AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shoreham: What Now?
Has the engine run since the AdBlue went in? That single point settles almost everything else from here. Anywhere your car is — Sepham Heath, Shoreham — never start an engine that hasn't run yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine both off. Across Shoreham, such a case is generally emptied and cleaned where it stands. Pull over the minute you safely can then switch off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Wherever around Kent it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Shoreham forecourt
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it while you're stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Whether Sainsbury's, Esso or somewhere else around Shoreham, the situation is identical.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Have the staff to help rolling it to a bay, save the receipt, then ring us right there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed away gets cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
Shoreham, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Picked up a container, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then checked the cap again, after the fact. Right off Church Street is not different from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low in that tank and stays. One night parked changes none of that.
Keep your keys indoors tonight — or a person might drive it off first thing — and phone us. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that's around Shoreham or out in Timberden Bottom. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Shoreham?
Topped up, pulled away, and before long the engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or flashing up your dash. Somewhere along Filston Lane or on the road to London — under 25 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance decides how far it goes: filter and lines first, then the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, carries it on.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then turn your motor off. On the M25, under a mile from Shoreham, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, and say how far your car was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
You've just driven the car a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is just next to your diesel cap — news to you. Anywhere you are in Kent, any motorist could slip up.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we turn up than after. Stranded by Shoreham Aircraft Museum or outside Shoreham (Kent) until someone replies, your car stays turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Shoreham?
Truthfully, the only answer might be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. A rushed stop by the gates of Shoreham Village School, or a call to a friend in Otford: both fit.
Put simply: a spill near your filler leaves your engine no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Next: assume it went in, and keep your engine off. Checking a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so phone then describe to us what you saw.
The common ground in every Shoreham AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Anywhere the car is — The Kings Arms's car park, a street beside Shoreham Village Hall, a driveway, a forecourt — the van gets there and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, and whether your motor has been run. Your price comes over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers set the job.
Then your tank is cleared and your 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, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally are your filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of the vehicle. Never started? Then roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. Our technicians check it runs correctly on new diesel before leaving. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's caught quickly, permanent damage is very rare. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Shoreham, briefly
Shoreham is a small village in Kent, situated on the banks of the River Darent at an elevation of around 54 metres. Shoreham lies within the South East region of England, approximately 17 miles from London, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Timberden Bottom and Badgers Mount. Shoreham has a population of around 572 people and predominantly consists of semi-detached housing. Shoreham's riverside setting provides a unique character to the village.
AdBlue drains around Shoreham, and across Kent too
As a village, Shoreham has the same vans as the nearby towns — Badgers Mount, Twitton — all the way across TN postcodes. Fastest of all: a TN14 7 postcode for your location.
Stopped heading to Robins Wood, or right in the heart of Shoreham, the car stays put — there is no need to move it at all. Where it stands, that is where it gets cleared. Phone and ask rather than guess when you are by St Peter & St Paul, on a boundary, or anywhere awkward to pin down.
Your situation, summed up
Motor never started: ring, and leave it alone. Started by now? Stop, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, in Shoreham and Kent, on 0333 366 0103.