AdBlue tank drain
An AdBlue tank drain removes contaminated or off-specification fluid from the SCR tank before it reaches the pump and the injector. It is a mobile job in most cases — call 01293 248666 for a quote before a technician travels.
Draining an AdBlue tank is not draining a fuel tank. The tank holds a heater element, a level sender and usually an in-tank strainer, and it is plumbed to a metering pump rather than to a high-pressure fuel pump. The fluid recovered is a controlled waste stream. What matters far more than the drain itself is what went in: water-based contamination usually ends at the drain and flush, hydrocarbon contamination usually does not.
Call 01293 248666 From just £89 call-out fee
AdBlue tank drain — the severity verdict
| Severity | Likely recoverable Usually resolved by a drain and flush, with a fluid-quality check afterwards. |
|---|---|
| What went where | AdBlue tank drain |
| Direction | SCR system fault |
| Typical cost | £180–£480 typical total, from a £89 call-out |
| Time on site | About 75 minutes |
| Call-out | From just £89 call-out fee |
| Helpline | 01293 248666, 24 hours |
£89 is the call-out. An AdBlue tank drain and flush is quoted on the phone before a technician travels. If the SCR system needs component replacement — dosing injector, pump, tank or catalyst — that is separate, and you will be told before any work starts. If this is a job we cannot fix at the roadside, we will tell you that on the phone rather than after we arrive.
What to do right now
- Establish what went in and how much — that is what decides the job.
- Do not run the engine if the contamination is a hydrocarbon.
- Call 01293 248666 for a quote before a technician travels.
What a technician actually does
Tank drained and the waste captured, flushed with demineralised water and then with AUS 32, strainer inspected, refilled with certified fluid, stored codes read and cleared, and a dosing test before sign-off.
Why this is not the same job as the other direction
This is an SCR system fault rather than a wrong fill, so the first job is reading the codes rather than guessing at a part. The same dashboard message covers a bottle of fluid and a catalyst.
Common questions
Can the AdBlue tank be drained at the roadside?
In most cases yes. Whether that is the end of the job depends on what contaminated it — a hydrocarbon frequently means component work that is not roadside.
Can I drain it myself?
The fluid is a controlled waste and some tanks have no drain plug at all, needing removal or extraction through the sender aperture. It is also easy to damage the sender.
Do I need new fluid afterwards?
Yes, a full refill with certified ISO 22241 fluid. That is included in the quote you are given on the phone.
What customers say
4.8 out of 5 from 2,190 Trustpilot reviews. What reviewers mention most is that the technician stayed calm and professional with a driver who was embarrassed and stressed, and that somebody arrived when they said they would.
The most common criticism is price. People do not expect a wrong-fluid job to cost what it costs, and that is a fair complaint to publish rather than bury. The answer is the From just £89 call-out fee, a quote given on the phone before a technician travels, and being told when a job cannot be done at the roadside rather than after somebody has arrived and charged for the visit.
Related AdBlue problems
Start from a symptom instead
Where we cover
Who you are dealing with
Work booked through AdBlue in Fuel is carried out by Fuel Fixer Ltd, company no 08520551, registered at Fairway House, Portland Road, East Grinstead, RH19 4ET, trading as Forecourt Assist and part of Fuel Fixer International, which is owned by Stockbridge Capital Holdings.
Reference: Selective catalytic reduction (Wikipedia).
Across the Fuel Fixer network
These are sister brands of the same company, not unrelated sites. Forecourt Assist keeps the canonical list at forecourtassist.co.uk/network rather than duplicating it here.