What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Farringdon
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it got in. Anywhere the vehicle stands — Holborn, Farringdon — never start an engine that has not run yet. Usually that is draining and thoroughly flushing it right there around Farringdon — and so leave your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Stop the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has been run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Anywhere around Greater London it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Farringdon forecourt
Just at this point, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. Somewhere around Farringdon, then — Texaco, Shell, or somewhere else nearby.
In short: no better spot to be to spot it. Nothing has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue sits only in that tank.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up just to move away from the pump. Get the staff to help rolling it to a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. Draining it there at the pump is fine if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Farringdon, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had shown all week. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in on the driveway — and it's only at the recycling that the cap caught a second look. It happens on driveways just off Benjamin Street as commonly as anywhere.
The upshot: no driving since makes this nearly as good to finding it at the petrol pump. As it is unable to mix, AdBlue drops low inside that tank and waits. A night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Your driveway is where it gets drained, whether in Farringdon or Clerkenwell. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
On the road in Farringdon with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Anywhere along Albion Place or on the road towards London — under a mile away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. Through the filter, through the lines, and — the further the mileage — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It travels further with every extra mile covered and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Farringdon sits under 10 miles from the M1; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. About how far had it go? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had the vehicle barely a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Across Greater London, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Do this: hire firm or fleet manager to begin with, us next, since sorting it beforehand saves time. Leave it switched off as the answer arrives, whether you're parked outside the nearest station or close to The Triffids.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Farringdon?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. A faint ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Blackfriars.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to your motor. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be drawn in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Do this: behave as if it got in, and never start the motor. 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.
Farringdon: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the case, one opening applies. Three questions are asked when our engineers reach your car — at a filling station, a driveway, a road by Museum of the Order of St John or the car park at The Boundary: the liquid, the quantity, and whether the motor has been started. Those replies determine this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying that tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more vital with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long you wait. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where the motor has not been started, allow roughly half an hour on site, for most cases.
Starting the car comes last. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it is running smoothly, and then we go. Permanent damage is very unusual if it's noticed early, and the whole 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. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About Farringdon itself
Farringdon is a suburban area in central London, situated on the River Thames at an elevation of around 22 metres. Farringdon lies close to the neighbouring areas of Clerkenwell, Barbican, and St Lukes, and is characterized by a high proportion of flat dwellings. Farringdon is also a densely populated area, with a resident population of approximately 15,769 people. Farringdon's riverside location and proximity to the city centre make it a popular residential choice.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Farringdon included
As a residential suburb, Farringdon shares its vans with the nearby towns — St Lukes, Barbican — all the way across EC1M postcodes. The location is clearest from a postcode beginning EC1M 5.
Whether your car is on a lay-by on the way to St Johns Garden or in a car park in the middle of Farringdon, it doesn't need to shift. We drain it where it is. Assuming won't help near 1915 Zeppelin Raid plaque, on a border or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
In one line: your scenario
Motor never started: ring, leaving it alone. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Farringdon and anywhere in Greater London on 0333 366 0103.