AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Sedlescombe, and What to Do Next
One thing matters above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has been started since. Out in Kent Street or right in Sedlescombe, an unstarted engine should stay unrun. Call 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine both off. In Sedlescombe, such a case is generally drained and flushed on the spot. Where your motor has been run, pull in somewhere safe first, then switch it off. Stage one stays unchanged, even if the job is bigger.
Wherever around East Sussex it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
Sedlescombe forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Maybe you're at the Gulf, perhaps at the Esso, perhaps somewhere else in Sedlescombe.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it can be. Still in your tank, and no fuel pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to move away from the petrol pump. Get the staff to lend a hand rolling it to a space, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. Draining it right at the petrol pump is fine when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Sedlescombe drive?
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the shop, tipped in on the driveway — and it was only at the bin that the cap caught a second look. Homes just off The Green get hit as often as anywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: stop an early-morning drive by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. Balcombe Green or Sedlescombe: whichever your drive sits, that's where it gets cleared. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Sedlescombe: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two after topping up, your engine started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on the dash. Maybe driving for Brighton and Hove, under 50 miles away, or simply along Brede Lane.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more starts: deeper it travels.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Services farther along can wait: on the M20, under 25 miles out of Sedlescombe, take the next junction. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call us and say how far you drove.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around East Sussex.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Any work on the car often requires the owner's go-ahead under rental or company terms.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. If you are stranded in the car park at Battle, or by Sedlescombe Village Hall, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Sedlescombe?
Now and then, "I think so" is all anyone can honestly say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Sedlescombe Church of England Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's driveway over in Swailes Green.
Meaning? Drips around the filler don't touch the engine at all. Inside your diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not fire it up. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue is better than emptying one after it has been run — so ring then tell us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Sedlescombe has in common
The job begins the same way, whichever your case. Filling station, drive, The Queen's Head Inn's car park or a street beside Chapel-on-the-Hill — our van reaches your vehicle, and three questions follow: what fluid, what amount, and whether it ran. Replies set the work; the price comes by phone while no one has left yet.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals build up and some metals are attacked, and neither washes away unaided. Fresh diesel goes in after your filter has been flushed or changed, and your car is finally checked. If the engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes last. Before our engineers leave, it is tested to be sure it runs properly on clean diesel. Permanent damage is very uncommon when it is noticed early, and the entire job is done where the car is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth knowing: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Sedlescombe, for a moment
Sedlescombe is a small village in East Sussex, situated on the banks of a river at an elevation of around 23 metres. Sedlescombe lies near the towns of Battle and Hastings, and is close to the Pestalozzi International Village and the settlement of Whatlington. Sedlescombe has a population of approximately 640 people, predominantly living in detached houses. Sedlescombe is located within commuting distance of Brighton and Hove, and is about 49 miles from London.
AdBlue drains across East Sussex, Sedlescombe included
Pestalozzi International Village and Whatlington have the identical vans as Sedlescombe, a village, plus other places over TN postcodes. A postcode starting TN33 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Parked heading to Catt's Shaw, or right in the centre of Sedlescombe, your car stays put — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Our technicians drain the car where it stands. Awkward to explain? Close to St John the Baptist or a county line? Asking beats guessing, so ring.
In one line: your scenario
If it hasn't started, ring then leave it that way. Started already? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever case, in Sedlescombe and East Sussex, on 0333 366 0103.