AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Withypitts, and What to Do Next
Has your motor run since the AdBlue went in? This single question settles almost everything else from here. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is around Withypitts itself or out in Rowfant. Usually that is draining and thoroughly purging it on the spot in Withypitts — and so leave your key and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. Stage one stays unchanged, even if the work grows.
Compare your case to one of the ones below, wherever across West Sussex you happen to be.
Withypitts forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Anywhere in Withypitts, then — Esso, Texaco, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Nothing has pulled it in, so the AdBlue sits just in that tank.
What to do: don't get back in and start it to clear the petrol pump. Get the attendants to help pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then phone us from there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
At home around Withypitts with AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on 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. Homes just off Selsfield Road are hit as often as everywhere else.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. At the floor of that tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Next: stop an early-morning drive by putting your keys in the house, then ring us. Turners Hill or Withypitts: whichever your driveway sits, that is where it is cleared. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Withypitts?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a lit dashboard started a mile or two after the fill. Withypitts, say, or the route to Brighton and Hove — a trip of under 25 miles.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. The injection pump and each injector see it too on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have it. More driving, more starts: deeper it travels.
What to do: pull over where it's safe then switch off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M23, under 3 miles from Withypitts. No trial restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue does. About how far had it go? Tell us as you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this car barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in West Sussex.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, which depend on whether it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we get there than after. Waiting for a reply at the car park at East Grinstead, or beside St. Leonards Church? Leave your engine off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Withypitts?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. Which cap was taken off, you can't recall; but the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Turners Hill Church of England Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Crawley Down.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to the motor. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. Firing up the car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
Take it that it got in, and never start your key. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank looked at counts as a happier result than a run one emptied.
The common ground in every Withypitts AdBlue drain
The work begins the same way, whatever your situation. We come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Crown or a side street close to Gravetye Manor, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and if your motor has been run. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear our quote, and those answers shape the work too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, so it won't rinse out unaided; that's why the flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in after your filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is then checked. Where the motor has not been started, expect roughly half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. Our check that it runs properly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians leave. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's caught early, lasting damage is very uncommon. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Withypitts
Withypitts is a small suburban area in West Sussex, situated inland at an elevation of 168 metres. Withypitts lies near several notable places, including Turners Hill, Selsfield Common, and Worth Abbey. Withypitts is characterized by its semi-detached housing and is located within commuting distance of Brighton and Hove, as well as London. Withypitts has a population of around 608 residents.
AdBlue drains around Withypitts and across West Sussex
Throughout RH postcodes, the vans covering Withypitts — a residential suburb — work nearby towns too, Selsfield Common and Worth Abbey among them. Quickest of all: a RH10 4 postcode to show your location.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Round Wood or in a car park in the middle of Withypitts, it doesn't need to move. The van empties it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Tulleys Farm or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In one line: your situation
Engine never started: phone, and leave it alone. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Withypitts or anywhere across West Sussex.