What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Addington
One thing matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has run afterwards. Anywhere your car is — West Wickham, Addington — never run an engine that has not run yet. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine still off. In Addington, such a case is generally emptied and cleaned where it stands. Where your engine has been run, pull in safely straight away, then turn it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Anywhere in Greater London it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Addington forecourt
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Anywhere in Addington, then — Shell, BP, or anywhere else close by.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. Still inside your tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue is.
Clearing the pump is no reason to start it — and so do not get back in. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a bay — the attendants will help push it — then keep the receipt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed clear is drained where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Addington drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Right off Lodge Lane is not different from any other place.
In short: if your car has not moved since, it is almost as good as finding out at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent an early-morning move by keeping your keys indoors, then ring us. Our technicians drain it on your driveway, whether that's in Addington or out in Forestdale. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in Addington with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard arrived a short way after the top-up. Maybe heading to Westminster, under 15 miles away, or simply down Roxton Gardens.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. It has been through your filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and your injectors. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
Stop safely — that's the next step — then switch everything off. On the M25, under 10 miles from Addington, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No test restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Phone, and say what distance your car went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the two inlets sit side by side here — not like your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Greater London.
Meaning? Whichever case above applies too — run or not — and one further stage. Work on the vehicle often requires the owner's approval under hire or fleet terms.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we turn up than after. Stuck near St. Mary The Blessed Virgin or at West Wickham until someone answers, the car stays switched off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Addington?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". Which cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Applegarth Academy in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's driveway out in Shirley.
The point: the engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue splashed on the outside. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be drawn in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Your move: behave as if it got in, and never start your engine. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats draining one once it has been run — so phone then describe to us what you saw.
Each AdBlue drain in Addington shares these stages
Every case gets the same start to the job. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Radnall Tavern or a side street near Addington Methodist Church, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if your motor has run. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies set the work.
Draining that tank comes next, then a full flush — more vital with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Finally are the filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the vehicle. Where the engine hasn't been started, allow about half an hour on site, in most cases.
The final step is starting it. Our technicians check it runs properly on new diesel before we go. The entire job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted soon, permanent damage is very rare. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Addington itself
Addington is a suburban area in Greater London, situated approximately 11 miles from central London and 10 miles from Westminster. Addington has a relatively low elevation of 81 metres and is surrounded by other suburban areas such as Forestdale and Spring Park. Addington is characterised by its predominantly terraced housing stock, which reflects the typical residential architecture of the region. Addington remains a small, residential community with a population of around 1370 people.
Addington and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
Being a residential suburb, Addington shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Upper Shirley, Spring Park — right across CR postcodes. Your whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode beginning CR0 5.
No towing is needed, whether parked in the centre of Addington or in a layby en route to Addington Park, so keep it where it is. Draining happens right there. Guessing doesn't help near New Addington Community Project, close to a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
Your situation, in one line
Engine never started: phone, leaving it switched off. Started by now? Pull over, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever case, across Addington and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.