AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Sidemoor, and What to Do Next
Has your engine run since the AdBlue went in? That one question decides almost everything about what comes next. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is in Sidemoor itself or out in Alfreds Well. Usually this is emptying and properly purging it right there in Sidemoor — and so keep the ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Further down: the cases our technicians meet, wherever in Worcestershire. Choose yours.
On a Sidemoor forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it as you're stood at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. It might be the BP, or the Esso, or another station around Sidemoor.
Put simply: no better place to be to discover it. Still inside that tank, and no fuel pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up only to move away from the pump. Three jobs: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed away gets cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
Sidemoor, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had been lit for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it's only by the recycling that the cap got your eye. Homes just off York Road are caught out as much as anywhere else.
Meaning? As long as the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's second to the pump case. At the floor of your tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by changes no difference.
Keep the keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone may take it away at breakfast — then phone us. Your drive is where it gets emptied, be it in Sidemoor or Perryfields. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road around Sidemoor 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. Broad Street, perhaps, or the way towards Birmingham — a trip of under 15 miles.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue through by now. It's been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: pull up anywhere safe, then turn the motor off. Services farther along can wait: from the M5, under a mile out of Sidemoor, take the next junction. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week back, the car was unknown to you. Unknown to you, the two inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Worcestershire.
In short: one extra step on top of the situations above, which turn on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we get there than after. If you're stuck in the car park at Bromsgrove, or by Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Sidemoor?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can honestly say. What cap was taken off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia lingers by your filler. The gates of Meadows First School in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's driveway out in Worms Ash.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to your motor. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Take it that it got in, and never start the key. Tell us what you saw on the phone. A clear tank looked at is a better outcome than a run one emptied.
What every AdBlue drain around Sidemoor has in common
Whatever the situation, one opening is used. Three things are asked once our technicians arrive — at a forecourt, a driveway, a street by New Song Community Church or the car park outside The York Arms: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has run. Answers shape the work; the price comes on the call whilst nobody has set off yet.
Then your tank is drained and the fuel system purged thoroughly, which matters 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. Then is your filter — flushed, or replaced when needed — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site covers most jobs.
The last step is firing it up. Our check that it runs properly on clean diesel comes before our technicians go. Lasting damage is very unusual when it's spotted early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Nothing is paid upfront, payment is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover comes built into many policies.
About Sidemoor, briefly
Sidemoor is a suburban area in Worcestershire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of around 92 metres. Sidemoor lies approximately 11 miles south of Birmingham and 100 miles northwest of London, with nearby places including Perryfields and Bromsgrove. Sidemoor has a population of around 6485 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Sidemoor is part of the wider West Midlands region, with the nearby town of Red Cross also being a local point of interest.
Sidemoor and Worcestershire: AdBlue drains across the area
Bromsgrove and Red Cross get the identical teams as Sidemoor, a residential suburb, along with further towns over B postcodes. Telling us a B61 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Stopped heading to Sanders Park, or right in the centre of Sidemoor, the vehicle remains put — there is no need to shift it at all. Wherever it sits, that is where it gets cleared. Assuming doesn't help near Victoria Ground, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to pin down; ring and ask.
Your situation, in one line
Where it hasn't started, ring then keep it off. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Worcestershire and within Sidemoor — after you pull over, turn off then ring, if it's run.