AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Plaistow, and What to Do Next
All of that hinges on one fact: if your engine has started after the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Not started yet? Then keep the vehicle like that, whether your car sits — Plaistow or Canning Town. Leave the motor and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Plaistow. Stop the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. A bigger job, yes, but the same opening move.
Wherever across Greater London it happened, one of the cases below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Plaistow forecourt
Picture it: standing by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the correct one. Be it Esso, BP or somewhere else around Plaistow, the case is identical.
In short: no better place exists to discover it. Only the tank holds AdBlue; no part past it has taken any in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, however much the pump needs clearing. Phone us from the forecourt once the car sits in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — and save the bottle. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Plaistow, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used on the drive. Right off Dongola Road West is not different from any other place.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Put the keys in the house overnight — or a person may take it off at breakfast — then phone us. In West Ham or here around Plaistow, the draining is done at your drive. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road around Plaistow with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way beyond topping up, the engine began misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. Balaam Street, perhaps, or the route to London — a run of under 10 miles.
The upshot: the system has pulled AdBlue through already. Through the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it deeper.
Next: find a sensible spot, stop, then switch your motor off. Exit at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M11, under 5 miles from Plaistow. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Roughly how far had it go? Say so as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have only had this vehicle for days. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it in another spot. Anywhere you are across Greater London, any motorist could be caught.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with one added stage. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under plenty of hire and fleet contracts.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. If you're stuck in the car park at West Ham, or by Reachout Homes, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Plaistow?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Sound familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of Grange Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Upton Park: both fit.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to your engine. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in the tank will be sucked in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn the key. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain in Plaistow has in common
Whatever the case, one start is used. Three things are asked when our engineers reach the car — on a filling station, a drive, a road beside Making Connections or the car park outside South West Ham Labour Club: the liquid, the amount, and whether the motor has been started. The price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the answers set the job.
Then your tank is drained and your system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour on site is most jobs.
The last step is starting the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians confirm it is running properly, and then we head off. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's spotted quickly, permanent damage is very uncommon. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Plaistow, for a moment
Plaistow is a suburban area in the London Borough of Newham, situated approximately 6.7 miles east of central London. Plaistow sits near the River Lea, at a low elevation of around 5 metres, and is surrounded by other residential areas such as West Ham and Upton. Plaistow has a predominantly terraced housing stock, reflecting its historical development as a residential suburb. Plaistow is home to a diverse population of around 22,433 people.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Plaistow included
Plaistow is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Upton and Hallsville Quarter among them, across the E postcode area. Quickest of all: a E13 0 postcode to show where you stand.
Centre of Plaistow or a lay-by towards Plaistow Park: either way it sits, your car doesn't need to shift at all for the drain. Draining is done on the spot. Phone and check rather than guess when you're by Memorial Community Church, on a boundary, or anywhere awkward to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor not started: ring, leaving it alone. Run by now: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Plaistow or wherever in Greater London.