AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Queens Park, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has run since it went in. Not started so far? Then keep it that way, whether the vehicle is — Queens Park or Maida Vale. Usually this is emptying and properly rinsing it right there in Queens Park — so leave the ignition and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. When your engine has been run, stop safely first, then turn the car off. A larger job, yes, but the same opening step.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Greater London it happened.
Queens Park forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you realise the filler you took off wasn't the right one. Possibly you are at the Sainsbury's, possibly at the Shell, perhaps somewhere else around Queens Park.
The point: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. Only your tank holds AdBlue; not one component beyond it has taken it in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue needs clearing. Ring us from the forecourt once the car sits in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to push it — and save the bottle. Emptying it right at the pump is possible when it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Queens Park
Days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. It happens on drives just off Albert Road as often as anywhere.
Put simply: if the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Put your keys indoors overnight — otherwise a person might drive it away at breakfast — then call us. Our engineers drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around Queens Park or out in Kilburn. Night-time empties outside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Queens Park?
A mile or two after topping up, your motor started playing up: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Somewhere on Denmark Road or heading to Westminster — under 5 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked through the system. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it as well on a longer run, once your filter and pipework have it. It travels further with every mile driven and each restart.
Stop safely — that is the next job — then turn it off. Leave at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the M1, under 3 miles from Queens Park. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. About how far had it go? Say so when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days back, it was unknown to you. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel one, which you did not know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Greater London.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or unrun — plus one further stage. Many rental and company agreements need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before our arrival is faster. Leave it switched off as the reply comes, whether you are parked outside Queens Park (London) or near West Kilburn Baptist Church.
Queens Park: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Lighter, that bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? It might have been at a friend's driveway in Kensal Town, or rushing outside St Luke's CofE Primary School at the school run.
Meaning? Spills outside the filler don't reach your motor at all. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Firing up the vehicle will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will suck it in.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Don't crank it. Describe what you saw on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a happier result than an already-run one drained.
What each AdBlue drain around Queens Park has in common
The work opens the same way, whichever your case. We come to your car, whether it is on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Alice House or a side street near St Luke's Church, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if the motor has been run. Your price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies set the job.
Emptying your tank comes next, then a careful flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long it sits. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Not started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Starting the car comes at the end. Our test that it runs correctly on clean diesel comes before our technicians leave. If it is spotted quickly, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job happens where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Check your insurance before we arrive: cover for misfuelling is included in plenty of policies.
About Queens Park, for a moment
Queens Park is a suburban area in northwest London, situated approximately 3.7 miles from the city centre. Queens Park is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing and sits at an elevation of around 36 metres. Queens Park is close to nearby places such as Kilburn, West Kilburn, and Kensal Rise, and is located near the city of Westminster, which is about 4 miles away. Queens Park has a population of around 24626 people.
AdBlue drains about Queens Park and across Greater London
Queens Park is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, West Kilburn and Kensal Rise among them, across the NW postcode area. Quickest of all: a NW6 5 postcode for where you stand.
Parked heading to Woodhouse Urban Park, or right in the heart of Queens Park, your vehicle remains put — there's no need to shift it at all. Where it sits, that is where it gets cleared. If you're somewhere hard to describe, near UK Albanian Muslim Community & Cultural Centre or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In one line: your situation
Still unrun? Keep the car that way then ring. Run by now: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, in Queens Park or anywhere across Greater London.