What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Falconwood
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it was put in. Not started yet? Then keep it like that, wherever the car is — Falconwood or Blackfen. Normally this means draining and properly purging it on the spot around Falconwood — so keep the key and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It is a bigger job, yet step one does not change.
Wherever across Greater London it took place, one of the situations below fits yours.
Falconwood forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are 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. It could be the Shell, or perhaps the BP, or another station in Falconwood.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the pump needs freeing. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Falconwood, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. 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. Driveways near Westmoreland Avenue see it as much as anywhere.
The upshot: no driving since leaves it almost as good to spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and stays put, however long the night.
Next: stop any early-morning drive by putting the keys indoors, then phone us. Your drive is where it gets emptied, whether in Falconwood or East Wickham. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Falconwood?
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a short way beyond the fill. It might have been driving to London, under 10 miles away, or just down Cumberland Avenue.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through your fuel system. The injection pump and each injector see it as well on a bigger run, once the fuel filter and lines have had it. It goes deeper with every mile covered and each restart.
Next: pick a safe place, pull in, then switch your engine off. Service stations further along are too far: on the M20, under 10 miles out of Falconwood, use the first junction. It won't have cleared, and so there's no sense starting it again to find out. Let us know the distance driven as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
A week ago, it was new to you. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is just by your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Across Greater London, nobody is immune.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, only with an added stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we arrive than after. Keep the car switched off while the answer arrives, whether you're waiting at the nearest station or close to Bishop Ridley Church.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in Falconwood?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think so. A slight ammonia smell lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A hurried top-up by the gates of Bishop Ridley Church of England VA Primary School, or a call to a friend in Plumstead Common: both fits.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to the motor. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be drawn in by firing up the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it went in, and keep your engine off. Ring us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Falconwood: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Our technicians come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Bolthole or a side street near Welling Methodist Church, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if your engine has run. Replies set the work; the quote follows on the call while nobody has set off yet.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not wash out unaided; that's why the flush, after this drain, counts far more here than with petrol. Then is your filter — cleaned, or replaced when needed — then clean diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Where your motor hasn't run, allow roughly half an hour on site, in most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. Our engineers confirm it runs correctly on fresh diesel before we leave. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted quickly, lasting damage is very unusual. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money in advance. Worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a check of your policy as you wait pays.
About Falconwood, briefly
Falconwood is a suburban area in southeast London, situated near the River Thames and close to the borders of Kent. Falconwood has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are particularly prevalent in the area. Falconwood is located near several other suburban areas, including East Wickham, Welling, and Avery Hill, and is about 9.9 miles from central London.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Falconwood included
Throughout DA postcodes, the vans serving Falconwood — a residential suburb — reach surrounding towns as well, Welling and Avery Hill among them. Telling us a DA16 2 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No moving is needed, whether parked in the centre of Falconwood or in a layby en route to The Green, and so leave it put. Wherever it sits, that is where it gets drained. Guessing doesn't help near St Mary the Virgin, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and check.
In one line: your scenario
Motor not started: ring, and leave it switched off. Run already? Stop, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever it is, across Falconwood and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.