AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Takeley: What Now?
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue was put in? This single question decides almost everything else from here. Not started yet? Then leave the car like that, whether the vehicle is — Takeley or Takeley Street. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush after a drain, carried out right where your vehicle sits around Takeley. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Anywhere in Essex it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
Takeley forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the filler you took off was not the right one. It could be the BP, or the Esso, or a different forecourt in Takeley.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. Just your tank holds AdBlue; not one part past it has drawn any in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once your car sits in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — then keep the receipt. Draining it right at the petrol pump is possible when it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Takeley drive?
On your dash, a reminder had been lit all week. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Houses just off Dunmow Road are hit as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and stays. One night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Out in Brewers End or here around Takeley, the drain happens at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road around Takeley with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere along Parsonage Road or on the road towards Chelmsford — under 15 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Through the filter, through the lines, and — the more the distance — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. It travels further with each mile covered and every restart.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then turn the engine off. On the M11, under 3 miles from Takeley, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to check. Phone, and say how far the vehicle went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have only driven this car a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, anywhere across Essex, could make the same.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, and those depend on if it's run. Many rental and fleet contracts require the owner's approval before work.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us next, since settling it beforehand saves time. Stranded near Takeley War Memorial or at Stansted Airport until someone answers, the car stays switched off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Takeley?
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; no clear recollection of the cap. Look familiar? The gates of Roseacres Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway over in Little Canfield.
Meaning? Drips outside the inlet don't reach your engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Firing up the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't start the car. Checking a tank that proves clean beats draining one once it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
Takeley: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation has the same opening to the work. Forecourt, driveway, The Four Ashes's car park or a road beside Silver Jubilee Hall — our van reaches the car, and three answers follow: what liquid, what amount, and whether it has run. Answers set the work; the price comes by phone whilst no one has set off yet.
Then your tank is cleared and your system flushed 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. Last come your filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of the vehicle. If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The last step is firing it up. Our test that it runs properly on new diesel comes before we leave. Permanent damage is very uncommon when it's caught quickly, and the whole job is done where the car is. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Check your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover is included in many policies.
About Takeley itself
Takeley is a village in Essex, situated inland at an elevation of around 104 metres, and is located approximately 30 miles from London. Takeley has a mix of old and new housing, with detached homes being the predominant type, and is close to nearby places such as Brewers End and Smiths Green. Takeley remains a relatively small community, with a population of around 2226 people, and is near the city of Chelmsford, which is about 12 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Takeley and across Essex
Over CM postcodes, the vans covering Takeley — a rural village — reach nearby towns too, Smiths Green and Hope End Green included. Quickest of all: a CM22 6 postcode for where you stand.
No towing is required, be it parked centrally in Takeley or on a lay-by heading to Flitch Way Country Park, and so leave it where it is. We drain the vehicle where it stands. Assuming doesn't help beside Takeley Chapel, close to a county line or somewhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
Your scenario, in one line
If it hasn't started, ring and keep it that way. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout Essex and in Takeley — after you stop, switch off then phone, if it has run.