AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Southfields, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the engine has run afterwards. Anywhere your car is — Langdon Hills, Southfields — never run an engine that has not been started yet. Normally that is emptying and properly purging it on the spot in Southfields — so keep the key and engine off and ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Compare your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere across Essex you happen to be.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Southfields forecourt
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you realise the cap you took off wasn't the right one. Perhaps you're at the Total, perhaps at the Tesco, possibly somewhere else around Southfields.
In short: there is no better spot exists to discover it. Just the tank has AdBlue; not one component beyond it has taken any in.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to start it — so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you push the car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the petrol pump is possible when it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Southfields with AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had been lit for days. A bottle bought at the garage, emptied in at the drive — and it's just at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Driveways close to Hornsby Way see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your car hasn't moved since, it is second to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and stays put, however long the night.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Our technicians drain the vehicle on your drive, whether that is in Southfields or out in Great Berry. The pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Southfields: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere along Fenton Way or heading to Chelmsford — under 15 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the further the mileage — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. More driving, more starts: further it goes.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so then switch off. Southfields lies under 5 miles from the M25; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. About what distance did it go? Say so as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the car barely a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. Anywhere you are in Essex, every driver could slip up.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts here — run or not — and one extra step. The owner frequently has to approve the work, under plenty of rental and company agreements.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. Keep the car switched off while the answer comes, even if you are waiting at Laindon or close to Clock.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, in Southfields
Now and then, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. A slight ammonia smell hangs around the filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. A hurried top-up by the gates of Merrylands Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Lee Chapel North: either fits.
Meaning? Spills outside the inlet don't reach the engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, starting the vehicle would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not crank it. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain in Southfields has in common
Each case has the same start to the work. Our technicians come to the car, whether it's on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Hungry Horse or a side street close to Henry Ford, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has been run. Replies set the work; the quote follows by phone whilst nobody has set off yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out unaided; that's why the flush, after the drain, matters much more here than with petrol. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Never started? In that case about half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Finally, our engineers start the car. Before our engineers head off, it's tested to confirm it runs correctly on clean diesel. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it is caught early, long-term damage is very uncommon. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth remembering: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait pays.
About Southfields, for a moment
Southfields is a suburban area in Essex, situated approximately 23 miles from London and 11 miles from Chelmsford. Southfields has a relatively low elevation of 39 metres and is characterised by terraced housing. Southfields is located near other residential areas, including Great Berry, Laindon, and Steeple View, and has a population of around 2384 residents.
AdBlue drains about Southfields and across Essex
Being a residential suburb, Southfields has the same vans as the surrounding places — Steeple View, Laindon — right across SS postcodes. Telling us your SS15 6 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No towing is required, whether parked centrally in Southfields or in a lay-by heading to Rowanhall Open Space, so keep it put. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it stands. Assuming doesn't help beside Laindon Library, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; ring and ask.
In one line: your scenario
Where it has not run, ring then leave it off. Run already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever case, in Southfields and Essex, on 0333 366 0103.