What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Fulham
One fact matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether your motor has run afterwards. Wherever your car is — Sands End, Fulham — never start a motor that has not run yet. Ring 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor both off. Across Fulham, such a case is typically emptied and flushed on the spot. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A larger job, yes, yet the same first step.
Match your case to one of the ones below, anywhere around Greater London you happen to be.
On a Fulham forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
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 are at the Sainsbury's, perhaps at the Shell, maybe somewhere else in Fulham.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. Still inside that tank, with nothing drawn through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to free up the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle sits in a bay — the attendants will help push it — then save the receipt. If it cannot be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Fulham
For days the dashboard 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. Houses just off Fulham Palace Road get caught out as often as anywhere else.
In short: if the car has not been driven since, it's almost as good as spotting it at the pump. At the floor of your tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, because it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by changes nothing of the difference.
Next: the keys in the house, and so no one drives the car off at breakfast. Then, phone. Our technicians drain the car on your drive, whether that is around Fulham or out in Parsons Green. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road around Fulham with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way after topping up, your motor began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. Perhaps it was on Fulham High Street, maybe on the way out towards Westminster, under 5 miles away.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. It's been through the filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the first step — then switch it off. Leave by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M4, under 5 miles from Fulham. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. About how far had it go? Tell us as you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this car hardly a week. Unbeknown to you, the two inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Across Greater London, nobody is immune.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which turn on if it has run. Any work on the car often needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or fleet terms.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. If you're stranded in the car park outside Putney, or by Bishop's Tree, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Fulham
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of All Saints CofE Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's drive out in Wandsworth.
Put simply: a spill near the filler does your motor no harm. In the diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Next: act as though it got in, and leave the engine off. Tell us what you saw on the phone. A clear tank checked is a better outcome than a run one emptied.
What every AdBlue drain in Fulham has in common
The work opens identically, whatever the case. Wherever the car stands — The Golden Lion's car park, a street beside Fulham War Memorial, a driveway, a filling station — the van gets there and we ask for the liquid, the quantity, plus if the motor has turned over. Those answers settle this work, and you hear the price by phone, before anyone heads out.
Draining your tank comes next, then a full flush — more important after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, however long you wait. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where the motor has not been started, allow about half an hour on site, in most cases.
Starting it comes last. Our technicians make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel before we leave. The whole job is done where your car is, and if it is caught quickly, long-term damage is very rare. Paying comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Check your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover is built into plenty of policies.
About Fulham
Fulham is a locality in southwest London, situated on the north bank of the River Thames at an elevation of around 9 metres. Fulham lies close to several neighbouring areas, including Parsons Green, Putney, and Walham Green, and is approximately 4.4 miles from central London. Fulham is predominantly composed of flat dwellings, housing a population of around 8018 residents. Fulham's riverside setting has influenced its development and character over time.
AdBlue drains around Fulham, and across Greater London too
As a small village, Fulham shares its vans with the surrounding places — Walham Green, Putney — right across SW postcodes. Telling us a SW6 5 postcode pins you fastest of all.
No moving is needed, whether parked centrally in Fulham or in a lay-by heading to Moat Garden, so keep it where it is. The van drains it where it stands. Tricky to explain? By Bishops Park Tennis Centre or a county line? Checking is better than assuming, and so ring.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Fulham or anywhere across Greater London.