AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Westhumble, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it went in. Out in Dorking or here around Westhumble, an unrun engine should stay unrun. Leave the engine and the ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Westhumble. Already started? Stop once you safely can, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Anywhere around Surrey it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Westhumble forecourt
Picture it: stood by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you spot the filler you took off wasn't the right one. Maybe you are at the Esso, maybe at the BP, maybe somewhere else in Westhumble.
The upshot: of all places to notice, this is the best. Still inside the tank, with nothing pulled through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and start the vehicle to clear the pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it to a bay, save the receipt, then phone us from there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
Westhumble, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on 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 a second time at the cap. Houses just off Camilla Drive get caught out as much as everywhere else.
The upshot: zero miles since makes this nearly equal to finding it at the pump. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low inside the tank and stays. A night standing alters nothing.
Put your keys indoors overnight — or someone might drive it away first thing — and phone us. Our engineers drain it on your drive, whether that is around Westhumble or out in Fredley. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road in Westhumble with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe it was on Westhumble Street, perhaps on the way out towards Westminster, under 25 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Distance decides how far it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a safe spot, stop, and turn your motor off. On the M25, under 3 miles from Westhumble, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Ring us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just driven this car for days. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets are next to each other here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Throughout Surrey, nobody is safe from it.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts too — run or not — plus one extra step. Work on the vehicle frequently requires the owner's approval under rental or fleet agreements.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Leave the vehicle switched off while the reply comes, whether you are waiting outside Box Hill & Westhumble or close to Fanny Burney.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Westhumble?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can honestly say. What cap came off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by the filler. The gates of St Michael's CofE Aided Infant School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's drive out in Deepdene.
In short: a spill round the filler leaves the motor unharmed. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in your tank would be sucked in by turning on the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it went in, and don't start the engine. Checking a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so phone then describe to us what you noticed.
The common ground in each Westhumble AdBlue drain
Each case gets the same opening to the job. Forecourt, drive, The Stepping Stones's car park or a road beside St Michael's Chapel of Ease — our van comes to the vehicle, and three answers come next: which fluid, what quantity, and whether it has run. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear our quote, and those answers decide the work too.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's essential, since crystals build up and certain metals are attacked, and neither washes away unaided. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment our engineers arrive.
Finally, we start the engine. Our check that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before we head off. When it is noticed early, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Nothing is paid upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. It is worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your policy as we travel pays.
About Westhumble, briefly
Westhumble is a small village in Surrey, situated on the banks of the River Mole at an elevation of around 58 metres. Westhumble lies within the South East region, approximately 19.5 miles from London, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Fredley, Mickleham, and Pixham. Westhumble has a population of around 598 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing.
AdBlue drains around Westhumble, and across Surrey too
Mickleham and Pixham have the identical vans as Westhumble, a village, plus further towns throughout RH postcodes. Your location comes clearest from a postcode beginning RH5 6.
Central Westhumble or a lay-by near Aviva Sports Field: wherever it sits, your vehicle never needs to move an inch for the drain. Draining happens on the spot. Assuming doesn't help near Camilla Lacey, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and check.
The one-line version
Where it has not run, ring and keep it that way. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Westhumble and anywhere in Surrey on 0333 366 0103.