AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Bromley Common, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has run since it got in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is around Bromley Common itself or out in Locksbottom. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and motor both off. Across Bromley Common, that is typically emptied and flushed on the spot. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It's a bigger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Wherever around Greater London it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
Bromley Common forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you're at the BP, possibly at the Shell, maybe somewhere else in Bromley Common.
The upshot: of every spot to find out, this is the best. Nothing has pulled it in, so the AdBlue stays just in your tank.
Freeing the petrol pump is no excuse to start it — and so do not get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll the car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is fine if it can't be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Bromley Common
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Right off Brosse Way is no less likely from anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the car has not moved since, it is second to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of the tank and remains there, however long it waits.
Your move: keys in the house, so no one drives the car anywhere first thing. After that, ring. Our technicians drain the car on your drive, whether that's around Bromley Common or out in Southborough. The equipment works quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Bromley Common?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon the motor was running unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up your dash. A21, perhaps, or the way towards London — a trip of under 15 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The injection pump and every injector get it as well on a bigger run, after the fuel filter and pipework have had it. More miles, more restarts: further it travels.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M25, under 5 miles from Bromley Common. It won't have cleared, so there's no sense starting it again to find out. About what distance did it gone? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle hardly a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Across Greater London, nobody is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Plenty of rental and company contracts need the owner's sign-off for repairs.
Do this: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since sorting it early cuts time. If you're stranded in the car park at Bickley, or by Bridgeways Day Hospital, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Bromley Common: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
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 the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Maybe on a friend's drive in Bickley, or rushing outside Trinity Church of England Primary School on the school run.
Meaning? Spills outside the filler never touch the motor at all. Inside the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in that tank would be pulled in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't crank it. Ring us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Bromley Common: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Each situation gets the same start to the job. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at The Chequers or a side street close to Holy Trinity, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if your engine has been run. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told the price, and those answers decide the job too.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after the drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Finally are the fuel filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we make sure it's running smoothly, and then we leave. If it is noticed early, the car very seldom has lasting damage, and the whole job happens where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover is built into many policies.
About Bromley Common itself
Bromley Common is a suburban area in Greater London, situated near several lakes and ponds, with an elevation of around 73 metres. Bromley Common lies approximately 11 miles southeast of central London, within commuting distance of the city. Bromley Common is characterized by a high proportion of flat dwellings, reflecting its suburban nature. Bromley Common is close to neighbouring areas such as Southborough and Hayes.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Bromley Common included
Throughout BR postcodes, the teams covering Bromley Common — a residential suburb — reach nearby towns too, Hayes and Keston Mark included. A postcode starting BR2 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Stopped heading to Lord's Wood, or right in the heart of Bromley Common, your vehicle remains put — there is no need to move it anywhere. Draining is done on the spot. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Southborough Library or close to a border, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor never started: phone, leaving it alone. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Bromley Common and anywhere around Greater London on 0333 366 0103.