Wait, what? It's meant to be free of the light was on?

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Yes.. that’s what they said. VW corporate would only reimburse them if it was a full fill. I don’t like mine to get that low.

 

Point me to another car brand (Non-VW Group) that gives free DEF fill-ups. The teat is dry, it was nice while it lasted. But sure, buy a new car because of it.
2.5 Gallons of DEF is $8.51 from FCPeuro. You can fill the system for $17.02. If that's busting your wallet, you'd be smart to trade it in on something more affordable for you.

 

You shouldn’t assume anything about someone’s financial situation. But you missed my point. It was free last time. That’s the only reason I was gonna let them do it. Otherwise I would buy my own DEF. I have no problem with that. I bought the vehicle knowing fully the cost of maintenance on a german diesel and was comfortable with that. Just trying to figure out whether this is accurate information from my dealership. Find someone else to slander rocketech. This thread has nothing to do with affordability or money.

 

The dealer gave me a free fill up when I bought my Treg, doesn't mean he's obligated to do it forever. And yes, refilling the DEF between scheduled services is part of the consent decree, but it doesn't say they have to do it whenever you ask. I'm sure there are plenty of unsavory people trying to get something for nothing, gaming the system, trying to get it for free. What's to stop you from asking for a fill-up right before your 10K service is due? Then at 5K before it's due? Then 1K before it's due? The fill-up at the regular service is still chargeable under the consent decree.
Many VW dealers won't do the mid-cycle top-off, period. Rather than wasting my time talking to corporate and hiring a lawyer to pursue it, I do it myself. Your Dealer gave you a reasonable policy to still get free DEF, so you have that going for you. The warning is supposed to go off at 1K miles to empty, but I've seen it kick off as low as 500 miles when towing heavy. Either way you'll have plenty of time to swing by a dealer. If you don't like yours to get 'that low', that's on you. I don't like my bank account to get 'that low' but my employer just doesn't see it as their problem.
You're here complaining about pennies. You're either just flapping your gums or you can't afford it. I chose the less insulting option, but have it your way.
Btw, it's impossible to slander someone via the written word- that's called libel. Slander is spoken only. You may need to sound out words when typing; I don't.

 

And don’t get it twisted. VW didn’t offer free adblue fillups. The court ordered it. VW would never give anything away.

 

I guess you get off on being self righteous and smarter than me. Your that guy who always knows better and has been there and done that. It’s cool. Just don’t bother responding to my post if you just want to insult me and call me cheap when I was just trying to clarify a policy. I won’t bother waisting anymore time arguing with you. Cause you will definitely ALWAYS be right. Some people are just legends in their own minds.

 

No, I don't. I don't see being able to communicate effectively as an incredibly high bar though. I never insulted you, didn't call you cheap- you did that.
If you don't want to listen to opposing views or ideas, that's your right. Just don't try to pass it off as me persecuting you or 'always needing to be right'.
The consent decree covers DEF refill between services. It did not make DEF free in perpetuity. From the guide which came with the AEM:

AdBlue (DEF) usage may increase, and, as a result, require more frequent refilling of your AdBlue tank. As a courtesy to you, your vehicle will be returned to you with a full tank of AdBlue and fuel during the AEM. AdBlue re-fillings will also be offered free of charge between service intervals for:

• 10 years or 120K miles, whichever occurs first from the vehicle's original in-service date; OR
• 4 years or 48K miles, whichever occurs first, from the date and mileage of the emissions modification.

Your dealer is not in breach of the consent decree. They're not abandoning their responsibilities under the consent decree. They're not obfuscating the circumstances under which they'll refill your DEF. They're simply not allowing you to take advantage of a lenient policy anymore.
The free DEF refill was because VW sold the vehicle as needing no service between 10K intervals, and that was the big reason driving the Emissions cheat. So the Consent decree ensured the end user faced no additional costs because of the change in DEF dosing. The policy you state still fulfills the provision in the consent decree.
Any dealer will do all work that VW will pay for- it's a major part of their income. They also get more freebies from VW based on customer appreciation surveys. If you really want freebies, submit the customer surveys, call VW and tell them how much you appreciated the free services your dealer offered.

 

When I still had my T, I was told add blue top ups were free with every oil change. Not sure whether it is a dealer specific thing or not, but that is what I was told at the time.

For Audi dealership, when I was exploring TDI Q5, I know ad blue was free (top up, refill, etc.) as long as the car was under extended diesel warranty. After that, it was a regular maintenance item. I also know that you can buy ad blue and just top it up yourself. It is not a complex process and it is hard to screw that unless you choose to put water and not proper liquid.

 

Yea it seems they are all interpreting the order differently. I guess my dealership had a change on that since last time. I have some adblue. Was planning on creating a funnel with the smaller bottle. I am not concerned about the refill process. I wrench on My vehicles. I do wish there was a adblue meter level built into the MDI info. Strange to have to use VCDS for such a crucial fluid level.

 

Just wait for newer diesels that come with two urea dosing systems .. these must be fun to maintain on your own

 

Oh man. Not heard about this. Just one more reason to go electric in the future.

 

Don't worry "Prius lover", we won't see any more diesels on this side of the pond.....

Did you consider asking your stealership to just dump the rest on the floor so that they would get paid for it? I would've given them a container to put the rest of the fill into so that they would get paid (and so that it costs me nothing)... just saying.

 

Haha ...that’s a good idea! They could have just given me the extra to take home and use myself next time it’s low.
Yea I better keep this til the wheels fall off. That’s my intention anyway. Long term electric is looking promising in about 10 years.

 

I'm personally betting more on hydrogen drive systems, but it is still the song of the future. Electric ones will likely be the intermediate step, unless there is some breakthrough in battery tech to allow to store more energy and not cause fires all the time

Either way, ad blue does not seem like a super expensive liquid to buy and top off as needed.

 

The court order was actually a consent decree and it does say they will provide free adblue whether you're getting service or not. However I can see where VW doesn't want to pay shop rates to the dealer for adding 1 qt of the stuff since it's not something they do in the breezeway.

having said that keep in mind that "disagreements should be resolved in favor of the customer"

 

I would agree, @jeffnhiscars . The problem is that a lot of VW dealerships are after a quick buck. I have a comparison between Audi dealership and VW dealership, where Audi will go above and beyond to keep customer happy. It is about building relationship for them, not earning a few extra bucks for adBlue top up.

 

Sure there's always a variation in how "customer friendly" a dealer is. My service dept loves me "cuz warranty" but the parts dept quotes me 2x list for parts so in my 1st month of ownership I probably spend $1000 on parts and they got $6 of it.

People forget that the dealers really have no say in what's covered by a warranty and if they will get paid.

 

I feel like it’s stupid of them to only offer it based on an warning light. Cause if I chose to take advantage of that policy.. they would have to schedule an appointment.. provide the intake process.. pull the vehicle in... why not just do it while I am getting the oil changed and it’s already pulled in an opened up? They are potentially consuming many more man hours with their current policy. I guess they are gambling on if they make it more difficult people will just do their own. But even then they aren’t getting money. I am sure VW pays them a small fee above cost for their time. Like everyone else is saying. It’s not a big deal.. it’s cheap.. it’s relatively easy to do. I don’t care to pay for it and do it. But I just wish that VW would do a better job dictating what protocols their service centers go by so it’s more uniform and you feel like no matter what dealership you go to you will get the same answers. I bet if I go to a different dealership I will get a different answer on the DEF protocol.

 

You are right Rockettech. You always will be.

 

Adblu has a sell by date.

On that basis I'd have thought it would be better to use up what's in the tank before filling with fresh rather than keep topping up ad hoc.

 

Yea that sounds logical. I am
Not sure of its shelf life. But I can’t imagine it being too short. That at least would be better reasoning for only refilling when low. This time I will let it go all the way down and see how many miles I get out of a tank.

 

It appears that Adblu may have a shelf life of up to three years providing it it stored in the dark at a temperature of no more than 10C. Above that its life falls off the cliff to just 6 months at 35C - Singaporean owners take note!

Generally it seems that 2 years may be the probable use-by date at the point of manufacture.

Look at the bottles when you buy it.

It also seems there is a sensor in the system that measures conductivity so you can't just put water in the tank, but the sensor can't tell if the adblu is old stock!

 

The way post fix eggs drink the stuff, you don't need to worry about shelf life of what's in your tank. Of you have cases of it in your garage that's a different story.

 

Folks,

The excerpt below (in italics) is taken from the following pamphlets (copies attached) -

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR 2013—2014 3.0L TDI Volkswagen GENERATION 2.1 ENGINE
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR 2015—2016 3.0L TDI Volkswagen GENERATION 2.2 ENGINE

AdBlue® (diesel exhaust fluid) usage may increase, and, as a result, require more frequent refilling of your AdBlue® tank. As a courtesy to you, your vehicle will be returned to you with a full tank of AdBlue® and fuel during the Approved Emission Modification (AEM). AdBlue® re-fillings will also be offered free of charge between service intervals for:

•  10 years or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first from the vehicle’s original in-service date; OR
•  4 years or 48,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the date and mileage of the emissions modification

This clearly states AdBlue® will be refilled between services intervals, as well as when the vehicle is serviced.

In my case, since I bought my Touareg as the first vehicle owner, VW will fill up the AdBlue® reservoir for free until DEC 2027 or the vehicle reaches 120,000 miles, whenever it is needed.

Print out the pamphlet appropriate for your Touareg, put it in your glovebox, and show it to the dealership when they need a reminder.

Marty

 

•  10 years or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first from the vehicle’s original in-service date; OR
•  4 years or 48,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the date and mileage of the emissions modification

Marty

I thought the warranty was whichever period is LATER as I'd seen it written somewhere-- can anyone clarify if I'm just remembering incorrectly, or if that's for something else?

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Thanks for including those links. That’s helpful. May print a copy to keep in the glove box like you mentioned.

 

My dealer tops off adblue every oil change and also if the light comes on in between oil changes (only happened a few times)