What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Martlesham
Has the motor run since the AdBlue went in? That one point settles nearly everything else from here. Out in Kesgrave or right around Martlesham, an unstarted engine should remain unrun. Leave the engine and your ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Martlesham. Already run? Stop when you safely can, then turn it off. A larger job, then, but the identical opening step.
Anywhere across Suffolk it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Martlesham forecourt
Just at this point, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. Maybe you're at the Tesco, perhaps at the BP, perhaps somewhere else around Martlesham.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. Still in that tank, and nothing drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so do not get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking spot, keep your receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Can't move the car beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt safe, so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Martlesham drive?
Days had passed with the dash light on. A bottle from the shop, emptied in at the drive — and it was only at the recycling that the cap got a second look. It takes place on drives just off Black Tiles Lane as frequently as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of that tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, since it won't mix with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Keep your keys indoors overnight — otherwise a person may drive it away first thing — then call us. Your driveway is where it is emptied, be it in Martlesham or Martlesham Heath. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Martlesham?
A mile or two after topping up, the motor began playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Somewhere along Main Road or heading towards Colchester — under 25 miles away.
The upshot: the system has pulled AdBlue through already. Distance sets how far it gets: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. Every restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
Next: find a safe spot, pull in, then switch your motor off. Service stations further on can wait: on the M11, under 50 miles out of Martlesham, use the first junction. It will not have cleared, and so there's no point restarting to check. Call, saying how far your vehicle went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have just driven this car for days. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Throughout Suffolk, nobody is immune.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts here — run or not — and one extra step. Plenty of rental and fleet agreements require the owner's sign-off for repairs.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our technicians turn up than after. Keep the vehicle switched off as the answer comes, even if you are parked at Woodbridge or close to Plymouth Brethern Church.
Martlesham: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. What cap came off, you can't say; but the bottle weighs less than expected, and ammonia hangs by the filler. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Waldringfield Heath, or rushing by Martlesham Primary Academy at the school run.
Put simply: a spill near your filler does your motor unharmed. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in that tank, starting your car will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Your move: behave as if it did, and don't start your motor. Ring with what you saw: we would rather confirm a clean tank than empty one after your engine has been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Martlesham has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Three questions come when our engineers reach your car — at a forecourt, a drive, a road beside Martlesham Community Hall (Richards Room/Parish Council) or the car park outside The Black Tiles: the fluid, the amount, and if the motor has run. Those replies decide this work, and you get our price on the phone, before anybody heads out.
Then your tank is emptied and the system purged thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Fresh diesel is put in once your filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is then checked. Where the engine hasn't been started, expect about half an hour on site, in most jobs.
Starting it comes last. Our technicians confirm it runs properly on new diesel before we go. If it's noticed quickly, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Payment is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover is built into many policies.
About Martlesham itself
Martlesham is a small village in Suffolk, situated inland at an elevation of 37 metres, and is located near the larger settlement of Martlesham Heath. Martlesham has a population of around 923 people, predominantly living in detached houses, and is surrounded by other nearby villages such as Little Bealings and Maidensgrave. Martlesham is also within commuting distance of major cities, including Colchester, which is approximately 20 miles away, and London, which is around 71 miles to the southwest.
Martlesham and Suffolk: AdBlue drains across the area
Little Bealings and Maidensgrave get the identical teams as Martlesham, a rural village, plus other places throughout IP postcodes. Telling us your IP12 4 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Parked en route to Portal Woods, or right in the centre of Martlesham, the vehicle stays where it is — there is no need to move it anywhere. Our van empties it in place. Awkward to pin down? By Martlesham Community Hall or a county line? Checking beats guessing, and so ring.
In one line: your scenario
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off then phone. Run by now? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever case, across Martlesham and Suffolk, on 0333 366 0103.