AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Stockwell, and What to Do Next
Everything hinges on a single detail: whether your engine has started after the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Out in Clapham Park or right around Stockwell, an unstarted motor should remain unrun. Usually this is draining and properly purging it right there in Stockwell — and so leave your key and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. A bigger job, yes, yet the identical first step.
Below: the situations our technicians meet, anywhere across Greater London. Pick yours.
Stockwell forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: stood by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the cap you took off was not the right one. Anywhere around Stockwell, then — Texaco, Esso, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. No pump has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue stays just inside your tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to start it — so do not get back in. Have the staff to lend a hand pushing it to a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt sensible, so we can drain it where it is.
At home around Stockwell with AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a warning had been lit for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened on the driveway. Driveways close to Cottage Grove see it as much as anywhere.
The upshot: zero miles since makes this nearly equal to finding it at the petrol pump. At the bottom of the tank is exactly where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
Next: prevent an early move by keeping the keys in the house, then ring us. Your drive is where it is emptied, be it in Stockwell or Clapham. Night-time clears beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
On the road in Stockwell with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard started a short way after the fill. Maybe heading to Westminster, under 3 miles away, or just along Bedford Road.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into the system. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Every restart, like each mile, carries it on.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then switch the motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M4, under 10 miles from Stockwell. It will not have cleared, and so there is no point restarting to check. Let us know the mileage covered as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've just driven this car for days. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel one, which you did not know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Greater London.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the cases above, which depend on if it has run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, so ring the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Keep the vehicle switched off while the answer arrives, even if you are waiting outside Clapham High Street or near PC Patrick Dunne.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Stockwell
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". What cap came off, you can't recall; but the bottle weighs less than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Clapham Manor Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Poynders Parade: both fit.
The upshot: the engine is not harmed by some AdBlue spilled on the outside. Inside your diesel tank, by contrast, AdBlue damages it. Firing up your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
Next: act as though it went in, then leave your engine off. Phone with what you saw: we'd rather confirm a clean tank than drain one once the motor has been run.
The common ground in each Stockwell AdBlue drain
The work opens the same way, whichever the situation. Wherever the car stands — The Falcon's car park, a road beside Love of Christ Generation Church, a drive, a forecourt — our van arrives and asks for the fluid, the amount, and whether the motor has been run. Those answers determine the work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out unaided; that's why a full flush, after this drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Last are the filter, flushed or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the car. Most unstarted cars are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers arrive.
Finally, our technicians start the engine. We make sure it runs properly on clean diesel before leaving. Permanent damage is very rare if it is noticed early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Paying comes that day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About Stockwell and where it is
Stockwell is a densely populated suburban area in inner London, situated approximately 3 miles south of the city centre. Stockwell sits at a relatively low elevation of 18 metres, with its landscape dominated by flat dwellings. Stockwell is close to several nearby places, including Clapham, Union Mews, and Brixton, and is within walking distance of Westminster. Stockwell has a large and diverse population of around 23384 people.
AdBlue drains about Stockwell and across Greater London
Being a residential suburb, Stockwell shares its vans with the nearby towns — Brixton, Union Mews — right through SW postcodes. Telling us your SW4 7 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Central Stockwell or a layby near The Kerb Garden: either way it is, your vehicle doesn't need to shift at all for us. Wherever it sits, that is where it is emptied. Assuming doesn't help near Fenwick Hall, on a border or somewhere awkward to describe; ring and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Motor not started: ring, leaving it alone. Already run: stop, switch off and call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Stockwell and anywhere across Greater London on 0333 366 0103.