Adblue - refilling issues?

[Amarillo]

The Adblue pumps don’t just serve T6s. Doesn’t the pump tell you how much has been dispensed when you hold the trigger. So just release the trigger when the amount you require has been dispensed.

It is not the pump design that irks me. It is the tank design. Why not design the tank so that when filled to the correct level the pump will cut out?

Yes, the MFD gives me a max and min refill quantity, but not being able to use the pump as the pump manufacturer (presumably) intended just makes the refilling that little bit more awkward.


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[WelshGas]

Thank you. Just read through the information. The embarrassing part is that I was aware of that.. .

For almost 6 years I had a Tiguan with a 2 L Diesel engine (the famous 189 engine) and never had any problems for 100 000 km (well, at least not with the engine).

Now I use the van in the same way as the Tiguan on a daily basis. I hope it works well...

Regards,
Eberhard

The Tiguan was Euro5 or possibly Euro4 technology. Euro6 is more complicated.

 

[kaf2546]

Interesting and helpful post as well as RAC article. I 'piloted' a diesel BMW that I did 25k a year in before DPF issues at about 150k but it always had a good run, I would often run tank down to red line as I was busy working! I do 20k a year on the Cali and have been filling up earlier I think (mainly as the parking heater won't work if tank too low ) I follow advice on MFD re Adblue filling and buy 10 litres at Halfords as seems to be cheapest. I heard about the overfilling so don't put in the 10 litre until after the orange Adblue warning comes on. Having said that VW (maybe others are same) should make the filling system more foolproof. Going to keep an eye on the 'quarter tank' thing too. Both these things make me wonder about the 'fit for purpose' argument I might have to have in the future!

 

[WelshGas]

Interesting and helpful post as well as RAC article. I 'piloted' a diesel BMW that I did 25k a year in before DPF issues at about 150k but it always had a good run, I would often run tank down to red line as I was busy working! I do 20k a year on the Cali and have been filling up earlier I think (mainly as the parking heater won't work if tank too low ) I follow advice on MFD re Adblue filling and buy 10 litres at Halfords as seems to be cheapest. I heard about the overfilling so don't put in the 10 litre until after the orange Adblue warning comes on. Having said that VW (maybe others are same) should make the filling system more foolproof. Going to keep an eye on the 'quarter tank' thing too. Both these things make me wonder about the 'fit for purpose' argument I might have to have in the future!

120 - 150 K miles is about right for a DPF even in vehicles with longer rather than shorter trips.
Wouldn't be at all surprised if the T6 with its more frequent DPF burn-offs has a DPF lifespan of less.

 

[kaf2546]

120 - 150 K miles is about right for a DPF even in vehicles with longer rather than shorter trips.
Wouldn't be at all surprised if the T6 with its more frequent DPF burn-offs has a DPF lifespan of less.

Agreed WG, I might find out soon!

 

[Sp0_0k]

I rarely start threads as I'm not one for rows.

We, those of us that like to avoid issues, are very grateful. @vwguru, enjoy your holiday and ignore anyone who wants to play roulette having been told.

Is filling the amount shown on the board computer enough? It felt pretty close to full according to sounds when filling exactly the amount computer mentioned.
So it is not recommended to drive with below quarter full tank diesel as well?
My local VW service had wide eyes to that info and said I am crazy.

 

[WelshGas]

Is filling the amount shown on the board computer enough? It felt pretty close to full according to sounds when filling exactly the amount computer mentioned.
So it is not recommended to drive with below quarter full tank diesel as well?
My local VW service had wide eyes to that info and said I am crazy.

Seeing that you haven’t been exactly confident in your local Dealerships knowledge and abilities in the past, according to some of your posts, it’s strange that you accept their word on this matter.

 

[Roger Boeken]

My MFD always gives me an AdBlue refill range: it might be min 1.00 gal to max 1.50 gal (multiply min by 5 and max by 4 to convert to litres).

Next time I refill at the pump I will check that the pump refills to within this range before cutting out.

It is unhelpful that the display gives the refill range in gallons but AdBlue is sold in litres. I know that I can change to litres, but then the cruise control will be in Km/h and UK speed limits are in mph. Oh the quirks of British motoring!!!


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I always refill adblue at the pump when I get the first warning and it fills a few liters more than the maximum the dashboard advises when the pump clicks out .Never had issues with overfill. Have I just been lucky .. ?

 

[WelshGas]

I always refill adblue at the pump when I get the first warning and it fills a few liters more than the maximum the dashboard advises when the pump clicks out .Never had issues with overfill. Have I just been lucky .. ?

According to the posts above, Yes.

 

[VW Guru]

Is filling the amount shown on the board computer enough? It felt pretty close to full according to sounds when filling exactly the amount computer mentioned.
So it is not recommended to drive with below quarter full tank diesel as well?
My local VW service had wide eyes to that info and said I am crazy.

Hi yes filling as the mfd indicates is enough the tank is calibrated. As for your dealer I can only suggest that they look at the technical information supplied by vw it clearly states everything mentioned.

 

[Amarillo]

I always refill adblue at the pump when I get the first warning and it fills a few liters more than the maximum the dashboard advises when the pump clicks out .Never had issues with overfill. Have I just been lucky .. ?

Given that AdBlue overfill has not been reported as a problem by any California owner on this forum, I suspect that you are unlucky if you do have an overfill “pilot error” rather than lucky if you have no such “pilot error”. However, filling till the pump clicks out is not a gamble I’m prepared to take again.

It will cost me a little more as I treat Amarillo to a full tank of premium diesel after every AdBlue refill, and that will be a little more often in future.


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[Erbster]

... I treat Amarillo to a full tank of premium diesel after every AdBlue refill, and that will be a little more often in future.

Why premium diesel with adblue fill?


https://caliventures364847572.wordpress.com/

 

[Wesel]

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/emissions/diesel-particulate-filters/

Last month I returned from France to Luxembourg. Given the huge price difference for diesel between these two countries I wanted to get my fill in Luxembourg. The dashboard showed that I had enough fuel to do it. But she gradually went down a lot faster. I drove more slowly without giving any variations on the accelerator pedal to get to Luxembourg. I arrived at the pump with an empty tank and was able to fill 71 liters in my 70 liter tank! Not to redo!
By restarting the yellow lamp of the particle filter turned on. The ship's manual gives as a reason to have run with an almost empty tank and recommended to ride at steady speed for 15 minutes, which I did. And 15 minutes later the lamp was off. This confirms the information very well explained in the proposed link.

 

[Amarillo]

Why premium diesel with adblue

I’d heard that an occasional tank of premium helps keep the engine clean, but filling regularly with premium fuel is unnecessary. Once in every 15 or so refuels seems appropriate. Linking with AdBlue refills is just a way to remind me.



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[VW Guru]

I’d heard that an occasional tank of premium helps keep the engine clean, but filling regularly with premium fuel is unnecessary. Once in every 15 or so refuels seems appropriate. Linking with AdBlue refills is just a way to remind me.



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Makes sense the fuel system on modern Diesel engines is very susceptible to poor fuel quality. Another way to avoid damage and maybe lower the cost of premium diesel is to add 200ml of good quality 2stroke oil to every fill. This is not a vw recommendation just something I’ve learnt over the years

 

[WelshGas]

Makes sense the fuel system on modern Diesel engines is very susceptible to poor fuel quality. Another way to avoid damage and maybe lower the cost of premium diesel is to add 200ml of good quality 2stroke oil to every fill. This is not a vw recommendation just something I’ve learnt over the years

Used to do that to my Defender Puma. That was Euro4 and haven't plucked up the courage to do that on my California.

 

[Perfectos]

Does anyone have any thoughts on using a additive such as Redex diesel treatment to keep the fuel system clean ? And presumably it’s suitable for Euro 6 DPF etc?

 

[VW Guru]

Does anyone have any thoughts on using a additive such as Redex diesel treatment to keep the fuel system clean ? And presumably it’s suitable for Euro 6 DPF etc?

Hi using something like redex is fine vw actually do an additive but it not as good. there is a redex diesel treatment for vehicles with dpf.

 

[VW Guru]

Used to do that to my Defender Puma. That was Euro4 and haven't plucked up the courage to do that on my California.

Hi @WelshGas i personally can not see it being a problem I run it in my euro 6 golf and I’ve not had any issues at all.

 

[Eber123]

Good morning,

This is a very interesting conversation. I believe I got the issue with AdBlue, but I still don't get it with the tank.

Why does the DPF system have problems if the diesel in the tank goes below a quarter? As long as the diesel flow is correct the DPF system shouldn't have a problem. If the diesel pipe system is empty I can imagine that a complex system like that DPF system will have problems.

But before?

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[VW Guru]

Good morning,

This is a very interesting conversation. I believe I got the issue with AdBlue, but I still don't get it with the tank.

Why does the DPF system have problems if the diesel in the tank goes below a quarter? As long as the diesel flow is correct the DPF system shouldn't have a problem. If the diesel pipe system is empty I can imagine that a complex system like that DPF system will have problems.

But before?

Regards,
Eberhard

Hi @Eber123 the reason for the quarter of a tank of diesel has been covered in some depth in this thread but the basics of it are below a quarter of a tank the diesel cannot cool down enough during regeneration process. Secondly there is a change due to the regeneration process you could run out of diesel. The reasons have been gone into a lot more than that earlier in the thread have a look back through .

As for the adblue what issue do you have ?

 

[Eber123]

Hi @Eber123 the reason for the quarter of a tank of diesel has been covered in some depth in this thread but the basics of it are below a quarter of a tank the diesel cannot cool down enough during regeneration process. Secondly there is a change due to the regeneration process you could run out of diesel. The reasons have been gone into a lot more than that earlier in the thread have a look back through .

As for the adblue what issue do you have ?

Thank you for your reply,

I was following the threat and read each post, but maybe I need to do this again. I contacted VW Ireland and started to read the manual again.

I don't want to be stubborn, but I thought only when needed the system starts to burn off the sod. Well, if that process starts and the van runs out of diesel I could understand that there is a problem.

The concern I have with AdBlue is the chance to overfill. But as long that is known it can be avoided. It would be nice if there would be more emphasis from the dealer about this at the hand over to the new owner.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[GillianC]

Thank you for your reply,

I was following the threat and read each post, but maybe I need to do this again. I contacted VW Ireland and started to read the manual again.

I don't want to be stubborn, but I thought only when needed the system starts to burn off the sod. Well, if that process starts and the van runs out of diesel I could understand that there is a problem.

The concern I have with AdBlue is the chance to overfill. But as long that is known it can be avoided. It would be nice if there would be more emphasis from the dealer about this at the hand over to the new owner.

Regards,
Eberhard

Agree about the handover - no mention of it with us and by the sound of it many others too. I would have thought it was an important piece of information to share. Yes, in an ideal world we would all sit down and inwardly digest the manual from cover to cover but realistically how many of us do that?
If the interior of the van and the controls are demonstrated on handover (with warnings about making sure the roof is folding in and not to stand on the armrests) they should share fairly critical information regarding fuel and adblue levels.

 

[JerryB]

You would think that there would be a warning label on the filler flap about not overfilling the adblue.

 

[Amarillo]

I don't want to be stubborn, but I thought only when needed the system starts to burn off the sod. Well, if that process starts and the van runs out of diesel I could understand that there is a problem.

If I have understood correctly, during the regeneration process, diesel is used to burn the soot and everything gets extremely hot. To keep things a little cooler, excess cool diesel pumped around to keep the regeneration process a little cooler, before this now hot diesel is returned to the tank, this causes the temperature of the diesel in the tank to rise.

This is all fine when there is a reasonable amount of diesel in the tank. However, if at the start of the regeneration process there is less than 1/4 of a tank, the regeneration process will not start because there is a danger that the temperature of the diesel in the tank will rise to a level where it will not be sufficiently cool to cool down the regeneration process. So when the tank is less than 1/4 full the next regeneration will be delayed until the tank is fuelled to above 1/4.

This will quickly develop into a major problem if you only ever refuel to less than 1/4 tank. It is not an issue if you regularly fuel to full and then run down the tank to less than 1/4 tank before refuelling as the regeneration will occur as soon as there is sufficient fuel to keep the regeneration process cool.