What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Higham Hill
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? That one point decides nearly everything else from here. Out in Walthamstow Village or right around Higham Hill, an unstarted engine should remain unrun. Phone 0333 366 0103 with the key and engine still off. In Higham Hill, such a case is typically drained and flushed where it stands. Already started? Pull over once you safely can, then turn it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Compare what happened to one of the ones below, anywhere across Greater London you happen to be.
At the petrol pump around Higham Hill: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the Esso, or perhaps the BP, or a different forecourt in Higham Hill.
Put simply: there is no better spot to be to spot it. Still in that tank, and no fuel drawn through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Three jobs: a push into a space with the staff assisting, the bottle kept, and a call to us from where you stand. Draining it right at the pump is possible when it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Higham Hill, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had shown all week. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used at the driveway. Just off St Andrews Road is no less likely from any other place.
In short: if the car has not moved since, it is almost as good as spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and stays there, no matter how long it waits.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves your car in the morning. Then ring. Out in Unity Place or here around Higham Hill, the drain happens at your driveway. The equipment works quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
Higham Hill: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way beyond topping up, your engine started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Somewhere on Higham Hill Road or else on the road to London — under 10 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. Mileage decides how deep it goes: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Stop safely — that is the next step — then turn everything off. Higham Hill lies under 3 miles from the M11; on it, come off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. No test starts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Call us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You have only driven the car a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Throughout Greater London, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Many hire and company agreements require the owner's sign-off before work.
Your move: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since sorting it early saves time. Keep the vehicle off while the reply arrives, whether you're parked outside Blackhorse Road or near St Andrews Christian Centre.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Higham Hill
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think it did. What cap was taken off, you can't say; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. A rushed stop by the gates of Hillyfield Primary Academy, or a call to a friend in Walthamstow: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to the engine. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the car would draw it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: act as though it got in, then leave your engine off. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Higham Hill: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation has the same start to the work. Three things are asked when our technicians arrive — on a filling station, a drive, a road by Assemblies of the First Born Church or the car park at Prince of Wales: the liquid, the quantity, and if it has run. Those replies settle this work, and you get the quote on the phone, before anyone heads out.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because deposits form and certain metals corrode, and neither washes away unaided. Then comes your filter — flushed, or replaced when necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the car. Not started? In that case about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Our engineers fire it up last. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it is running correctly, and then we leave. The entire job is done where your car is, and if it is noticed quickly, permanent damage is very unusual. Paying comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling is included in plenty of policies.
About Higham Hill
Higham Hill is a suburban area in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, situated near several local parks and lakes. Higham Hill has a mix of terraced housing and local shops, with nearby amenities including Unity Place and Central Parade. Higham Hill is located about 7 miles from central London, making it a relatively accessible residential area. Higham Hill sits at an elevation of around 21 metres above sea level, in a low-lying area near the Lee Valley.
Higham Hill and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout E postcodes, the teams serving Higham Hill — a residential suburb — work surrounding places as well, Central Parade and Northumberland Park included. Your location is clearest from a postcode beginning E17 5.
Centre of Higham Hill or a layby near Rodney Green: wherever it sits, the vehicle doesn't need to move at all for this drain. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to Ministry of Restoration International Pentecostal Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off and phone. Run already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, across Higham Hill and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.