AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Pratts Bottom: What Now?
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue went in? This one point decides almost everything about what comes next. Not run yet? Then leave it like that, whether your car is — Pratts Bottom or Green Street Green. Normally that is draining and properly purging it on the spot in Pratts Bottom — so leave your ignition and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. Step one remains the same, even if the work is bigger.
Further down: the cases our technicians meet, wherever in Greater London. Choose yours.
Pratts Bottom forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Only now, bottle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Somewhere around Pratts Bottom, then — Esso, Shell, or somewhere else nearby.
Meaning? Spotting it here is as good as it can be. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up just to move away from the petrol pump. Phone us from the forecourt after the vehicle sits in a space — the attendants will help push it — then keep the bottle. If it can't be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Pratts Bottom
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle bought at the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it's just at the bin that the cap got a second look. Driveways near Norsted Lane see it as much as any other street.
Meaning? Provided your car hasn't moved since, it's second to the pump case. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping the keys indoors, then ring us. Rushmore Hill or Pratts Bottom: whichever your driveway is, that's where it is emptied. Night-time clears outside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Pratts Bottom?
Topped up, pulled away, and soon your engine was running unevenly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. Maybe it was on Runciman Close, possibly on the way out towards London, under 15 miles away.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a longer trip, after the filter and pipework have it. Every restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Do this: stop somewhere safe, then switch the motor off. Pratts Bottom lies under 3 miles from the M25; there, come off at the next junction rather than pushing on for the services. No test starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Phone, saying how far the car was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
It is a motor you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you did not know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you are around Greater London, every motorist could slip up.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts here — run or unrun — plus one further step. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Next: ring the rental company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is quicker. Waiting for an answer in the car park outside Knockholt, or beside Pratts Bottom Village Hall? Keep the engine off throughout.
Pratts Bottom: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near your filler; no clear memory of the cap. Look familiar? Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Pratts Bottom Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Bopeep.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to your engine. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Firing up the car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Do not start the vehicle. Ring us and describe 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 Pratts Bottom AdBlue drain
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Our engineers come to your car, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside Bull's Head or a side street close to Bird Bath of the Ages, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if the engine has run. Replies set the job; the price follows on the call while no one has set off yet.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, and so it does not wash out on its own; that's why the flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Finally are the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. If your engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our engineers start the engine at the end. We make sure it runs properly on fresh diesel before leaving. We do the whole job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very rare if it has been caught quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Pratts Bottom
Pratts Bottom is a village in Greater London, situated inland at an elevation of 112 metres, approximately 15.5 miles from central London. Pratts Bottom is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its suburban nature. Pratts Bottom is close to nearby places such as Rushmore Hill, Chelsfield, and Halstead, and is part of the wider commuter belt around London.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Pratts Bottom included
Throughout BR postcodes, the teams covering Pratts Bottom — a rural village — reach surrounding towns too, Chelsfield and Halstead among them. Quickest of all: a BR6 7 postcode to show your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Pratts Bottom Village Green or in a car park in the middle of Pratts Bottom, it does not need to move. We drain the car where it is. Guessing doesn't help beside All Souls' Church, Pratts Bottom, close to a county line or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
In one line: your scenario
Motor not started: ring, leaving it switched off. Run by now: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, within Pratts Bottom or anywhere in Greater London.