Preventing AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Nine Elms: Why It Occurs
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103. In Nine Elms, finding it before the engine turns normally means draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Not happened yet? Further down, the page covers the reasons it takes place and the how to prevent it altogether.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
Not one fluid but two: that is how plenty of modern diesels around Nine Elms and Clapham carry, with diesel for the motor. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Different tanks, different fillers. Under one flap, side by side: that is the layout on a lot of vehicles. On others, AdBlue's filler sits under the bonnet or in the boot instead. Diesel goes in on each filling station call-out, again and again. The AdBlue side is topped up far less frequently, normally from a bottle, and usually by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. It is in that gap that the mistake lives.
AdBlue in the diesel tank around Nine Elms: how it takes place
Rarely is it carelessness: usually three things line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a message from your car, and letting it run out leads to limp mode — so a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Havelock Terrace, perhaps outside Masons Arms on the way home after work.
The old car's filler is where the hand goes — but a hire car, a new motor or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That is the second factor: a new vehicle.
A spouted bottle meets no resistance at a diesel filler any more than at an AdBlue one. And so the pour, after started, keeps on. Pimlico or the middle of Nine Elms: it takes the same few seconds either way.
The AdBlue filler and the diesel filler: telling them apart
Look at these before pouring, at a forecourt in Nine Elms or a driveway over in Oval. A few seconds, that's all.
- Check the cap rather than going by position: AdBlue ones are often blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel caps normally aren't.
- Look at the size: the smaller filler neck is, on many motors, the AdBlue one.
- Check inside the fuel flap: many vehicles have a label there showing which fuel goes where.
- Can't see it next to the diesel inlet? Then check beneath the bonnet or in your boot — the owner's manual will say which.
- The previous driver knows. Check as you pick up a rental or fleet car — from Battersea Park's car park, say — not once the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach the diesel tank
On the day the warning comes on — anywhere it is in Greater London — a routine to follow.
- Switch off after you park — flat ground, engine stopped, and not in a rush by Battersea Park Road at the roadside.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft and it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the car on.
- Slowly does it, through the bottle's own spout, till it is full or the bottle runs out.
- Only then, start your car: close the cap, check again, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Stage five is out.
Already put AdBlue in the diesel tank around Nine Elms?
Don't start the engine: that's where the short order of things begins. Don't switch the ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
At a forecourt — Shell, Texaco or any other — the attendants will normally help roll your car clear, when you ask. Your own driveway around Nine Elms is where it should stay.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the engine has already run. Nine Elms lies under 10 miles from the M4; there, take the first exit. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing Nine Elms is less work than a trip of under 3 miles to Westminster, so tell us.
When our engineers get there around Nine Elms, what happens?
The van comes to the car wherever it has come to rest — your own driveway, near Battersea Gasholder, or outside St Mary's RC Voluntary Aided Primary School. Both the work and our price depend on three answers — what liquid, what amount, and if it's run — so our technicians ask. You get that quote on the phone, before anyone sets off.
Your system is then cleaned thoroughly, after your tank is cleared. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that counts more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Your engine is fired up next and tested to make sure it runs smoothly, all before our engineers head off.
Unrun vehicles usually need a half-hour visit after arrival. The equipment is safe on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway late at night. The insurer will ask for an engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and you get both once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no deposit. While we travel, take a look at your policy; many include cover for misfuelling.
About Nine Elms and where it is
Nine Elms is a suburban area in central London, situated on the riverside with views of the Thames. Nine Elms sits at a low elevation of around 4 metres, close to the heart of the city and near neighbouring areas like Pimlico and South Lambeth. Nine Elms is predominantly composed of flat dwellings, housing a population of approximately 12,893 people. Nine Elms is located near several key London landmarks, including Westminster, which is just 1.8 miles away.
Nine Elms and Greater London: AdBlue drains across the area
Over SW postcodes, the teams covering Nine Elms — a residential suburb — work the surrounding places too, South Lambeth and Union Mews among them. Fastest of all: quote a SW8 4 postcode to our van.
Moving the car isn't needed. Our engineers drain it where it is — a side street near Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph, a lay-by on the way to Central Gardens, a driveway. Ring and ask instead of guessing if you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to describe, like the back of Battersea Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Nine Elms drivers: the short version
Always, the cap; then, the tip. Still AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel will empty it where it is, anywhere in Greater London: switch it off and ring 0333 366 0103.