AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Thorley Wash, and What to Do Next
Has your motor run since the AdBlue went in? That single point settles almost everything else from here. Wherever your vehicle is — Thorley, Thorley Wash — don't run a motor that hasn't run yet. Usually this means draining and properly purging it right there around Thorley Wash — so keep your ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Compare what happened to one of the ones below, wherever around Hertfordshire you happen to be.
At the petrol pump in Thorley Wash: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere around Thorley Wash, then — Sainsbury's, Sainsbury, or anywhere else close by.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Do this: stay out of the car, however much the queue wants freeing. Get the attendants to help rolling it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us right there. Can't move the vehicle by the pump? Explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt sensible, so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Thorley Wash
On your dash, a reminder had been lit for days. Picked up a container, tipped it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, too late. It happens on driveways just off A1184 as commonly as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Being unable to mix, AdBlue drops to the base in the tank and stays. A night standing changes none of that.
Next: stop any early drive by keeping the keys indoors, then ring us. Your drive is where it gets drained, be it in Thorley Wash or Spellbrook. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Thorley Wash: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard arrived a short way beyond the fill. Maybe heading to Chelmsford, under 25 miles away, or simply along St. James' Way.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The injection pump and each injector see it as well on a longer trip, after your filter and lines have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in safely — that is the next step — then turn it off. On the M11, under 3 miles from Thorley Wash, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a car you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across Hertfordshire, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Any work on the car frequently needs the owner's approval under hire or company agreements.
Settling it before we turn up is faster, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stuck near The Bishops Stortford Sports Hall or outside Bishops Stortford until someone answers, the vehicle remains turned off the whole time.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Thorley Wash
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Sound familiar? Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Spellbrook CofE Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Trims Green.
The point: the engine isn't hurt by a little AdBlue spilled on the filler. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be pulled in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Your move: behave as if it did, and don't start the engine. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain in Thorley Wash has in common
Every case has the same opening to the work. Filling station, driveway, The Coach and Horses's car park or a street by Wallbury Fort — the van comes to your car, and three answers follow: which liquid, what amount, and whether it ran. Replies shape the job; the price comes on the call while no one has left yet.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more vital with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear by themselves, however long you wait. Next is the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped when necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of your car. Where your engine hasn't been started, expect roughly half an hour on site, in most cases.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our technicians confirm it runs properly on clean diesel before we leave. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it is spotted early, permanent damage is very rare. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Thorley Wash
Thorley Wash is a small hamlet situated on the riverside in Hertfordshire, with a low elevation of around 57 metres. Thorley Wash lies near the villages of Spellbrook and Thorley Street, and is also close to Latchmore Bank. Thorley Wash is located approximately 26 miles from London and 15 miles from Chelmsford, with its population of around 605 people residing in predominantly detached housing.
AdBlue drains in Thorley Wash, and across Hertfordshire too
Latchmore Bank and Thorley Street have the same teams as Thorley Wash, a rural hamlet, along with further towns over CM postcodes. Telling us a CM23 4 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Stopped en route to Thorley Wash Nature Reserve, or bang in the centre of Thorley Wash, your car stays put — there's no need to move it at all. Draining is done on the spot. Assuming won't help near Emmaus Centre, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and check.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Keep it that way then ring. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Hertfordshire and within Thorley Wash — after you stop, switch off then ring, if it has run.