Screen wash in the AdBlue tank in Rushden: why it is so common
If you have put screen wash in the AdBlue tank anywhere in Rushden, leave the key alone and call 01295 380724. Unstarted the contamination is confined to the AdBlue tank, which is the cheap place for it to be. The filler necks sit next to each other under the same flap, which is why this happens so often. Talking it through with one of our engine scientists, fuel-system engineers and misfuel specialists costs nothing, and the drain itself takes 45 to 90 minutes once someone is on site.
Starting the engine is the single decision that changes both the outcome and the cost.
What is actually happening in the tank
Screen wash is water, alcohol, surfactant and dye. The AdBlue tank feeds an SCR dosing injector that expects 32.5% urea and nothing else.
Surfactant and alcohol contaminate the dosing pump and injector, the quality sensor reads the solution as out of spec, and the system logs a fault and begins the no-restart countdown.
Around Rushden, as everywhere, the direction of the mistake is decided by geometry: an unleaded nozzle drops freely into a diesel filler neck, and a diesel nozzle is too wide for most petrol ones. Adjacent filler necks under one flap explain most of the rest.
Screen wash in the AdBlue tank in rushden: the worst case
Replacement AdBlue tank, pump and dosing injector, which on many vehicles is a four-figure bill.
Rushden: the practical detail
Rushden covers NN10, and a unit attends any of them. If you are closer to Abthorpe, Alderton, Abthorpe Northampton or Alderton Northampton, the same applies: the vehicle is not moved, the technician travels. The pickup point is wherever the vehicle already is, including a hard shoulder, a driveway or a multi-storey.
| Contamination | Screen wash into the AdBlue tank |
|---|---|
| Area | Rushden |
| County | Northamptonshire |
| Postcodes | NN10 |
| Risk if the engine has run | Severe |
| Consultation | Free of charge, no obligation |
| Time on site | 1-3 hours |
| Attendance | 24 hours, usually same day |
| Helpline | 01295 380724 |
How it shows itself
An AdBlue quality fault, an emissions warning and the no-restart countdown. The dye is often the giveaway when the tank is opened.
The work itself
The AdBlue tank is drained and flushed, the dosing line checked for surfactant residue, and the system refilled with correct-specification fluid and reset.
The consultation costs nothing and carries no obligation. If the honest answer is that nobody needs to attend, that is the answer you will be given.
What has happened so far?
Pick the one that fits. It is the only question that changes the answer.
- TankThe wrong fuel is sitting still. Nothing downstream has touched it.
- Lift pumpTurning the key runs the in-tank pump, and the contamination starts moving.
- FilterThe filter takes the first hit and is replaced either way.
- High-pressure pumpLubrication fails here first. This is the component that turns a drain into a rebuild.
- Injectors and railDebris from the pump arrives here. At this point the fuel system is replaced, not cleaned.
Fuel Fixer, the company behind UK Wrong Fuel Repository, holds a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from 2,190 reviews on Trustpilot, on a profile claimed since 2017.
Across recent reviews, the themes customers raise most often are staff who stay polite, professional and reassuring during what is a stressful situation, and how quickly a technician arrives and gets the vehicle back on the road in Rushden.
The most common criticism is price. Some customers have felt the cost of an emergency drain was steep for a job that takes under two hours, and that is fair comment on an emergency call-out. It is why the misfuel call-out fee is free and why published repair figures span two orders of magnitude before a technician sets off — so nothing about the cost is a surprise at the roadside.
Nearby
More from the blog
A misfuel is a good moment to get the filters and the rest of the car looked at — Motor Servicing comes to your home or workplace.
Background reading: Common rail injection (Wikipedia). Service operated by Fuel Fixer, alongside Misfuel Doctor, Fuel Fixer Scotland and Motor Servicing.