Maxey: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
One thing counts most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the engine has run afterwards. Not run so far? Then keep it like that, whether your vehicle is — Maxey or Etton. Leave your engine and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Maxey. Already run? Stop once safe, then switch it off. It's a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Anywhere across Cambridgeshire it happened, one of the situations below fits yours.
At the petrol pump in Maxey: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you are stood at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. It might be the The Co-operative, or the JET, or another station in Maxey.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: resist the urge to fire it up only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll the vehicle into a parking space, keep your receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. If it can't be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Maxey
On your dash, a warning had been lit for days. A bottle from the garage, tipped in at the drive — and it was only at the bin that the cap caught a second look. Driveways near Perking Lane see it as much as any other street.
Put simply: if the vehicle has not moved since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: stop any early-morning move by keeping your keys in the house, then ring us. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that's around Maxey or out in Castle End. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road around Maxey with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. High Street, perhaps, or the way to Peterborough — a trip of under 10 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. It travels further with each extra mile driven and every restart.
Stop safely — that is the first step — then turn everything off. Maxey lies under 10 miles from the Great North Road; there, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. It will not have cleared, so there is no sense starting it again to find out. Ring us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just had the car for days. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets are side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Cambridgeshire.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
Do this: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, because settling it early cuts time. Keep the vehicle switched off while the reply comes, even if you're waiting at Stamford or close to Saint Peter.
Maxey: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A slight ammonia-like whiff lingers near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. The gates of John Clare Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's drive out in Market Deeping.
The upshot: your engine isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the outside. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another matter. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by starting the vehicle, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't crank it. Ring with what you saw: we would rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once the engine has been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Maxey has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked once our engineers reach the car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a street by Brian's Tree or the car park at Blue Bell: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. Answers shape the work; the quote follows by phone while nobody has set off yet.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that is why a full flush, after this drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Fresh diesel is put in after the fuel filter is cleaned or changed, and the car is then checked. Where your engine has not run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Finally, we fire it up. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we confirm it's running smoothly, and then we go. Permanent damage is very uncommon when it is noticed soon, and the whole job is done where your car is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many policies include misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Maxey
Maxey is a small village in Cambridgeshire, situated on the riverside in the eastern part of the county. Maxey sits at a low elevation of around 12 metres, near the River Welland and close to the neighbouring villages of Castle End and Lolham. Maxey has a population of approximately 676 people, living in predominantly detached housing. Maxey is located near the city of Peterborough, which is about 7 miles away.
Maxey and Cambridgeshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over PE postcodes, the vans covering Maxey — a village — reach nearby towns as well, Lolham and West Deeping included. The whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode that starts PE6 9.
No towing is needed, whether stopped centrally in Maxey or on a lay-by heading to Christ’s College Pits Reserve, so leave it where it is. Our engineers drain the car where it stands. Ring and check rather than guess if you are by St Andrew, on a boundary, or anywhere tricky to explain.
Your situation, in one line
Where it has not run, ring then keep it that way. Started already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever case, in Maxey and Cambridgeshire, on 0333 366 0103.