What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in St Margarets
Has the motor run since the AdBlue got in? This single point settles nearly everything else from here. Out in Richmond or right around St Margarets, an unstarted motor must remain that way. Leave the engine and your ignition off and call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around St Margarets. Already started? Stop once you safely can, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Below: the situations our technicians see, anywhere in Greater London. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a St Margarets forecourt
Only now, bottle yet in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. It might be the Shell, or the Esso, or another forecourt in St Margarets.
The point: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. No pump has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue stays only in your tank.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up just to free up the pump. A few jobs: a push into a bay with the attendants assisting, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Draining it right at the pump is possible when it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
St Margarets, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the shop, emptied in on the drive — and it's only at the recycling that the cap got a second look. Right off Bridge Road is not less likely from any other place.
Put simply: if the vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is nearly as good as spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of the tank and stays there, however long it waits.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, be it around St Margarets or Cole Park. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
St Margarets: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two after topping up, your engine started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Maybe it was on Winchester Road, maybe on the way out towards Westminster, under 10 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. Distance decides how deep it gets: filter and lines to begin with, then the injection pump and each injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: pull up somewhere sensible, then turn your motor off. Service stations farther on are too far: from the M4, under 3 miles out of St Margarets, take the first junction. It will not have cleared, and so there's no point restarting to find out. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It is a car you have had for a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Greater London.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Any work on the car often needs the owner's approval under hire or fleet terms.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because sorting it early cuts time. Stuck near St.Margaret of Scotland RC Church or outside St Margarets (London) until the firm answers, your vehicle stays turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, St Margarets?
Now and then, "I think so" is all anyone can honestly say. Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; a hazy memory of the cap. Sound familiar? A hurried stop by the gates of St Stephen's C E Primary School, or a call to a friend in Isleworth: either fit.
Put simply: a spill round your filler does the engine no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up the car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Your move: behave as though it got in, and never start your motor. Phone with what you saw: we would sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once your motor has run.
The common ground in every St Margarets AdBlue drain
Every case has the same opening to the job. Filling station, drive, The Turk's Head's car park or a street by The Self Made Man — our van comes to the car, and three answers come next: which liquid, which quantity, and whether it has run. Those answers determine the work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
Then your tank is cleared and the fuel 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 does not rinse out on its own. The filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Most unrun cars are a half-hour job after the moment our technicians turn up.
The last step is starting it. We confirm it runs smoothly on clean diesel before we leave. Our engineers do the entire job where the vehicle is, and lasting damage is very unusual when it has been noticed early. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Check your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes built into many policies.
About St Margarets and where it is
St Margarets is a suburban area in Greater London, situated on the riverside with views of the River Thames. St Margarets has a relatively low elevation of 11 metres and is located near several notable places, including Cole Park, Twickenham, and Eel Pie Island. St Margarets is characterized by a high proportion of flat dwellings, which reflects its urban setting.
AdBlue drains round St Margarets and across Greater London
Over TW postcodes, the vans serving St Margarets — a residential suburb — work nearby towns too, Twickenham and Eel Pie Island among them. Quickest of all: a TW1 1 postcode to show where you stand.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Moormead Park or in a car park in the middle of St Margarets, it doesn't need to move. Our technicians drain it where it stands. Phone and check rather than guess when you are by J.M.W. Turner, near a border, or somewhere awkward to explain.
The one-line version
Where it hasn't started, ring then leave it that way. Run by now: stop, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest, in St Margarets or wherever across Greater London.