AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Kenley: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your engine has run since it went in. Not started so far? Then keep it like that, wherever the car sits — Kenley or Coulsdon. Usually this means draining and properly cleaning it right there in Kenley — and so keep the ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. When the motor has been run, pull in somewhere safe first, then turn the vehicle off. A bigger job, then, yet the identical opening move.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, wherever across Greater London you are.
On a Kenley forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: stood by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the cap you took off wasn't the correct one. Somewhere around Kenley, then — Shell, BP, or somewhere else close by.
The upshot: of all places to find out, this is the best. Just your tank holds AdBlue; no part beyond it has taken any in.
Do this: stay out of the car, even if the queue needs freeing. Three things: a push into a space with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from where you stand. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Kenley
For days the dash had been nagging you. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it's only by the recycling that the cap got a second look. Driveways near Frobisher Close see it as much as any other street.
In short: if the car has not been driven since, it's nearly as good as finding out at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Keep your keys in the house tonight — otherwise someone might drive it away first thing — and phone us. Out in Old Coulsdon or here in Kenley, the drain happens at your drive. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
Kenley: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way beyond filling up, your engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Anywhere on Highwood Close or heading to Westminster — under 15 miles away.
The point: your system has drawn AdBlue through by now. It's been through the filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More miles, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Do this: stop anywhere sensible, then switch your engine off. On the M23, under 3 miles from Kenley, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. About how far did it gone? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've only driven the car for days. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, the cap is right next to the diesel cap — a surprise to you. Across Greater London, no one is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Many hire and fleet agreements require the owner's sign-off for repairs.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. If you're stranded in the car park outside the nearest station, or by Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Kenley: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think so. Lighter, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round your filler; no clear recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? The gates of The Hayes Primary School in a rush, say, or someone's drive out in Purley.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no harm to the motor. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Starting your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it will pull it in.
Assume it got in, and don't turn your key. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue is better than draining one once it has been run — so phone and tell us what you saw.
Kenley: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Our engineers come to your car, whether it is at a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Wattenden Arms or a side street close to RAF Kenley Tribute, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if the motor has been run. On the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told our quote, and those answers decide the job too.
Then your tank is drained and your system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. Before our technicians head off, it's checked to confirm it runs properly on new diesel. When it is spotted soon, the car very seldom has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. Payment comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy while you wait is worthwhile.
About Kenley and where it is
Kenley is a suburban area in Greater London, situated approximately 13.5 miles from central London and 161 metres above sea level. Kenley is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock and is located near other suburban areas such as Old Coulsdon, Whyteleafe, and Riddlesdown. Kenley has a population of around 1479 residents and is close to Westminster, which is about 13.1 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Kenley, and across Greater London too
Kenley is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Whyteleafe and Riddlesdown among them, across the CR postcode area. A postcode starting CR8 5 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No moving is required, whether parked centrally in Kenley or on a layby en route to Dollypers Hill Nature Reserve, and so keep it where it is. Wherever it stands, that is where it is drained. Assuming won't help beside St John The Evangelist, close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Kenley and anywhere in Greater London on 0333 366 0103.