AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Holloway, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your engine has run since it got in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is in Holloway itself or out in Highbury. Usually that is draining and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Holloway — so leave the key and engine off and ring 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has already run. Step one stays the same, even though the work is bigger.
Match what happened to one of the list below, anywhere across Greater London you are.
On a Holloway forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You are 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. Possibly you are at the Esso, maybe at the Shell, perhaps somewhere else in Holloway.
The point: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. Still in your tank, and nothing pulled onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Next: resist the urge to start it only to free up the pump. A few jobs: a push into a bay with the attendants helping, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Holloway drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. Picked up a bottle, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, after the fact. Houses just off Arthur Road get caught out as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and remains put, no matter how long the night.
Next: stop an early move by putting the keys in the house, then phone us. In Tufnell Park or right here in Holloway, the draining is done on your driveway. Late-night drains beside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Holloway: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Hertslet Road, perhaps, or the way to London — a run of under 5 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it too on a bigger trip, after the filter and pipework have had it. It goes deeper with every mile driven and every restart.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then turn the motor off. On the M1, under 5 miles from Holloway, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying how far the vehicle went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days ago, the car was new to you. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is just by your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Anyone, wherever in Greater London, could make the same.
Meaning? Whichever case above counts too — run or not — plus one extra step. Work on your vehicle frequently requires the owner's go-ahead under hire or fleet terms.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. If you are stuck in the car park at Drayton Park, or by Selbys, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Holloway
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Grafton Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Archway.
The point: your motor is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Firing up the car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would pull it in.
Do this: act as if it got in, and don't start your motor. Ring us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Holloway AdBlue drain
Every situation has the same start to the job. Our engineers come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at Big Red or a side street near Nag's Head Town Centre, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has run. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told the price, and those replies shape the job too.
Draining that tank comes first, then a careful flush — more important with urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion won't clear by themselves, no matter how long you wait. Last are the filter, flushed or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a test of your car. Never started? Then roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
Our engineers fire it up at the end. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been noticed soon. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. Check your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover is included in plenty of policies.
About Holloway itself
Holloway is a densely populated suburban area in north London, situated approximately 3.5 miles from the city centre. Holloway sits at an elevation of around 34 metres, with its predominant housing stock consisting of flats. Holloway is surrounded by other notable areas, including Tufnell Park, Lower Holloway, and Finsbury Park, and is home to a diverse population of around 23,351 residents.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Holloway included
As a residential suburb, Holloway shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Finsbury Park, Lower Holloway — all the way through N postcodes. A postcode starting N7 6 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Central Holloway or a layby towards Camden Road Open Space: either way it is, your car doesn't need to move at all for us. Where it stands, that is where it is emptied. Tricky to explain? By Holloway Seventh-Day Adventist Church or a county line? Checking beats assuming, and so ring.
Your situation, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Started already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever it is, across Holloway and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.