AdBlue consumption

I had that happen once. I had parked the car, armed the alarm, and let the rain closure close the sunroof. When I came back out the wipers would only make one swipe when put on the auto setting. At a long light I shut the car off, took the key out, and armed the alarm. A moment later the turn signals blinked like they do with the rain closure. I restarted and the wipers worked properly.

I guess the computers got stuck... it never "finished" doing the rain closure and "locked up" the rain sensor?

-J

It's free with every service at VW dealer. Not an issue for me.

VeeDubTDI said:

Get whatever makes your wallet happy - it's all the same.

It is referred to as AdBlue or Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) and is available at most auto parts stores and truck stops.

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I've also heard it referred to as BluePi$$, all pee jokes aside.

Niner said:

Any time you do a refill of Adblue, turn the ignition on without starting the motor and wait for 30 seconds so the AdBlue tank can reset the ECU readings after the adblue fillup. Then start your motor. It's in the Owners Manual.

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Hmm, I checked mine as part of my 15km service and it showed 67%. Added a 1/2 gal and it went to 74%. Added 2.5 more gallons and it stayed at the 74% level. I tried ignition on, wait a minute, start it, stop, on again and I could not get it to budge.
I checked both 98 and 525 (with 98 being a touch higher - 3% than 525)
FWIW.
Steve

tdiclubfan said:

How often do you need to top it up? How much does a bottle of AdBlue cost and how many do you need for each refill when the car is out of warranty? Thanks!

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This is only a 3.0 L TDI comparison , 2012 VW T, as I found this thread as a search return. @ app 12.6k miles the vehicle status panel appeared on the screen and indicated 1500 miles left for the ad blue (14,100 miles) . I bee lined it to the dealer, where they took the car right away and proceeded to fill with 2 containers of 2.5 gal. One container was app 1 qt to 1.5 qt shy. (640 oz- (32 to 48 oz)= or fill of 608 to 592 oz in 12,600 miles. Another way of expressing this consumption is 48.25 oz per 1,000 miles. So really 5 gals in 15,000 miles is probably a middle most AVERAGE/ballpark. Fuel mileage is app 30 mpg.

So I would say top it only when the status screen comes on and and do not exceed the mileage that it posts. in my case 1,500 miles trip or so to go. 2.5 gal container of Blue DEF ranges from 10.79 to 13.99. Warranty or not I am swaging the same quantity.

Can you mix adblue with off the shelf Def or the stuff they sell at truck stops?

It's all the same stuff...

-J

Thanks. Wasn't sure.

An interesting tidbit. My friend has a 2012 Silverado diesel. It is pretty much a dedicated tow vehicle. His calculations are that DEF costs are 2% of diesel fuel consumed when diesel is about $4/gallon. That is the same as I estimate for the Passat. His lifetime average is about 12mpg where mine is 38mpg.

APT said:

An interesting tidbit. My friend has a 2012 Silverado diesel. It is pretty much a dedicated tow vehicle. His calculations are that DEF costs are 2% of diesel fuel consumed when diesel is about $4/gallon. That is the same as I estimate for the Passat. His lifetime average is about 12mpg where mine is 38mpg.

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Given the 2012 VWT 3.0 TDI, 5.0 gals or WalMart 13.99 per 2.5 gal container x2/15,000 miles that is .0018653 per mile x 30 mpg= .055959 cents per gal.

Ad Blue

Just checked my level of AdBlue.

The warning light came on at 16k miles. Pretty sure the dealer did NOT top it off at the 10k service. Thanks VW.

So I added 1.5 gals and the level reads 77.69%. I think it should have about 2 gallons in there now so it should read 40%. The 77% figure seems VERY similar to some of the other levels I read in this forum.

Anyone concerned about the readings from the VCDS? It doesn't seem accurate to me.

Also, I've read in this forum many times about using an approved container, etc to add fluid. I just offloaded a gallon into a old gallon water jug and filled the AdBlue resevoir with a long funnel (about 6 inch neck). It filled no problem, so I see no need for the unique bottle unless you are worried about spilling.

peace.

Spills are the only reason to use the fancy bottle.

The tank is 5 gallons... so you were down to about 1.5 when the light came on? If it has 3 gallons in there the 77% figure makes sense.

-J

I just did my 30k service and bought a 2.5 gal bottle from advance auto for $12. The tank was full when I got to the bottom with about a cup to spare. I used a .5 gallon VW kruse bottle that I cut the bottom out of as a funnel and it worked great. Only thing you have to be careful of is as the air purges out it will spit Ad blue back at you. I had to clean up some from the trunk carpeting when I was done.


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...note to self...wrap adblue filler neck with Depends/Huggies before filling...

tdiatlast said:

...note to self...wrap adblue filler neck with Depends/Huggies before filling...

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What about those of us who are too old for huggies and too young for depends. LOL!

...uhhh....TommyBaby...I'll have to buy them, as well...don't have to stock them in my house...yet...

How much DEF is eveyone using? My car took 4 3/4 bottles at 9914 miles. A little quick math tells me that I am using a gallon of AdBlue/DEF per every 87 gallons of diesel fuel consumed. I drive the car 95% highway and average around 48 mpg.

The dealer added the AdBlue in my presence. I was under the impression that engines using urea for Nox emissions reduction strategy would likely use a gallon of urea per 50 gallons of diesel consumed. At least that is the rule many trucking fleets use when specifying DEF tank size on heavy trucks. Apparently this car with my driving patterns and habits uses a bit less. This is good news. I wonder how this figure will vary as time goes by, winter vs. summer driving etc.

Passats seem to use significantly less than OTR trucks and the averages that you find posted online.

Jason and I went though 2.5 gallons in 10,000 miles at 41 MPG of diesel. About a 1:97 ratio on AdBlue to diesel.

My friend has a 2012 1-ton dually diesel truck that is almost exclusively used for towing an RV. His lifetime average is in the 12mpg range. He figured out the cost of DEF is about 2% of diesel @$4/gallon. That's about the same cost as the Passat getting 40-ish mpg and using 2.5gal of DEF.

Posted in another thread, but I did my own 10K service on Saturday:

9,933 miles : 1.9 gal of AdBlue

Posted in another thread, but I did my own 10K service on Saturday:

9,777 miles : 1.75 gal of AdBlue

I had my 10K done today, at 9968 miles. They put in about 2 gallons of AdBlue, I say about as it seems some of it ended up in the spare tire well. I noticed it when I got home, about 15 min from dealer. Called dealer, they apologized up one side and down the other and asked for my address as they were going to come clean it up. I drove back to the dealer, they cleaned it up, put it on the original work order that they spilled the AdBlue and cleaned it up. The Service Manager was PISSED at the tech, seems it is the 3rd time it has happened when using the bulk fill system. SM told me that if the cleaning didn't work and crystals showed up.... he would replace the affected parts. Before I left he called his techs to a meeting to discuss how they were going to prevent this from ever happening again using the bulk fill system. I checked the trunk about six hours later, crystals all over the place. I called the dealer back, described what parts were covered with crystals and he said the new parts would be in Monday and he would replace them any time I came in. I will be asking dealer for the small VW container of AdBlue and doing it myself from now on.

Sounds like your dealer is trying to help you out at least!

For those who don't want to get dirty and want to save some cash by using the dealer for the the complimentary service through 30K, I'd still recommend telling them to skip the AdBlue and just do that part yourself.

If they are doing the fills from bulk tanks without the screw-on adapter, you're just asking for spillage. Do yourself a favor and buy the 1/2 gal screw-on bottle from the dealer for $8 (which you will use as your dispenser for the life of the car) and a 2 1/2 gal jug at each service for $14. The 1/2 gallon bottle top screws off and you just refill it with the jug. It's all too easy. Why let a careless dealer crystalize and/or corrode your vehicle to save $14?

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

For those who don't want to get dirty and want to save some cash by using the dealer for the the complimentary service through 30K, I'd still recommend telling them to skip the AdBlue and just do that part yourself.
If they are doing the fills from bulk tanks without the screw-on adapter, you're just asking for spillage. Do yourself a favor and buy the 1/2 gal screw-on bottle from the dealer for $8 (which you will use as your dispenser for the life of the car) and a 2 1/2 gal jug at each service for $14. The 1/2 gallon bottle top screws off and you just refill it with the jug. It's all too easy. Why let a careless dealer crystalize and/or corrode your vehicle to save $14?

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That is exactly what I intend to do, except I am going to ask dealer to give me the 1/2 gallon bottle for all my troubles. This dealer does seem to be trying to do the right thing, which is alot more than I can say for the dealer I bought the car from.

Walmart sells adblue for $11 per 2.5 gallons.

Jim_NM said:

Walmart sells adblue for $11 per 2.5 gallons.

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Yep, that's a couple of dollars cheaper than VW. My jug was $13.50 from Dover (DE) VW. If you want to save even more money and live near a truck stop, you can fill a container with 2.5 gallons of bulk DEF for around $7.

(...ducking to avoid stones being thrown...) I prefer to buy my supplies from my trusty dealer. I want to see them stay in business, and keep their good employees.

tdiatlast said:

(...ducking to avoid stones being thrown...) I prefer to buy my supplies from my trusty dealer. I want to see them stay in business, and keep their good employees.

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You are a brave man! Keep your head down around this group!

tdiatlast said:

(...ducking to avoid stones being thrown...) I prefer to buy my supplies from my trusty dealer. I want to see them stay in business, and keep their good employees.

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I bought all my supplies from my dealer (no shipping or taxes and their prices are very good), but there's no way in hell I let those buffoons actually touch my car. The only time I want to hear the Benny Hill theme music is when I'm watching Benny Hill.