I can confirm with my '09 that this also usually happens- if it does do the 1k countdown, it will often still switch to the 100 mile one after just a few miles. I'm not 100% sure what causes this, but the solution is to preemptively top it off frequently, and not wait for the countdowns to start.

 

You should never be letting it get this low. Every oil change top it off.

 

Post fix these use a ton of adblue, especially when towing. I top mine off about 3-4x between oil changes.

 

I don't think I explained my situation very well, I will try again with more detail:

I think we understood your initial post. For whatever reason, the mile warnings are unreliable on these. The only solution I've found is to just keep it pretty much full all of the time.

It's also possible you are having some other intermittent problem that cleared itself already on VCDS. If the system isn't actually reading the NOx coming down to the desired levels, it will trigger the adblue light on the dash, and that can be caused by any number of issues: a dirty injector, etc. If that's the case, it could be unrelated to you refilling it, and may come back.

I also saw the non-VCDS reset method in casioqv's wiki which I will perform in the meantime.

Please let me know if it works for you exactly as described. I've only done it once and wasn't keeping detailed notes, so I could use confirmation that the wiki procedure is correct. If it does work for you, please let me know which of the 3 alternate procedures in the wiki actually worked.

 

I don't think I explained my situation very well, I will try again with more detail:

• Purchased vehicle in 2022; AdBlue system working as expected with 1000 mile countdown. Always topped up as soon as possible after that initial warning.
• Lately I have not received the 1000 mile warning, I get a 100 mile warning instead. Added a 2.5 gallon jug, then proceed to add more assuming that the 100 mile warning is legit, almost immediately spilling DEF everywhere because the tank is full.
• The warning goes away after this

What I am looking for is a way to tell the ECU that the tank is full. The thread I referenced earlier showed settings in VCDS that I don't appear to be able to use (Resetting of SCR tank level, Resetting SCR lock) so I was trying to see what I was missing there. I also saw the non-VCDS reset method in casioqv's wiki which I will perform in the meantime.

I appreciate the quick replies and the advice on frequent DEF top-ups.

You shouldn't even let the def get low enough to begin a countdown. I've seen more issues from people running on fumes and getting the countdown vs just keeping it topped off

Honestly, I never calculated the exact usage rate... I just know it will never make the full OCI, so I just top it off everytime I leave town before a long trip. I do 3000+ mile road trips several times a year, often with a lot of towing and/or offroad... so let's say my adblue tank is good for 5000 miles (rough guess), I'd want it totally full before leaving town to be safe.

I'm not interested in pushing the limit and having it run empty in the middle of nowhere.

Wow that's crazy you never make a full OCI. I've done some slow crawling and mild off-road in the car, nothing like what I gather you do in the desert and boondocking etc, which certainly uses more DEF than high speed highway driving.

 

Wow that's crazy you never make a full OCI. I've done some slow crawling and mild off-road in the car, nothing like what I gather you do in the desert and boondocking etc, which certainly uses more DEF than high speed highway driving.

It might be worth mentioning that I both drive fast, and have a large roof tent permanently mounted, so my results might not be typical. There is a lot of wind resistance from the tent which might be comparable to always towing a trailer.

I'm moving to a new house soon with a lot more room for projects, so hoping to setup some kind of crane to easily remove the tent when it isn't needed.

 

could use some confirmation of that

How can anyone confirm what we can't see?

 

Thanks again to volkswagens-for-life and casioqv for their advice - I will update this thread on the results on using the non-VCDS method for resetting the DEF tank level in the ECU as soon as I use enough DEF to trigger a warning. From that point forward, DEF will be a part of the oil change procedure as previously suggested.

 

Follow up to my wintertime issues with the AdBlue system. Following the "Standard AdBlue Counter Reset doesn't require VCDS" instructions at the casioqv site (http://vwaudiporscheoffroad.wikidot.com/vcds) appears to have reset my AdBlue countdown - I got the 1000 mile warning last night, just before my next oil change is due. I will be refilling the system this evening, and will follow this reset procedure after every DEF top-up to avoid this becoming an issue again. (Yes, volkswagens-for-life, that means topping up DEF at my 5000 mile oil change intervals before any warnings are issued. )

Another thank you to volkswagens-for-life and casioqv for pointing me in the right direction!

 

Follow up to the follow up. Last week, out of nowhere, I got the dreaded "AdBlue: No restart in XXX miles" (in my case, 450) after doing what I did in the previous post. Went through the gamut of advice and procedures to reset this cantankerous warning, to no avail. Warning got to 400 miles and I was preparing to donate a limb or two to the local dealer when I happened upon this post and item #45 caught my attention. I have not taken a long highway trip recently, so the EGR system readiness code was not set. Set off on a 50 mile loop this morning, watch the counter drop to 350 a bit before the halfway point, and was a bit despondent as I turned around to make my way back toward the dealership, when I heard the dreaded 3 chimes and saw this in the MFD:

Interesting...haven't seen anything like that in any of the posts I have read researching this issue. Stopped for groceries on the way home, and when I restarted the Touareg, the AdBlue warning had gone away, hopefully for good. My plans to make this and a couple of other related systems redundant have accelerated.

Once again many thanks to everyone that have contributed useful information in the many posts about AdBlue issues, your expertise and advise are greatly appreciated.

 

I had a similar problem when I first got my 2010. the adblue warning cam on, I went to the dealer for the free DEF refil. The filled it up, continued to get warnings. the dealer had it about a week and problem was finally solved. It was recommended that I never let it get low again. I made a dipstick from a chopstick, filled the DEF tank, and marked the full line on the chopstick. I then used my dipstick to make sure it never got down below half. After the fix it drinks DEF. A tank of DEF lasts maybe 5000 miles. You need to get ahold of one of the original DEF fill bottles and reuse it, if you want to avoid spilling. I always carry a bottle with me.