AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Greenwich, and What to Do Next
Has your motor run since the AdBlue got in? That one question settles nearly everything else from here. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is around Greenwich itself or out in Racecourse. Call 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and motor still off. In Greenwich, such a case is typically drained and flushed where it stands. Already run? Pull over when safe, then switch everything off. A bigger job, yes, but the same opening move.
Compare what happened to one of the list below, wherever across Suffolk you are.
On a Greenwich forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it while you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Anywhere in Greenwich, then — Harvest Energy, Shell, or anywhere else close by.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Nothing has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue sits only inside your tank.
Your move: stay out of the car, even if the pump needs clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once the car sits in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — and save the receipt. Stuck beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt safe, so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
Greenwich, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. Right off Hawke Road is not different from any other place.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and remains put, however long it waits.
Next: prevent any early drive by putting the keys in the house, then ring us. Our technicians drain the car on your drive, whether that's in Greenwich or out in Gainsborough. The pumping kit runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Greenwich: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a short way after the top-up. It might have been driving for Colchester, under 25 miles away, or just along Holbrook Road.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Past the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the further the distance — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the first job — then switch it off. Service stations further along can wait: on the M11, under 50 miles out of Greenwich, use the first junction. Restarting it to check gets nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Phone, and say how far your vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle barely a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is just next to the diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Throughout Suffolk, no one is immune.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and fleet agreements need the owner's approval before repairs.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, since settling it beforehand cuts time. If you are stuck in the car park at Derby Road, or by All Hallows, Ipswich, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Greenwich?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. The gates of Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy in a rush, perhaps, or a friend's driveway out in Maidenhall.
In short: a spill round the filler does your engine no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Assume it got in, and never start your engine. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank checked counts as a happier result than a run one drained.
The common ground in every Greenwich AdBlue drain
Whatever the situation, one opening is used. Filling station, driveway, Margaret Catchpole's car park or a road beside St. Luke's — our van reaches the vehicle, and three questions follow: what liquid, which quantity, and whether it ran. On the phone, before dispatch, you hear the price, and those answers decide the work too.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at some metals in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out on its own; that's why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Finally come the filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the car. Most unrun cars are a half-hour job from the moment we turn up.
Starting the engine comes at the end. Our test that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians leave. Permanent damage is very uncommon if it's noticed soon, and the whole job is done where your car is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover comes included in many policies.
About Greenwich, briefly
Greenwich is a suburban area in Suffolk, situated on the coast at an elevation of 28 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Greenwich lies near the cities of Colchester and Ipswich, and is also close to the smaller communities of Gainsborough, Rose Hill, and Stoke. Greenwich is part of the wider Eastern region of England, and is approximately 66 miles from London. Greenwich has a population of around 2857 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across Suffolk, Greenwich included
As a residential suburb, Greenwich has the same vans as the nearby places — Stoke, Rose Hill — all the way across IP postcodes. A postcode starting IP3 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Greenwich or a lay-by near Landseer Park: wherever it sits, your vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. Our engineers drain the car where it is. Awkward to explain? Close to Gainsborough Community Library or a county line? Checking beats assuming, and so ring.
In one line: your situation
If it hasn't started, phone then keep it that way. Started already? Pull over, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever case, in Greenwich and Suffolk, on 0333 366 0103.