What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Steyning
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has been run since it went in. Over in Castle Town or right around Steyning, an unstarted engine should remain that way. Usually that is emptying and properly rinsing it on the spot in Steyning — and so keep the ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. It is a larger job, though step one doesn't change.
Further down: the situations we meet, wherever across West Sussex. Pick the one that fits.
At the pump in Steyning: AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the pump, holding the bottle, you spot the filler you opened was not the correct one. It could be the BP, or the Shell, or another forecourt in Steyning.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Only the tank holds AdBlue; not one component beyond it has taken it in.
What to do: do not get back in and start the car to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt after the vehicle sits in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — and save the receipt. Draining it there at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Steyning
On the dash, a reminder had been lit for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Homes just off High Street get caught out as much as anywhere else.
In short: if the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Put the keys indoors tonight — or someone may drive it off at breakfast — and call us. Your drive is where it is drained, be it around Steyning or Bramber. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Steyning: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and before long the engine was turning roughly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. Perhaps it was on Charlton Street, perhaps on the way out towards Brighton and Hove, under 10 miles away.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue through already. Through your filter, along the pipework, and — the further the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more starts: further it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe then switch off. Steyning lies under 15 miles from the M23; on it, come off at the first junction rather than pushing on to the services. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Ring us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across West Sussex, nobody is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Settling it before the van turn up is faster, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you are stranded in the car park outside Lancing, or by Penfold Church Hall, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Steyning: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. Lighter, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Steyning CofE Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Coombes.
Put simply: a spill round the filler leaves the engine unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, and keep the motor off. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain in Steyning shares these stages
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Forecourt, drive, Chequer Inn's car park or a street by Steyning Museum — our van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: what liquid, what quantity, and if it ran. On the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told the price, and those replies decide the job too.
Emptying your tank comes first, then a full flush — more important with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go on their own, no matter how long it sits. Clean diesel goes in after the filter is flushed or replaced, and the car is finally tested. Where your motor has not been started, allow about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
We fire it up last. Our engineers confirm it runs smoothly on new diesel before we go. The entire job is done where your car is, and when it's caught soon, lasting damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy while you wait pays.
About Steyning
Steyning is a town situated on the River Adur in West Sussex, with a population of around 6580 people. Steyning sits at an elevation of 21 metres, close to the South Downs National Park and near the towns of Bramber and Upper Beeding. Steyning has a mix of old and new housing, with detached homes being the predominant type, and is located near the city of Brighton and Hove, about 9 miles away. Steyning is also within commuting distance of London, at around 43 miles from the capital.
AdBlue drains around Steyning, and across West Sussex too
Upper Beeding and Botolphs have the identical teams as Steyning, a riverside town, plus further places throughout BN postcodes. Quickest of all: a BN44 3 postcode to show your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Memorial Playing Fields or in a car park in the middle of Steyning, it doesn't need to move. Draining happens on the spot. Phone and check rather than guess when you're close to Steyning Methodist Church, near a boundary, or somewhere tricky to explain.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Keep the vehicle that way and phone. Run already: stop, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Steyning or anywhere in West Sussex.