Who else is having AdBlue issues?

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
I have owned my 2013 for a grand total of 3 weeks, during which time it has been in the shop twice now to repair the Adblue system. I keep getting the warning with xxx kms left until no start. First time dealer cleared the codes and later replaced the Adblue injector which diagnostics indicated was faulty. 5 days later, light and alarm came on again and wouldn't go away (it had previously) along with the check engine. Car is back in the shop again, hopefully they will come up with a proper solution this time. I spoke with the general manager and sales manager of my VW dealer and they were VERY supportive in ensuring this gets resolved. We shall see.....currently driving a stripped 2012 Jetta loaner while my $41K "brick" sits in the shop....a little annoying.:mad: It really sucks, because I am a LONG TIME VW enthusiast and other than this I absolutely love this car, it's amazingly comfortable on the highway. I never thought I would find a car that rivaled my old UrS6 for long distance driving comfort.

I know I am not the only one experiencing this as a good friend of mine has a colleague who just purchased a 2013 Passat TDI and he ended up with the same issue in the first week as well.
 
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speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Hmmm, interesting.....well hopefully it's an isolated issue and one that can be resolved.
It has certainly put a sour note on an otherwise pleasant vehicle....
 

Salsaman06

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Location
Texas
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL (sold back to VWoA Dec 21, 2016)
$41K?? That has got to be a typo.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

IXLR8

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Location
Cushing, ME
TDI
12 Passat Platinum Gray, 02 Golf Black, 01 Jetta Black
I have read of others having the same issue, I don't remember if it was posted here or on V-Tex. Seems to me in the end they replaced the entire Ad-Blue pump/tank assembly. But the car was in and out of the shop several times before it was finally repaired.
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
$41K?? That has got to be a typo.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
LOL...that was including all the taxes and fees, however we do pay quite a bit more up here in the GWN than our American cousins. Price for the car was around $38K before tax
 
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tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
speedtek: try to get as many details about this. I, too, believe you're the first one to post a diagnosed AdBlue problem, but I may be wrong about that.
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Oh yeah, I will be documenting as closely as possible. I will post the resolution once they actually fix the problem. (they were certain they had it last time...lol)
 

Nebelwerfer

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Location
Canuckistan
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
LOL...that was including all the taxes and fees, however we do pay quite a bit more up here in the GWN than our American cousins. Price for the car was around $38K before tax
Which is ridiculous seeing that our dollar is almost, if not right at, par with the US.

Regards
 

showdown 42

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Location
naples,FL
TDI
2016 TDI touareg
The reason there have not been Ad blue posts is that the system is new to Passat, hit the Treg site and read reems of ad blue problems. It's just the start. Somehow no one knows how to make ad blue systems reliable. BMW and MB have the same issues.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
This seems odd since adblue has been in use outside the US for some time. I didn't think it had reliability issues. Hmmm.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
The reason there have not been Ad blue posts is that the system is new to Passat, hit the Treg site and read reems of ad blue problems. It's just the start. Somehow no one knows how to make ad blue systems reliable. BMW and MB have the same issues.
"...reems of ad blue problems..." over on the "Treg site"...doesn't mean they'll transfer over here.

Passat TDI has been on the road for almost 2 years. Seems to me that the AdBlue system is working just fine. Only time will tell, though.
 

psd1

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Location
OR
TDI
2006 Jetta 2013 Passat SE 6Man
Sorry that you are having issues, very frustrating. Like others, I haven't seen much, if anything, on failures posted here. Good to hear that your dealership is working to keep your business!
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Sorry that you are having issues, very frustrating. Like others, I haven't seen much, if anything, on failures posted here. Good to hear that your dealership is working to keep your business!
I do know they will do everything they can to resolve this as the sales manager is a personal friend and they know I am hardcore VW:cool:.

Even if that weren't the case, these guys here in Saskatoon stand behind what they sell...., but it never hurts to have an "in".
 

TDI2000Zim

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Location
NJ
TDI
VW hat meinen '14 Passat TDiSE getötet.
I have owned my 2013 for a grand total of 3 weeks, during which time it has been in the shop twice now to repair the Adblue system. I keep getting the warning with xxx kms left until no start. First time dealer cleared the codes and later replaced the Adblue injector which diagnostics indicated was faulty. 5 days later, light and alarm came on again and wouldn't go away (it had previously) along with the check engine. Car is back in the shop again, hopefully they will come up with a proper solution this time. I spoke with the general manager and sales manager of my VW dealer and they were VERY supportive in ensuring this gets resolved. We shall see.....currently driving a stripped 2012 Jetta loaner while my $41K "brick" sits in the shop....a little annoying.:mad: It really sucks, because I am a LONG TIME VW enthusiast and other than this I absolutely love this car, it's amazingly comfortable on the highway. I never thought I would find a car that rivaled my old UrS6 for long distance driving comfort.

I know I am not the only one experiencing this as a good friend of mine has a colleague who just purchased a 2013 Passat TDI and he ended up with the same issue in the first week as well.
In a past generation we used to hear, "ON A WING AND A PRAYER", but in our generation it is going to be replaced by "ON A TDI AND A PRAYER".

Getting into my car and expecting to get back home after a lengthy commute is becoming an issue of prayer to the Almighty that the car doesn't quit while still on the road.

Gone are the days when fuel, oil and coolant were the only things a driver worried about.
 

shelbydog25

Active member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Location
Virginia
TDI
2012 DSG Passat SE
The reason there have not been Ad blue posts is that the system is new to Passat, hit the Treg site and read reems of ad blue problems. It's just the start. Somehow no one knows how to make ad blue systems reliable. BMW and MB have the same issues.

So is chevrolet on their diesel trucks... have one at work, doing the same thing.. false low fluid sensors and speed limited
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Getting into my car and expecting to get back home after a lengthy commute is becoming an issue of prayer to the Almighty that the car doesn't quit while still on the road.
I'd say if your Passat causes you that much worry you should look into simpler transport... go have a Mk2 Jetta Diesel completely restored.

-J
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Must be that crappy North American Urea ;p

Sorry, nothing to add but couldn't resist. Good luck with your repairs. I am keeping my sights on a new passat tdi or a tiguan tdi to replace whatever junkers my kids leave me.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I only recall one other false warning of low AdBlue on TDIClub and I can't seem to find that post now.

I suspect that the level sensing mechanism in your tank is providing false readings, trigging the ECU to go into count-down mode. I am confident that VW will address these problems, although it may take a bit of time and a couple of trips to the dealer before everything gets corrected. It's always a pain to track down intermittent electrical/sensor issues.

Keep us up to date on what's going on, please.
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
I guess we will have to see what they come up with this time. I dropped it at the dealer on Saturday and I have been on the road all week with work. I am back tomorrow evening to pick the car up, with any luck it's resolved.........I will post the fix once I'm sure of it.
 

tc1uscg

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Location
Pluto
TDI
SOLD TO VW
"...reems of ad blue problems..." over on the "Treg site"...doesn't mean they'll transfer over here.

Passat TDI has been on the road for almost 2 years. Seems to me that the AdBlue system is working just fine. Only time will tell, though.
Yes, but they like to "tweek" things and who knows what they have done to cars produced after a certain date. New switch, new programing? What was fine from a build in 2012 may not carry over or worse, they changed vendors and things are just not what they should be. Then we, the consumer, end up dealing with the shortcut or change. Just went in for my 30 day checkup. Lets just say I went in and I'll leave it at that.
 
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speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Picked the car up this afternoon, apparently the head tech spent 14+ hours working on the problem and back and forth with VW tech support.
In the end they had to downgrade their software so they could flash a simulated fault onto the computer (apparently the latest version wouldn't do it) and then perform a reset on the adblue system. (I'll post the whole write up when I get a chance tonight)
They think they have it this time, VW has been involved....we shall see.
I drive 300kms a day commuting, so if it's still kickin' it should rear it's head fairly quickly.
If it does it again I will be parking the car in the dealership and telling them to give me a new one.....I haven't even made the first payment on it yet...LOL.
No way am I going to live with something that spends every week in the shop.:eek:
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Sounds like they're doing their best. Glad they have your car back to you. At 300 KMs per day you'll definitely find out soon...
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Oh yeah, for sure.....:cool:
I edited the writeup for grammar, spelling and some general clarification (techs apparently don't worry too much about their English making sense..lol)

the writeup as per mechanic:


Complaint: Mil Lit. Customer reports adblue warning came on at same time, please diagnose and report.

Correction: All scans of the GFF performed and VTA attached to the RO per GFF and found a fault pertaining to the add blue system. found through GFF (general fault finding) there is no test plan. Performed inspection through the tech tips and TB and found no assistance. Contacted Tech Line for further help, was advised to perform a quantity test through the SCR and found to be an adequate amount. Advised to perform thorough GF SCR test 1.2.5, will have to place outside due to engine being too hot.
Attempted to perform the SCR reset test however unable to do so due to temperature conflict with obtaining a high cat temp and require a low temp for the coolant. Screen shot sent to tech line. Contacted Tech line again, and went through settings and readings through tele diagnosis, no change.
Placed a fault in the system and performed GFF to clear and then try to reset SCR in the cluster and no luck. Was advised to perform a CP discharge and then try the test. After the test performed, failed to achieve test plan again. Contacted (tech support) again and advised to check the NOX sensor and found to be ok.
Tech Line was escalated to product support will contact me.
Advised to place a scan tool to an earlier version and place a fault into the system and then run the SCR test.
NOR for software for resetting the light. After bringing the scan tool to version 19.18 it was able to perform the test. Performed road test and operate to specs.
 

psd1

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Location
OR
TDI
2006 Jetta 2013 Passat SE 6Man
Oh yeah, for sure.....:cool:
I edited the writeup for grammar, spelling and some general clarification (techs apparently don't worry too much about their English making sense..lol)

the writeup as per mechanic:


Complaint: Mil Lit. Customer reports adblue warning came on at same time, please diagnose and report.

Correction: All scans of the GFF performed and VTA attached to the RO per GFF and found a fault pertaining to the add blue system. found through GFF (general fault finding) there is no test plan. Performed inspection through the tech tips and TB and found no assistance. Contacted Tech Line for further help, was advised to perform a quantity test through the SCR and found to be an adequate amount. Advised to perform thorough GF SCR test 1.2.5, will have to place outside due to engine being too hot.
Attempted to perform the SCR reset test however unable to do so due to temperature conflict with obtaining a high cat temp and require a low temp for the coolant. Screen shot sent to tech line. Contacted Tech line again, and went through settings and readings through tele diagnosis, no change.
Placed a fault in the system and performed GFF to clear and then try to reset SCR in the cluster and no luck. Was advised to perform a CP discharge and then try the test. After the test performed, failed to achieve test plan again. Contacted (tech support) again and advised to check the NOX sensor and found to be ok.
Tech Line was escalated to product support will contact me.
Advised to place a scan tool to an earlier version and place a fault into the system and then run the SCR test.
NOR for software for resetting the light. After bringing the scan tool to version 19.18 it was able to perform the test. Performed road test and operate to specs.
Wait...they speak English in Canada? :D
 

speedtek

Active member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Location
Saskatchewan
TDI
2013 Passat Highline
Annnnnd.....it's back

third strike...this POS is outta here

Owned less than 30 days and third trip to the shop for the same problem.....
 
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Nebelwerfer

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Location
Canuckistan
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
Annnnnd.....it's back

third strike...this POS is outta here

Owned less than 30 days and third trip to the shop for the same problem.....
****ty dude. Let us know how you make out, seeing as your living out west and we don't have the same laws as the States for something like this at all.

Regards
 
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