What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Harold Hill
All of it hinges on a single fact: whether the engine has started since the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Out in Harold Wood or here around Harold Hill, an unrun engine should remain that way. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the key and motor both off. In Harold Hill, such a case is typically emptied and cleaned where it stands. When your motor has been run, pull in safely first, then turn it off. Step one stays unchanged, even though the work grows.
Anywhere across Greater London it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Harold Hill forecourt
Only at this point, nozzle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the pump. It might be the Esso, or perhaps the Tesco, or another forecourt in Harold Hill.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it can be. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one part past it has taken it in.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to run it — and so do not get back in. Get the attendants to help rolling it to a space, hold on to the receipt, then ring us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear gets drained right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Harold Hill
The warning light had been on for days. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Houses just off Gooshays Drive are hit as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the car has not been driven since, it is close to the forecourt case. At the floor of the tank is where AdBlue stays, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Noak Hill or Harold Hill: wherever your drive sits, that is where it is emptied. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Harold Hill?
A short way after filling up, the engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, less power, lights on your dash. Maybe driving to Chelmsford, under 15 miles away, or simply down Hilldene Avenue.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the fuel system. Through the fuel filter, through the pipework, and — the more the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next step — then switch it off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M25, under 3 miles from Harold Hill. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Roughly what distance had it gone? Say so as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this vehicle hardly a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is right by your diesel inlet — news to you. Any driver, wherever in Greater London, might make it.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Work on the vehicle frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet terms.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our engineers arrive than after. Waiting for an answer at the car park outside Harold Wood, or near myplace? Keep your engine off throughout.
Harold Hill: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times, "I think so" is all anyone can honestly say. A slight ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Drapers' Brookside Junior School, or on a friend's drive in St Vincents Hamlet.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet never reach the engine at all. A diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another story. Any AdBlue in the tank would be drawn in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Do this: act as if it got in, and never start your engine. Phone and give what you saw: we'd rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once the engine has run.
What every AdBlue drain around Harold Hill has in common
The work begins the same way, whichever your case. We come to your car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Alderman or a side street close to Central Park Leisure Centre, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and if the motor has been run. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you hear the price, and those answers decide the work too.
Draining that tank comes next, then a full flush — more important after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear by themselves, however long you wait. Fresh diesel goes in once the filter has been flushed or replaced, and the car is finally tested. Where the motor has not run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our engineers fire it up last. Our test that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before we leave. Our technicians do the whole job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been spotted quickly. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you receive what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents as we travel pays.
About Harold Hill and where it is
Harold Hill is a suburban area in Greater London, situated near the River Thames at an elevation of 42 metres. Harold Hill is located approximately 16.6 miles from central London and is close to the nearby settlements of Noak Hill and Gallows Corner. Harold Hill has a mix of housing types, but is predominantly characterised by terraced homes. Harold Hill is also near Harold Park, a local green space.
Harold Hill and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
As a residential suburb, Harold Hill has the same vans as the surrounding places — Harold Park, Gallows Corner — all the way across RM postcodes. Fastest of all: a RM3 8 postcode for where you stand.
No moving is needed, be it stopped centrally in Harold Hill or in a lay-by heading to Central Park, so keep it where it is. The drain is done on the spot. Assuming doesn't help near Harold Hill Community Centre, close to a county line or somewhere hard to describe; phone and check.
Your situation, in one line
Motor never started: ring, leaving it alone. Whichever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Greater London and within Harold Hill — once you pull over, switch off then phone, if it has run.