AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hackney, and What to Do Next
All of that turns on a single detail: whether your engine has started since the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Not started yet? Then leave the vehicle that way, wherever the vehicle is — Hackney or Lower Clapton. Usually that is emptying and thoroughly purging it on the spot in Hackney — and so keep your ignition and motor off then phone 0333 366 0103. Where the motor has run, stop somewhere safe first, then turn it off. It's a larger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Anywhere in Greater London it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
On a Hackney forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only notice it while you're standing at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. It could be the Valero, or the BP, or another station in Hackney.
Put simply: there is no better spot to be to spot it. Nothing has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits only in the tank.
Next: resist the urge to fire it up just to free up the petrol pump. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. Stuck beside the pump? Explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt safe, so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Hackney
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used at the drive. It takes place on driveways just off Mare Street as commonly as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the car hasn't moved since, it's second to the pump case. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue settles to the base inside that tank and stays. One night parked alters nothing.
Next: stop an early-morning move by keeping the keys indoors, then ring us. We drain it on your drive, whether that's in Hackney or out in Hackney Central. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Hackney?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe it was on Paragon Road, perhaps on the way out towards London, under 3 miles away.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it too on a bigger run, after the filter and pipework have it. It goes deeper with every mile driven and every restart.
Next: pick a safe spot, pull in, then turn the engine off. Services further along can wait: from the M11, under 5 miles out of Hackney, use the next junction. No test starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Phone, saying how far the car went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the car barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it in another spot. Anywhere you are across Greater London, every driver can be caught.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before we arrive than after. Leave it switched off as the answer comes, whether you're waiting at Hackney Central or close to Hackney Central Library.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Hackney?
Truthfully, the only answer might be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Morningside Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Homerton.
The point: the engine isn't hurt by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Take it that it got in, and never turn your key. Checking a tank that proves clean is better than draining one once it has been run — so phone then describe to us what you saw.
Hackney: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Every case has the same start to the job. Three questions are asked once we reach your car — at a forecourt, a drive, a street by Hackney Picturehouse or the car park at The DC Lion: the liquid, the amount, and if it has been started. Those answers decide the work, and you hear the price on the phone, before anybody heads out.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, because crystals form and certain metals are attacked, and neither washes out unaided. Last are the filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; fresh diesel; and a check of your car. If the motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Last, our engineers fire it up. Our check that it runs properly on clean diesel comes before our technicians go. Our technicians do the whole job where the car is, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been spotted early. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Hackney itself
Hackney is a locality in East London, situated approximately 4 miles northeast of central London. Hackney sits at a low elevation of around 20 metres above sea level, and is characterized by a high proportion of flat dwellings. Hackney is close to nearby places such as Hackney Central, South Hackney, and Dalston, and is home to a diverse population of around 13,100 people. Hackney is also a short distance from the city of London, with the nearest point being around 2.6 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Hackney, and across Greater London too
Hackney is a neighbourhood, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, South Hackney and Dalston among them, across the E postcode area. A postcode starting E8 1 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Hackney or a lay-by near Shore Gardens: wherever it is, the vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. The drain happens right there. Assuming won't help beside Hackney Museum, on a border or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Your situation, summed up
Unstarted? Leave the vehicle off then phone. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Greater London and in Hackney — once you pull over, switch off and phone, if it has run.