AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Wallington: What Now?
One fact counts most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your engine has run afterwards. Anywhere the car stands — Carshalton, Wallington — never start a motor that hasn't been started yet. Normally that is draining and properly purging it right there in Wallington — so leave your key and engine off and ring 0333 366 0103. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. A bigger job, yes, but the same first move.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Greater London it happened.
At the petrol pump around Wallington: AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, nozzle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. It could be the Shell, or the Shells, or another forecourt in Wallington.
Put simply: no better spot exists to discover it. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Next: resist the temptation to fire it up just to move away from the pump. Get the attendants to help rolling it to a space, save the bottle, then phone us from there. If it can't be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
At home around Wallington with AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had passed with the dash light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you look back at the cap you had used on the drive. Right off Woodcote Road is no less likely from any other place.
The point: zero miles since makes it almost equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. At the floor of that tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Put your keys in the house tonight — otherwise someone may drive it away at breakfast — then call us. South Beddington or Wallington: wherever your driveway is, that is where it gets cleared. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road around Wallington with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, drove away, and soon your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. Anywhere along Stanley Park Road or heading towards Westminster — under 15 miles away.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue in already. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a bigger run, once the filter and pipework have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a safe spot, stop, and switch your motor off. Services farther along can wait: from the M23, under 10 miles out of Wallington, take the first junction. It won't have cleared, and so there is no sense starting it again to find out. Call, saying how far the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right next to the diesel one, which you did not know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Wherever you are around Greater London, every driver can be caught.
In short: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which depend on if it's run. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside the nearest station, or beside Wallington Library? Leave the car off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Wallington?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". Lighter, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; no clear recollection of which cap. Look familiar? The gates of Wood Field Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or a friend's drive over in Bandonhill.
The upshot: the engine is not harmed by some AdBlue spilled around the filler. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by turning on the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, then leave your engine off. Inspecting a tank that proves clean is better than emptying one after it has been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
What every AdBlue drain around Wallington has in common
Each case gets the same start to the job. Three questions are asked once our technicians reach the car — at a forecourt, a driveway, a road beside Wallington Methodist Church or the car park at The Whispering Moon: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. Answers shape the job; the price comes by phone whilst nobody has left yet.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and some metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the car. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers turn up.
Our technicians start the car at the end. Our test that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before we go. When it's spotted quickly, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Check your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover is included in many policies.
About Wallington, briefly
Wallington is a locality in the London Borough of Sutton, situated approximately 10 miles south of central London. Wallington sits at an elevation of around 68 metres, with nearby areas including South Beddington, Carshalton on the Hill, and Woodcote Green. Wallington is predominantly composed of flat dwellings, reflecting its urban character. Wallington has a population of around 7025 residents, contributing to the wider London community.
AdBlue drains about Wallington and across Greater London
As a small village, Wallington has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Woodcote Green, Carshalton on the Hill — all the way across SM postcodes. A postcode starting SM6 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No moving is required, be it stopped centrally in Wallington or in a layby en route to Wallington Sports Club, and so leave it put. Our technicians drain the car where it is. Assuming doesn't help near Wallington United Reformed Church, on a border or somewhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Run by now? Pull over, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whatever case, across Wallington and Greater London, on 0333 366 0103.