You're not the first. AdBlue misfills happen on modern diesels regularly.
We'll talk you through what to do, right now on the phone.
We come to you: servo, home, work or roadside.
One call and we handle everything. Most AdBlue misfill jobs are done in under two hours, start to finish.
Tell us your vehicle type and where you are.
Quick ETA confirmation, usually within the hour.
Drain, flush the lines, refill with the right fuel.
Running cleanly, report emailed, you drive away.
What AdBlue does inside the wrong system, and why the next few minutes matter.
AdBlue is a urea and water solution that's designed for the SCR exhaust system, not the engine. Put it in the diesel tank and it sits underneath the fuel, gets pulled through the lift pump and corrodes seals, hoses, the high pressure pump and the injectors. Put diesel in the AdBlue tank and it ruins the metering pump and SCR doser. Both are jobs for a specialist, not a fuel system gamble.
The most important thing is what you do next. If the engine hasn't been started, the AdBlue hasn't reached the pump yet. We drain the tank, flush the lines, refuel and most cars drive away with no lasting harm. Start the engine and AdBlue starts attacking the seals, which is where the bill stops being a recovery job and starts being an injector job.
We come to you wherever the misfill happened, at the truck stop, the depot, the servo or at home. A qualified technician identifies which tank got what, drains it cleanly, flushes the lines, refills correctly and checks the system runs cleanly before you leave. AdBlue is disposed of separately and legally.
The mechanics of an AdBlue drain are the same drain and flush process we use for petrol in diesel jobs, with a more thorough flush because AdBlue crystallises fast.
AdBlue in the diesel tank is the misfill we treat most carefully, and the one that catches people out most. Ranger Bi-Turbo, Amarok V6, HiLux GR, Prado, MU-X, Colorado, every Euro diesel wagon, plus Iveco, Fuso and Hino light trucks all run AdBlue. On some models the SCR filler sits right next to the diesel filler, and the AdBlue jug pours like any other fluid. One distracted minute at the servo and you've got water and urea sitting on top of the diesel.
Call us before you start the car. We come to you, drain the tank, flush the fuel lines and injector rail, put fresh diesel back in and run a full system scan before we hand you back the keys. On site, usually 60 to 120 minutes.
If you cranked it or drove a bit before you realised, still fixable on the spot, just takes a bit longer. AdBlue is the fastest of the misfills to cause trouble because heat crystallises the urea inside the fuel system. Not the end of the world for most cars, but we usually flag a pump check for a workshop follow up when the engine's already run on the mix.
The other version of this misfill is diesel poured into the AdBlue tank. Different job, different price, and we drain the SCR tank instead of the fuel tank. Either way, mention on the call whether the engine has been started so we plan the flush. If the engine has not been started yet, keep it that way. Call (08) 7083 9699. We'll come to you.
Straight answers about AdBlue misfills. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Every truck and ute is set up a bit different, but the job is the same. AdBlue is heavier than diesel so it sits at the bottom of the tank, we drain it all, flush the fuel lines and injector rail, put fresh diesel in and run a full system scan before we hand you back the keys. On site, usually 60 to 120 minutes.
AdBlue is a urea and water solution. Heat it inside the fuel system and it crystallises, blocks injector nozzles, corrodes steel and aluminium components, and turns the inside of a common rail pump into a salt mine. A cold drain before starting is straightforward. A hot drain after crystallisation is a bigger job, we do it on site but usually recommend a workshop check afterwards.
Do not start the engine. Do not turn the key. Even a few seconds of cranking pulls AdBlue up to the high pressure pump where the heat starts crystallising it. Call (08) 7083 9699 and we dispatch straight away. Typically inside the hour across Adelaide metro, actual ETA quoted on the call.
From $400 for metro Adelaide callouts, priced on the phone before we dispatch. AdBlue jobs tend to run higher than a clean misfill because the flush is more thorough. If the engine has already been started, the price reflects the extra flush work.
Full Adelaide metro, the Hills, Barossa, Fleurieu Peninsula and Victor Harbor. Metro typically inside the hour, actual ETA on the call. Hills and Barossa 60 to 90 minutes. Fleurieu 75 to 120 minutes. Common on Ranger Bi-Turbo, Amarok V6, HiLux, Prado, MU-X and Euro diesels, plus Iveco, Fuso and Hino light trucks.
We drain the tank, flush the fuel lines and injector rail, put fresh diesel in, then run a full system scan and listen to the engine before we hand you back the keys. You get a full comprehensive report and a written invoice on the spot. If diesel went into the AdBlue tank instead, that is a separate SCR tank drain, quoted on the call.
No. Once the engine cranks, the lift pump pulls AdBlue up into the high pressure pump, and the heat crystallises it inside the injectors and rail. A cold pre start drain is straightforward. A hot drain after limp mode is a bigger job, we still handle it on the spot but often flag a pump check for a workshop follow up.
AdBlue is the fastest of the misfills to cause trouble because heat crystallises the urea inside the fuel system. If the engine hasn't run, no damage is happening, cold drain and you're sorted. If it has run, we still fix it on the spot but a workshop follow up is often a good idea. Big picture, don't start it, and call us straight away.
Most comprehensive policies cover an AdBlue misfill as accidental damage or under a specific wrong fuel benefit. Fleet and business policies almost always cover it. Our invoice lists EPA Licence 52359, service type and time on site, which is what insurers ask for. Send us the claim number and we can send documentation direct.