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AdBlue in Fuel Fixer

AdBlue in Diesel Tank or Fuel in AdBlue Tank?

Put AdBlue in the fuel tank by mistake? We are the answer.

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Do these in order.

1Do not turn the keyNot even to move the car. Turning the ignition is what draws AdBlue towards the pump and the injectors.2Note how much went inEven a splash matters. Tell us roughly how much, and whether the engine has run at all.3Call us for an AdBlue drainOne call. We tell you how much it costs, then the nearest engineer comes to you.
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Free advice on the phone. Nothing to pay to ask.

Answered 24 hours · engineer to you in about 46 minutes · anywhere in the UK

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Europe’s Largest24/7Misfuel and AdBlue specialist, answering around the clock

Every day of the year, including bank holidays. Most misfuels happen at the start or the end of a journey, which is rarely office hours.

EnglandScotlandWalesNorthern IrelandIrelandGermanySwitzerlandLiechtensteinLuxembourgBelgiumNetherlandsFrance

● Corporate offices in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. Engineers working across all twelve.

46 minAverage arrival
250,000+Rescues since 2009
9,800+Reviews across 3 platforms
12 countriesEngineers across Europe
No towing
No garage bill
Price agreed first

Why choose Fuel Fixer

We are an international AdBlue and fuel draining business, and the most technologically advanced one in the field. Our engineers carry Gespasa European pump technology, the best in the industry.

Gespasa ATEX transfer pumpEuropean technology

It clears the tank and the fuel lines in minutes, self-priming and explosion-proof, with a recirculation bypass so the flow stays controlled throughout. Anti-rust treated, because it goes near your paintwork.

What that means for you

  • Tank and lines cleared in minutes, not hours
  • Controlled suction, so nothing in the fuel system is stressed
  • Certified for explosive atmospheres, safe on a live forecourt
  • Quiet enough to work outside a house at night

What older pumps do

  • Drag on for hours while you wait at the roadside
  • Risk damage to the pump, lines and injectors
  • Loud enough to be a problem in a residential street
  • Often need the vehicle recovered instead

We are already in your area

We offer coverage from thirty-four branches, so the van sets off from your area rather than from a depot at the other end of the country.

Branch covering Rochdale (OL12)Branch covering Gateshead (NE8)Branch covering Leeds (WF3)Branch covering Grantham (NG31)Branch covering Bristol (BS49)Branch covering East Grinstead (RH19)Branch covering Norfolk (PE37)Branch covering Dudley (DY5)Branch covering Newry (BT35)Branch covering Bournemouth (BH8)Branch covering Widnes (WA8)Branch covering Dundee (DD4)Branch covering Bury St Edmunds (IP28)Branch covering Fife (KY3)Branch covering Hull (HU10)Branch covering Coventry (CV5)Branch covering Peterhead (AB42)Branch covering Newcastle-under-Lyme (ST5)Branch covering Sunderland (SR4)Branch covering Bedford (MK42)Branch covering Swindon (SN25)Branch covering Tavistock (PL19)Branch covering Coatbridge (ML5)Branch covering Harlow (CM20)Branch covering Taunton (TA2)Branch covering Durham (DL17)Branch covering Andover (SP11)Branch covering Neath (SA11)Branch covering Harrow (HA3)Branch covering Peacehaven (BN10)Branch covering Cork (P31)Branch covering Westerham (TN16)Branch covering Dartford (DA1)Branch covering Rotherham (S66)Cork office (T23)East Grinstead HQ (RH19)
BranchHead office
  • Scotland 4
  • North of England 8
  • Midlands 5
  • East of England 3
  • South East & London 6
  • South West & Wales 6
  • Ireland & Northern Ireland 2

What happens if AdBlue goes in the wrong tank

AdBlue is not a fuel and it is not petrol in a diesel. Here is what it actually does, both ways round, before you ring anybody.

AdBlue in a diesel tank

What happens if you put AdBlue in a diesel tank?

  • If you have not started it. Nothing has happened yet. The AdBlue is sitting in the tank and a drain puts it right, usually in about half an hour.
  • If the engine has run. AdBlue does not burn and it does not lubricate, so the high pressure pump is being asked to run dry. You get rough running, smoke, warning lights and then a stall.
  • If you kept driving. AdBlue is mostly water with a salt called urea in it. As the water evaporates the urea sets hard in the lines, the filter and the injectors, and it eats into aluminium and copper on the way through. That is the difference between a drain and a fuel system rebuild.

The common one. On a lot of vehicles the two fillers sit side by side under the same flap.

Fuel in the AdBlue tank

What happens if you put fuel in the AdBlue tank?

  • If you have not started it. Same answer. Nothing yet, and a drain sorts it. Do not turn the key.
  • If the engine has run. Diesel or petrol in the AdBlue tank hits the emissions system rather than the fuel system. The part that squirts AdBlue into the exhaust fouls up, the dash warns, and most vehicles drop into limp mode.
  • If you kept driving. The AdBlue pump and the part that squirts it into the exhaust are what is at risk, and neither is cheap. Stop and let us take it out.

Rarer, and mostly vans and HGVs, where both caps live under the one flap.

It was only a splashA small amount is still a problem, and it is the thing we are asked about most. AdBlue does not dilute into diesel, it separates and sinks, so it settles exactly where the pump draws from.
I have already driven on itMost of the vehicles we attend have run. Stop, switch off, do not restart. We drain the tank, flush the lines and the filter and refuel at the roadside.
Is ad blue the same as AdBlue?Yes, the same thing written two ways. AdBlue is a brand name for the liquid that cleans up diesel exhaust, and it is often typed as two words. Either way, in the fuel tank the advice is identical.
I cannot tell which cap is whichOn plenty of vans and HGVs both caps sit under the one flap and look alike. If you are not sure what went where, do not start it. Tell us what the caps looked like and we will work it out on the phone.

Why AdBlue cannot wait

A wrong fuel call is about lubrication. An AdBlue call is about lubrication, crystals and corrosion at the same time, which is why the clock matters more. We attend them every week.

It does not burn and it does not lubricateA diesel pump is lubricated by the fuel passing through it. AdBlue gives it neither, so running the engine runs the pump dry.
It crystallises as it driesOnce the water goes, the urea sets hard inside the tank, the lines, the filter, the pump and the injectors.
It eats the wrong metalsUrea attacks aluminium, copper and some steels. Contact time is the one variable you still control.
Fuel in the AdBlue tank is the same callThat one hits the emissions system instead of the fuel system. Either way, do not start it.

What we are called out to

AdBlue in diesel tankAdBlue in fuel tankFuel in AdBlue tankAd blue in dieselAdBlue in diesel by mistakeAccidentally put AdBlue in dieselSmall amount of AdBlue in diesel tankDoes AdBlue mix with dieselAdBlue misfuelAdBlue removalAdBlue drain serviceDiesel in AdBlue tankAdBlue wrong tankPetrol in AdBlue tankAdBlue in diesel tank repair cost

Whatever you drive

CarsVansMotorhomesHGVsCoachesPlant & machineryHire carsFleetsAgricultural

Thirty-four branches. One is near you.

We offer coverage from these towns, so the van sets off from your area rather than a depot three counties away.

RochdaleGatesheadLeedsGranthamBristolEast GrinsteadNorfolkDudleyNewryBournemouthWidnesDundeeBury St EdmundsFifeHullCoventryPeterheadNewcastle-under-LymeSunderlandBedfordSwindonTavistockCoatbridgeHarlowTauntonDurhamAndoverNeathHarrowPeacehavenWesterhamDartfordRotherhamCork

Nine thousand people have already been where you are

Independently collected on three public platforms. Go and check any of them.

Reviews.io 4.8★★★★★ 6,718 reviews · 95% recommend us
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ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015Quality and environmental management, independently audited. Certificate 467912024.
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The questions everyone asks

I have put AdBlue in my diesel tank. What now?
Do not start the engine and do not turn the key. AdBlue is water with a salt called urea in it, not a fuel, and it eats into the metals a diesel fuel system is made of. Ring us and an engineer drains the tank, flushes the lines and the filter, and refills with clean diesel.
What happens if you put AdBlue in a diesel tank?
AdBlue does not burn and does not lubricate, so once the engine draws it through, the high pressure pump runs dry. As the water in it evaporates the urea crystallises hard inside the tank, lines, filter and injectors. Caught before the engine runs it is a drain. Left after the engine runs it becomes a much larger repair.
What happens if you put a small amount of AdBlue in?
A small amount is still a problem, and it is the question we are asked most. AdBlue does not dilute harmlessly into diesel, it separates and sinks, so even a tiny amount ends up drawn into the fuel line, settling exactly where the pump takes from. Do not start the engine and do not try to top up over it.
I accidentally put AdBlue in my diesel tank. What now?
Leave the ignition alone and ring us. If the engine has already run, stop it and do not restart. We drain the tank, flush the lines and the filter and refuel with clean diesel at the roadside. Putting AdBlue in a diesel tank by mistake is one of the most common calls we take.
Does AdBlue mix with diesel?
No. It is water with urea salt in it, and it does not blend with diesel. It settles at the bottom of the tank, which is exactly where the pump draws from. That is why topping the tank up does not help.
Petrol or diesel in the AdBlue tank, does it matter which?
Not to what you should do. Neither belongs there and both have to come out, and in both cases it is the emissions system rather than the fuel system that is at risk. It does change what we bring, so tell us which one went in when you ring, along with roughly how much.
I put fuel in the AdBlue tank. What then?
Same call, different system. Diesel or petrol in the AdBlue tank contaminates the emissions system rather than the fuel system, so the part that squirts AdBlue into the exhaust fouls up and most vehicles drop into limp mode. Do not start it, and ring us.
Is ad blue in diesel the same as AdBlue?
Yes, they are the same thing written two ways. AdBlue is a brand name for the liquid that cleans up diesel exhaust, and it is often typed as two words. Whatever it is called, if it has gone into the fuel tank the advice does not change.
What does AdBlue in a diesel tank repair cost?
It depends on the vehicle, where you are and whether the engine has run, so we give you the figure on the phone before an engineer sets off. The call and the advice are free, even if you decide against it, and it is almost always a fraction of a tow plus a garage.
Is there an AdBlue drain service near me?
Almost certainly. Thirty-four branches across the UK and Ireland, so the van sets off from your area rather than from a depot at the other end of the country. Average arrival is about 46 minutes.
The engine has already run. Is it too late?
No, but it changes what has to happen. AdBlue spreads from the tank through the filter, pump and injectors, so the sooner it comes out the less of the system it has reached. Stop the engine, do not restart, and ring us.
Will my insurance or breakdown cover pay for it?
Many policies include misfuelling cover and some breakdown providers subcontract this work to us anyway. We provide a VAT invoice and an engineer report, which is what insurers ask for. Check your policy while we are on the way.
Do you come out at night and at weekends?
Yes. Lines are answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including bank holidays. Most misfuels happen at the start or the end of a journey, which is rarely office hours.
Do you attend vans, HGVs and fleets?
Yes. AdBlue misfuelling is common on HGVs, vans, coaches and agricultural machinery, where the two fillers sit side by side. Roadside, yard, depot or forecourt, with a VAT invoice and engineer report for fleet records.
Where do you cover?
The whole of the UK and Ireland, from thirty-four branches. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with an average arrival of about 46 minutes.

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Fuel Fixer Ltd · AdBlue removal and wrong fuel recovery, UK-wide since 2009.
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