AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shenfield, and What to Do Next
All of that hinges on a single detail: if the engine has started after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Wherever your vehicle is — Pilgrims Hatch, Shenfield — don't start a motor that has not run yet. Leave the motor and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Shenfield. Stop the minute you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Below: the cases our technicians see, wherever in Essex. Choose the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Shenfield forecourt
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 could be the BP, or perhaps the Esso, or a different forecourt around Shenfield.
The point: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Next: resist the temptation to start it only to free up the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you push the car into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Stuck beside the pump? Explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt safe, so it can be drained where it is.
Shenfield, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the garage, emptied in at the driveway — and it was just at the recycling that the cap got a second look. It occurs on driveways just off Friar's Avenue as often as anywhere.
Put simply: if the car has not been driven since, it's nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. Being unable to mix, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and waits. One night parked alters nothing.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Shenfield or out in Hutton. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Shenfield?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Chelmsford, under 10 miles away, or simply down Friars Avenue.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. It's been through your filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: stop anywhere safe, then switch your engine off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M25, under 5 miles from Shenfield. It will not have cleared, and so there's no sense restarting to find out. Ring us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have just driven the car a week. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so no one warned you the AdBlue inlet sits just next to your diesel. Across Essex, no one is immune.
In short: an extra stage on top of the cases above, and those turn on whether it's run. Work on the vehicle frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under hire or company terms.
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. Waiting for an answer at the car park at the nearest station, or beside Shenfield Library? Keep your car off meanwhile.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Shenfield
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; no clear memory of which cap. Sound familiar? Maybe at a friend's driveway in Ingrave, or rushing outside Shenfield St. Mary's Church of England Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no damage to the engine. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. Any AdBlue in the tank will be sucked in by starting your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it went in, then leave the engine off. Call us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain in Shenfield has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Wherever your vehicle is — The Hutton Junction's car park, a street by Friends Meeting House, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and if your motor has been run. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies set the work.
Emptying the tank comes next, then a full flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion won't clear on their own, however long you wait. Last come your filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of the vehicle. If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
The last step is firing it up. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it is running properly, and then we go. The entire job is done where your car is, and when it is noticed soon, lasting damage is very rare. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Shenfield
Shenfield is a suburban area in Essex, situated approximately 21 miles east of London and 10 miles northwest of Chelmsford. Shenfield sits at an elevation of around 80 metres, in a gently undulating landscape of inland Essex. Shenfield has a mix of housing types, but is predominantly characterised by detached homes, and is close to nearby places such as Hutton, Hutton Mount, and Brentwood.
AdBlue drains about Shenfield and across Essex
Hutton Mount and Brentwood get the identical teams as Shenfield, a residential suburb, plus other towns over CM postcodes. Telling us a CM15 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Parked en route to Shenfield Cricket Club, or right in the centre of Shenfield, the vehicle stays where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. Our engineers drain the car where it stands. Awkward to pin down? Close to Shenfield Parish Hall or a county line? Checking beats assuming, so ring.
Your situation, summed up
If it hasn't run, ring then leave it off. Run already: pull over, switch down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Shenfield or wherever across Essex.