AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Moseley, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether your motor has run since. Anywhere the vehicle is — Cannon Hill, Moseley — don't run an engine that has not been started yet. Keep nothing on, call 0333 366 0103, then count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where your vehicle stands around Moseley. Stop the minute it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. A larger job, then, but the same opening step.
Below: the situations our technicians see, wherever in West Midlands. Choose yours.
At the pump around Moseley: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the Pace, or perhaps the Esso, or another forecourt in Moseley.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Nothing has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue sits only inside that tank.
Your move: stay out of the car, even if the pump wants clearing. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking spot, keep the receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt sensible, and so we can drain the vehicle in place.
At home in Moseley with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. It takes place on drives just off Paton Grove as regularly as anywhere.
In short: if your car hasn't been driven since, it's almost equal to finding out at the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: the keys indoors, and so nobody drives the vehicle anywhere first thing. Then, ring. We drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that is around Moseley or out in Wake Green. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road around Moseley with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Possibly it was on Cotton Lane, perhaps on the way out towards Birmingham, under 3 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through your fuel system. Past your filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Every restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Moseley lies under 5 miles from the Aston Expressway; there, come off at the first junction rather than pushing on to the services. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Tell us know the mileage covered as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
A week back, it was unknown to you. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was right beside the diesel. Anywhere you happen to be in West Midlands, any driver can be caught.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts too — run or unrun — and one extra stage. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Sorting it before the van turn up is quicker, and so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Leave it switched off as the reply arrives, whether you are waiting outside Moseley Village or close to Calvary Church of God in Christ.
Moseley: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think so. Which cap was taken off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Moseley Church of England Primary School in a rush, say, or someone's driveway out in Showell Green.
The upshot: your engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue spilled on the filler. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Do this: act as though it did, and never start your motor. Checking a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it has been run — so ring then describe to us what you noticed.
What every AdBlue drain in Moseley has in common
Each case has the same start to the work. Three questions are asked when our technicians arrive — on a forecourt, a driveway, a road beside Cambridge Road Methodist Church or the car park outside The Station: the fluid, the amount, and whether it has run. Your price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies shape the work.
Then your tank is emptied and the fuel 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 doesn't rinse out on its own. Last come your filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. If the motor has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our check that it runs correctly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians go. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and when it is caught early, permanent damage is very uncommon. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Moseley, for a moment
Moseley is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Rea and approximately 2.7 miles south of Birmingham city centre. Moseley sits at an elevation of around 170 metres, with nearby neighbourhoods including Wake Green, Kings Heath, and Moor Green. Moseley has a population of around 6680 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Moseley is also located near the edge of the larger Birmingham urban area, about 98.8 miles northwest of London.
Moseley and West Midlands: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout B postcodes, the vans serving Moseley — a residential suburb — reach nearby places as well, Kings Heath and Moor Green included. Your location is quickest from a postcode that starts B13 9.
Stopped heading to Queensbridge (Back field), or bang in the heart of Moseley, the car stays put — there is no need to move it at all. Draining is done on the spot. Assuming doesn't help beside Moseley Tennis Club, close to a county line or somewhere hard to describe; phone and check.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Moseley and anywhere across West Midlands on 0333 366 0103.