AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in West Hill, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has been run since it got in. Anywhere your car is — High Wickham, West Hill — don't run a motor that hasn't run yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine both off. In West Hill, that is generally drained and flushed on the spot. Stop the moment you safely can and turn off, if it has been run. Stage one remains the same, even if the work grows.
Compare what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever around East Sussex you happen to be.
At the petrol pump around West Hill: AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It could be the Morrisons, or perhaps the Texaco, or another forecourt in West Hill.
Put simply: no better spot exists to spot it. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to move away from the pump. Phone us from the forecourt after the car is in a space — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — and keep the bottle. Draining it right at the petrol pump is fine if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a West Hill drive?
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the shop, emptied in on the driveway — and it was just by the bin that the cap got a second look. Homes just off Gordon Road are hit as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. On the floor of your tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, since it won't mix with diesel — and a night going by changes nothing of the difference.
Next: keys indoors, and so no one drives your car anywhere first thing. Then, ring. In Old Town or here in West Hill, the drain happens at your driveway. Night-time drains beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in West Hill?
A mile or two after filling up, your motor began playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Maybe it was on Priory Road, possibly on the way out towards Brighton and Hove, under 50 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Through the filter, through the pipework, and — the more the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. It travels further with each mile driven and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Exit at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M20, under 25 miles from West Hill. It will not have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to find out. Phone us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the car barely a week. Your own car either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap was right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around East Sussex.
In short: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those turn on whether it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Keep it switched off while the answer arrives, whether you are parked at Ore or close to Smugglers Adventure.
West Hill: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. Which cap was taken off, you can't recall; but the bottle feels lighter than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Ark Castledown Primary Academy in a hurry, say, or a friend's driveway out in Halton.
Put simply: spillage round the filler does the motor no harm. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. Any AdBlue in your tank will be drawn in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it was put in, and don't turn your key. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each West Hill AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Anywhere your vehicle stands — The Plough's car park, a road by Emmanuel Church, a drive, a filling station — the van arrives and asks about the liquid, the quantity, plus whether your engine has been run. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear the quote, and those answers shape the work too.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, since crystals build up and some metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. If your engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
We fire it up at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we check it's running correctly, and then we head off. When it is caught soon, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job happens where it is. Payment comes on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy while you wait is worthwhile.
About West Hill, briefly
West Hill is a suburban area in East Sussex, situated on the southeastern coast of England, with an elevation of 72 metres. West Hill lies approximately 54.5 miles from London and 32 miles from the city of Brighton and Hove. West Hill is characterized by its predominantly terraced housing and is located near other notable areas such as Old Town and Hastings. West Hill is home to a population of around 9171 residents.
West Hill and East Sussex: AdBlue drains across the area
As a residential suburb, West Hill shares its vans with the nearby towns — Broomsgrove, Hastings — all the way across TN postcodes. Telling us your TN34 3 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Centre of West Hill or a layby towards Old Town Maritime Garden: wherever it is, the car never needs to shift at all for the drain. The van empties it in place. Guessing won't help near Borough Church of Saint Clement, close to a border or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Started by now? Pull over, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever case, across West Hill and East Sussex, on 0333 366 0103.