AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dulwich: What Now?
Has your engine run since the AdBlue was put in? This one point decides almost everything else from here. Wherever the car stands — Upper Sydenham, Dulwich — don't start a motor that has not run yet. Leave your engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Dulwich. Already started? Pull over when safe, then switch it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Compare your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere around Greater London you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Dulwich forecourt
You're 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. Be it Shell, Esso or somewhere else around Dulwich, the situation is the same.
The upshot: of all places to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Get the staff to lend a hand pushing it into a space, save the receipt, then phone us from there. Emptying it there at the pump is fine if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Dulwich
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the driveway — and it was only by the bin that the cap got your eye. Drives near Ferrings get it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle has not been driven since, it's close to the pump case. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops low inside that tank and waits. One night standing changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. We drain it on your drive, whether that is in Dulwich or out in Sydenham Hill. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Dulwich?
A mile or two after topping up, your engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Maybe it was on Woodhall Drive, perhaps on the way out towards Westminster, under 5 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. It's been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a sensible place, stop, and switch your engine off. Service stations further on are too far: from the M4, under 10 miles out of Dulwich, use the first junction. No test starts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Call, and say what distance the vehicle went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've only driven the vehicle a week. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right beside the diesel. Wherever you are around Greater London, every motorist can slip up.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by if it ran, but with an added stage. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Next: ring the hire company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is faster. If you are stuck in the car park at Sydenham Hill, or by The Parish Church of Saint Stephen South Dulwich, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Dulwich: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most you can honestly say. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; a hazy memory of the cap. Look familiar? A rushed stop by the gates of Dulwich Wood Primary School, or a call to a friend in Dulwich Village: both fit.
In short: a spill near your filler does your engine unharmed. Inside the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in your tank would be sucked in by turning on your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it got in, and never turn your key. Checking a tank that turns out clean is better than draining one after it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Dulwich has in common
The work opens the same way, whatever the situation. Three questions are asked once we reach the car — on a filling station, a driveway, a road beside Gerald Durrell or the car park outside The Wood House: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear our price, and those answers shape the work too.
Then your tank is emptied and the system flushed thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. Then comes your filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — followed by clean diesel, and a test of your vehicle. If the engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Lastly, our technicians start the engine. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Long-term damage is very unusual if it is caught quickly, and the entire job is done where the car is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Dulwich itself
Dulwich is a suburban area in south London, situated approximately 5.4 miles from the city centre. Dulwich has a relatively low elevation of 61 metres and is close to nearby places such as Sydenham Hill, West Dulwich, and Gipsy Hill. Dulwich is predominantly composed of flat housing and has a population of around 3672 residents. Dulwich is also near Westminster, which is about 4.9 miles away.
Dulwich and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
Over SE postcodes, the teams covering Dulwich — a residential suburb — reach nearby towns too, West Dulwich and Gipsy Hill among them. Quickest of all: a SE21 7 postcode for where you stand.
Parked heading to Eller Bank, or right in the centre of Dulwich, your vehicle stays where it is — there is no need to shift it anywhere. The drain is done on the spot. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near John Logie Baird or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than guessing.
In one line: your scenario
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Dulwich and anywhere around Greater London on 0333 366 0103.