AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Southwick, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it got in. Wherever the vehicle is — Worlds End, Southwick — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Usually that means emptying and properly flushing it on the spot around Southwick — so keep the key and engine off and ring 0333 366 0103. Where the motor has been run, stop safely straight away, then switch it off. Step one remains unchanged, even though the work is bigger.
Further down: the cases our technicians see, anywhere around Hampshire. Choose the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Southwick forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the right one. Maybe you're at the Tesco, maybe at the BP, maybe somewhere else around Southwick.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it can be. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Next: resist the temptation to start it only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking space, keep your receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is fine when it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Southwick
Days had gone by with the dash light on. A bottle from the shop, emptied in on the driveway — and it was only at the bin that the cap got a second look. Driveways near Castle Road see it as much as any other street.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle hasn't moved since, it's second to the forecourt case. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Your move: the keys indoors, so nobody takes your car off at breakfast. Then, ring. Your drive is where it gets emptied, whether around Southwick or Walton Heath. Our equipment runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Southwick?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. Somewhere along Norton Road or heading to Portsmouth — under 10 miles away.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue in already. Through the filter, along the pipework, and — the further the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the first step — then turn it off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M27, under 3 miles from Southwick. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, saying what distance the car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
A week back, the car was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. Any driver, wherever across Hampshire, might do the same.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, and those depend on whether it has run. The owner frequently needs to approve any work, under many rental and company agreements.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Hanging on for a reply in the car park outside Portchester, or beside St James Without-the-Priory Gate? Leave the engine off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Southwick?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A faint ammonia-like smell lingers near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Paulsgrove, or rushing outside The Victory Primary School at the school run.
The upshot: the engine is not harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the outside. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the car will suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, then leave the engine off. Ring with what you saw: we'd sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one once the motor has run.
Southwick: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Filling station, driveway, Red Lion's car park or a road beside Southwick Priory (rems) — our van reaches the car, and three questions follow: what liquid, what quantity, and whether it ran. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear our price, and those answers decide the job too.
Then your tank is cleared and the fuel system rinsed 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 does not rinse out on its own. Then comes the fuel filter — cleaned, or replaced where needed — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Not started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. Before we go, it's tested to make sure it runs correctly on fresh diesel. If it's caught early, the car very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Payment comes on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover is built into many policies.
About Southwick
Southwick is a small coastal village in Hampshire, situated near the city of Portsmouth and overlooking the Solent Strait. Southwick sits at a relatively low elevation of 27 metres, with its semi-detached housing stock reflecting the area's residential character. Southwick is close to nearby places such as Walton Heath, Boarhunt, and Hipley, and is within commuting distance of major cities like Portsmouth. Southwick has a population of around 703 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across Hampshire, Southwick included
Boarhunt and Hipley have the same teams as Southwick, a coastal village, along with other towns throughout PO postcodes. Quickest of all: a PO17 6 postcode to show where you stand.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to Friar's Coppice or in a car park in the middle of Southwick, it doesn't need to move. We drain the car where it stands. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Royal Military Police Museum or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
If it has not run, ring and keep it off. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Hampshire and in Southwick — once you pull over, switch off then ring, if it's run.