What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in The Common
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? This single question settles nearly everything else from here. Not run so far? Then keep it that way, wherever the vehicle sits — The Common or New Town. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then expect a proper flush plus a drain, done just where your vehicle stands around The Common. Already run? Pull over once you safely can, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Match your case to one of the list below, wherever around West Sussex you happen to be.
On a The Common forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Whether Sainsbury's, Esso or anywhere else around The Common, the case is the same.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it can be. Nothing has pulled it through, so the AdBlue stays only in that tank.
Clearing the pump is no excuse to start it — so do not get back in. Three things: a push into a bay with the attendants helping, the bottle kept, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear gets drained where it is at the petrol pump.
The Common, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the drive. It happens on driveways just off Milnwood Road as often as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the car hasn't been driven since, it is second to the pump case. On the floor of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Put the keys in the house overnight — otherwise someone might take it off first thing — then phone us. Horsham or The Common: whichever your drive sits, that is where it gets cleared. Late-night empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in The Common?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon the engine was running unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Parkfield, perhaps, or the way towards Brighton and Hove — a trip of under 25 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance decides how deep it goes: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. On the M23, under 10 miles from The Common, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. About what distance did it go? Tell us when you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
A week back, it was unknown to you. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel one, which you did not know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across West Sussex, no one is safe from it.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, but with an added step. The owner often has to approve the work, under many rental and fleet agreements.
Sorting it before we turn up is quicker, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. If you are stuck in the car park at Horsham, or by Holy Trinity Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around The Common?
Honestly, the best answer might be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; no clear memory of the cap. Look familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of Trafalgar Community Infant School, or a visit to a friend in Tower Hill: either fits.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves your engine no harm. In your diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in your tank will be pulled in by turning on your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and never start your engine. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around The Common has in common
The job begins identically, whichever the case. Anywhere the car is — Dog and Bacon's car park, a road beside The Astronomer, a driveway, a filling station — the van gets there and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and if your motor has been run. On the phone, before anything else, you hear our price, and those replies decide the job too.
Emptying your tank comes first, followed by a full flush — more important with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long it sits. Clean diesel goes in after the filter is flushed or changed, and the car is then checked. If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes at the end. Before our engineers go, it's tested to confirm it runs correctly on new diesel. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it is caught soon, permanent damage is very unusual. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About The Common, for a moment
The Common is a suburban area situated on the riverside in West Sussex, with an elevation of 51 metres. The Common lies near several notable places, including Horsham, Little Haven, and Oakhill, and is within commuting distance of London, approximately 31 miles away. The Common is characterised by its predominant semi-detached housing stock and is located near the city of Brighton and Hove, about 19 miles away.
AdBlue drains round The Common and across West Sussex
Little Haven and Oakhill get the same teams as The Common, a residential suburb, along with further places over RH postcodes. A postcode starting RH12 2 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Parked heading to Horsham Park, or bang in the centre of The Common, your car stays put — there is no need to move it anywhere. Our engineers drain the vehicle where it stands. Guessing won't help beside The Gateway, on a border or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and check.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, throughout West Sussex and in The Common — once you pull over, turn off and phone, if it's run.