AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Whitley, and What to Do Next
Everything hinges on a single fact: whether the engine has been run after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the car is in Whitley itself or out in Willenhall. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and engine still off. In Whitley, such a case is typically drained and flushed where it stands. Where your engine has been run, stop safely straight away, then turn it off. A larger job, yes, but the identical opening move.
Further down: the situations we see, anywhere across West Midlands. Choose yours.
On a Whitley forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. It might be the Asda, or perhaps the Texaco, or a different forecourt in Whitley.
Put simply: there is no better place exists to spot it. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue needs freeing. Ask the attendants to help you push your car into a parking spot, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Whitley
On the dash, a warning had shown for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Drives close to London Road get it as much as any other street.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's second to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of your tank and remains put, however long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then ring. Our engineers drain it on your driveway, whether that's in Whitley or out in Pinley. Late-night clears beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Whitley: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two beyond topping up, your engine began playing up: roughness, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Humber Road, say, or the route towards Coventry — a trip of under 3 miles.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into your fuel system. Distance sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more restarts: further it travels.
Next: find a safe place, pull in, then switch your motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M69, under 5 miles from Whitley. Starting it again to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Roughly how far had it go? Tell us as you phone.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have just driven this vehicle for days. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right next to the diesel inlet — news to you. Across West Midlands, nobody is immune.
The point: just as above, split by whether it ran, only with one added stage. Plenty of hire and fleet agreements need the owner's approval before work.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Leave it switched off while the answer comes, even if you are parked at Coventry or close to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Whitley?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe on a friend's driveway in Lower Stoke, or in a rush outside Whitley Abbey Primary School at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to your motor. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't start the vehicle. Ring with what you saw: we'd sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once the motor has been run.
The common ground in every Whitley AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Filling station, driveway, Royal Oak's car park or a street beside St James — the van comes to the car, and three questions come next: which liquid, what amount, and whether it has run. Those replies determine the work, and you get our quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, matters much more here than with petrol. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment our technicians arrive.
Our technicians start the engine at the end. Our test that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before we head off. When it's noticed soon, the car very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Whitley and where it is
Whitley is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the River Sherbourne at an elevation of around 80 metres. Whitley lies close to the city of Coventry, with nearby neighbourhoods including Pinley and Stoke Aldermoor. Whitley has a mix of housing types, although terraced houses are predominant in the area. Whitley is located approximately 83.9 miles northwest of London.
AdBlue drains around Whitley, and across West Midlands too
Being a residential suburb, Whitley shares its vans with the nearby towns — Stoke Aldermoor, Pinley Gardens — right across CV postcodes. A postcode starting CV3 4 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Parked heading to Wildflower Meadow, or bang in the heart of Whitley, the vehicle remains where it is — there's no need to move it anywhere. The van drains it where it stands. Ring and ask rather than guess when you are close to Alan Higgs Sports Centre, near a boundary, or anywhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off then ring. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across West Midlands and within Whitley — after you pull over, switch off then ring, if it's run.