Thanks for posting pics

 

I do the same. Works good. My local Audi dealer sells AdBlue for a lot less than the VW dealer, surprisingly...

BTW - I was told Walmart is supposed to start to carry AdBlue, I haven't looked for it yet though.

 

I saw diesel exhaust fluid at walmart the other day, I think it was $10 bucks for a gallon jug.

Do you get any backsplash when using the funnel method? Just wondering why the need for a paper towel

 

I saw diesel exhaust fluid at walmart the other day, I think it was $10 bucks for a gallon jug.

Surprising that my VW dealer would be less, ie, about $15 for 2.5 gal jug.

Spyder

 

I think he's just saying to "hold a paper towel on the "bottom/now top" of the bottle, or the cut-off end, as a cushion so that any sharp edge doesn't do your hand any harm whilst pushing it down/into the filler hole.

 

The towel is to keep the breather tube from spitting all over you and the Touareg.

Thanks to a trucker I know, I now have a wholesale supplier right in town of the same stuff as VW sells for less than half the price. I can even get it in the __ bottles. Nice. My secret, so don't tell anyone. SSSSiiish

 

I think what Wal-Mart is selling is actually a 2.5 gallon jug...was selling for $11 last time I checked.

 

It might be a 2.5 gal, I didn't take a good look at it, I just saw the container with the "Diesel Exhaust Fluid" label.

 

rineman1- Thanks for the write up on the ad blue refill. My VW dealer requires an appointment and I have to leave the touareg at the dealer for an ad blue refill. Even though it is free, it is inconvenient to leave it at the dealer for a 5 minute service.

Using your write up, I was able to complete the job in my garage in less than 5 minutes. It took about one and half gallons to fill my tank.

 

I see you have an older Touareg, and had no problem with a DIY refill.

I read on a Mercedes forum: Anyone fill their own Adblue on their ML-350 Bluetec? - MBWorld.org Forums

that a service reset is required.

Is this the case for newer Touaregs?

Thank you.

 

Moved to DIY forum.

 

Could someone post the VW part numbers for 0.5 gal and 2.5 gal bottles.

 

2.5 Gal VW/Audi part # GUS-052-910-A3

.5 Gal / 1.89 Liter, Mercedes: A000 583 0107, VW / Audi: G 052 910 A2, BMW: 83190441139, Mazda: 0000-AD-002

 

There was no service reset for me, but my adblue fill light was not on. I only refilled mine because I knew it was close to needing more adblue based on my mileage and I wanted to avoid leaving it at the dealer all day for a (5) minute service.

The only time I needed to reset my service light due is when the vehicle was due for an oil changed based on the mileage and I was able to reset it myself in the MFI because the dealer failed to reset it after the oil change service.

 

Good information. Thank you Hammerdog.

 

I just bought this Generic Ad Blue from NAPA Auto parts with ISO standard 22241-1 Ad Blue. It came as 2 - 2.5gal. jugs of Ad Blue and each jug came with a handy filler hose. It made the job real easy. I used one 2.5gal. jug now and have one for later.

Total cost was $27.98 plus tax.

 

Did you use an vw half gallon bottle as a funnel?

 

No. the included nozzle sticks right in the hole. Didn't lose one drop.

 

I guess it isn't really Generic, it is Valvoline.

NAPA AUTO PARTS

 

Without using a half gallon bottle as funnel, how did you prevent over filling and spilling the urea?

 

I just stuck the hose in the hole with the air supply cap on the container. Then I slowly released the air cap so it would flow smoothly. The Adblue Tank is 4.5 gallons from what I read on myturbodiesel.com, so the 2.5gal. jug had no problem fitting in without overflowing.

 

My local dealer sells the 2.5 gal jug for $13.50. NAPA may be more convenient, but with 3 dealers within 15 miles of the house I'll get my UREA aka AdBlue at the dealer.

P.S. The 1/2 gal bottle funnel is the way to go. If you spill the AdBlue around the tank, there is no way of cleaning it up.

 

P.S. The 1/2 gal bottle funnel is the way to go. If you spill the AdBlue around the tank, there is no way of cleaning it up.

Actually, there is a way to clean up adblue that spills around the fill, at least on a T2. Apparently, there is one or more drain holes in the space between the (black) tank and (painted) sheet metal shell. I know because I overfilled mine (using the bottle funnel) and then noticed the underbody drainage. Good thing is, that makes it easy to use plenty of freshwater to flush out any leftover adblue, cleaner, etc.

And don't fool yourself like I did that the bottle funnel is foolproof. (I'm the fool that proved this wrong. #-o) After overfilling by about a pint and trying to remove the funnel, the spring-loaded valve malfunctioned. That let several ounces of adblue spill out all around the filler neck. But as above, it fortunately turned out to be no big deal to cleanup the mess.

 

Thanks to Coloartist for the specific information @ Napa for the Valvoline generic DEF. For whatever reason/s when I stuck in zip code information and directed to a number of nearby stores to chose from, it gave a 10% on line discount ($ 10.79 for a 2.5 gal container). Also thanks for the explanation of using the included "air cap" and included spout to fill the DEF/Ad Blue tank.

I just brought back the 2012 VW Touareg to the dealer @ 13,000 miles after the touch screen indicated 1,500 miles remaining (15,000 miles app on a DEF/Ad Blue tank) The dealer used the bottom cut out 1/2 gal bottle as funnel and valve and put in app 32 oz shy of 5 gals (2 each 2.5 gal containers- 608 oz). Consumption (for mine specifically and 2012 MY was app .046769 oz (a tad less than 1/2 oz) per mile. X 1000 miles, that is app 47 oz consumption. They let me watch the whole procedure. The VW Ad Blue did not seem to come with the hose and air cap as depicted in Coloartists posting for the Valvoline DEF product. This of course made the cut out bottle with valve almost indispensable, albeit SLOW. Basically they had to refill the 1/2 gal funnel app 11 times.

 

Every adblue maker out there is using that same bottle. The VW funnel lets you fill it to the brim without spilling a drop, the other methods don't.

The adblue I buy comes in a bottle like that, i dont use the spout, instead I fill the VW 2L bottle...takes a bit more time to do it, but I can fill to max capacity with zero risk of spilling any of the stuff. Like rineman said if you spill there is no way to clean it up.

 

My closest dealer is an hour + away. I was driving out of town in the opposite direction on a 1500 mile trip, and my 1500 miles Ad Blue warning light came on a few 100 miles ago. If it is this easy to fill, I see no need to fill it to the brim.

 

Its all the same stuff anyways, its not like VW manufactures adblue in Germany and ships it here, they are just getting their stuff private labelled from some other domestic supplier.

 

Yes for sure.
Other Treg owner friend phoned and talked to the Air1 company and they told them they sell it to VW.
We buy the Air1 in Canadian Tire or Walmart. (we don't live in a city)
We don't even have a Walmart!

 

About a month ago I performed the 50k service on my 2011 Touareg. I filled the adblue tank with the appropriate level and thought all was good. This week I am driving in Nashville, TN. and a warning came on indicating my adBlue was at 700 miles and the countdown began to a no-start condition. I put a lot of miles on my Touareg so I know it's performance pretty well. I always get 11K miles out of a tank of adBlue. I knew I had at least a half of a tank or more.

I suspected a defective sensor, an incorrect computer interpretation of the sensor or a leak in the tank. I stopped at a VW dealer in Nashville and bought two, half gallon kruse bottles and added to the tank and the warning went away. From this I knew the sensor was at least functional and the engine computer could read the data from the sensor. A quick look underneath revealed no leak.

Saving you readers a long story, after lengthy research, there are two ways to prevent this warning from appearing after a refill - AND NOWHERE DOES THIS APPEAR IN PRINT FOR THE VEHICLE OPERATOR!!! You simply cannot refill the tank and drive on... At the refill you either have to perform a reset of the adBlue level sensor with VAGCOM or you can insert the key in the ignition and turn it on without applying the brake so that the engine does not start. Wait 30 seconds. I would suggest waiting one minute. This resets the adBlue level sensor.

I am willing to bet that there are many adBlue sensors and pumps being replaced unnecessarily because of this. Amazing little discoveries.

 

Interesting find...it doesn't work this way on the T2s, I just start, warning goes away a few seconds after starting...very strange that they would over-engineer the refill process for the T3. I can't really see any benefit to the added steps?

 

So how did you find out about the key reset?

 

Great tip on the reset, thanks. Am I overly concerned to buy DEF from VW if/when any service is done on the system under warrantee, they know it was in date specifically when I bought it. 1/2 gal jugs 13 bucks here.

 

I think you're overly concerned re warranty. There is a published specification to adblue, so buying adblue elsewhere would be no different than buying 507 spec oil from somewhere other than the VW parts counter.

Adblue is quite generic, so maybe the 507 oil isn't the best example...adblue is the same no matter who you buy it from.

I did the 1/2 gal @ 13 bucks the first go around, after I spent $100 doing that once, I wised up and just buy it at truckstops, $11 bucks for 2.5 gals!