley, and is close to the neighbouring areas of Langley Green, Manor Royal, and Ifield. Ifield Green is located approximately 26 miles from London and 21 miles from Brighton and Hove, making it a commuter base for those working in the larger cities. Ifield Green has a population of around 1632 residents.
Ifield Green and West Sussex: AdBlue drains across the area
As a small village, Ifield Green shares its vans with the surrounding places — Ifield, Manor Royal — all the way through RH postcodes. A postcode starting RH11 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, be it stopped centrally in Ifield Green or in a lay-by en route to Willoughby Fields, so leave it put. Our engineers drain the car where it sits. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Sri Guru Singh Sabha Crawley or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave the car that way then ring. Run already: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Ifield Green or wherever in West Sussex.