Ad blue warning - can anyone give any pointers on the analysed data?

[Ayjay]

If I missed it earlier apologies but what model is the van? Mine's a T6 (150 if it makes any difference) and 6000 with a topped up tank (IIRC 13L) is the norm but some (maybe all?) T6.1s having a lot more miles due to a larger tank. In my experience, the countdown is not terribly precise and it's just as likely to jump down to 5500 or even 5000 in one go but you might need to drive for a bit more for that to happen. Has the engine light gone away yet? If you've got a Carista, you can plug it in and see what's going on - even better if you've got a subscription as you might also be able to cancel the light if you felt brave enough (I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff so couldn't advise). TBH, a small part of my brain is saying that if it stays at 6500 miles and you don't get any other issues, just leave it but someone with a bit more sense mighty say get it looked at. In that case, I might let a good independent have a go first if you know one as I reckon they would be a bit more honest in acknowledging Adblue issues than a dealership who it sometimes seems, would rather fob you off than do a warranty repair - Adblue issues seem to be fairly common so it's a bit strange that VW dealerships have been known to say that they've never heard of them before. On the question of Adblue delete, that one has been more or less done to death on here. Chance are it will fly still through the MOT but there might well be other implications such as insurance. Without counting, I reckon the vote on delete or not is probably split down the middle on here. Some say don't do as the car will be illegal afterwards whereas others say crack on as nobody would know unless they do a deep dive into the system. A the end of the day, you pays yer money and takes yer choice after weighing up the pros and cons.
Sorry but this probably won't help much!

 

[Pegsoid342]

If I missed it earlier apologies but what model is the van? Mine's a T6 (150 if it makes any difference) and 6500 with a topped up tank (IIRC 13L) is the norm but some (maybe all?) T6.1s having a lot more miles due to a larger tank. In my experience, the countdown is not terribly precise and it's just as likely to jump down to 6000 or even 5500 in one go but you might need to drive for a bit more for that to happen. Has the engine light gone away yet? If you've got a Carista, you can plug it in and see what's going on - even better if you've got a subscription as you might also be able to cancel the light if you felt brave enough (I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff so couldn't advise). TBH, a small part of my brain is saying that if it stays at 6500 miles and you don't get any other issues, just leave it but someone with a bit more sense mighty say get it looked at. In that case, I might let a good independent have a go first if you know one as I reckon they would be a bit more honest in acknowledging Adblue issues than a dealership who it sometimes seems, would rather fob you off than do a warranty repair - Adblue issues seem to be fairly common so it's a bit strange that VW dealerships have been known to say that they've never heard of them before. On the question of Adblue delete, that one has been more or less done to death on here. Chance are it will fly still through the MOT but there might well be other implications such as insurance. Without counting, I reckon the vote on delete or not is probably split down the middle on here. Some say don't do as the car will be illegal afterwards whereas others say crack on as nobody would know unless they do a deep dive into the system. A the end of the day, you pays yer money and takes yer choice after weighing up the pros and cons.
Sorry but this probably won't help much!

It’s a 2018 T6 150. Engine light remains on. Everything you say is pretty much where I’m at. I have a good independent garage look after it so will drop it in to see what the error codes read. It’s more of a concern when I’ll be taking it abroad again but for now happy to see what happens I think.

 

[Gordon Bennett]

So here’s a coincidence. I’ve gone away this weekend to see family in Cambridge (not far - about 120 miles). I checked my ad blue range last night before leaving (because of this thread) and it was 5,500 miles. My ad blue warning light and the dreaded 650 miles message has just come up. I don’t usually do a lot of driving in my van, mostly as I have a works vehicle, and the last time I had this was in March this year when I did the exact same trip. I’m beginning to get the idea that this only happens after a long run, as per @Lucasimo and @Pegsoid342 recent experiences. I’m going to see if the issue happens again when I top up the ad blue (the non reset issue) and then see if the ‘fill up with fuel’ solution works again…….or wether that was just a coincidence

 

[Gordon Bennett]

Update on this. Parked up, had a walk around for 3 hours then started the van up. Ad blue reset itself to 5,500 miles. Really strange ….

 

[Ayjay]

Glad it seems to be back to normal. As I posted elsewhere on here, I got my van back from VW last week after they had investigated the 650 warning and associated engine light and which they reckon has now been sorted with forcing a SCR regen (I don't know either!). I've not actually driven the van since the 50 trip home from VW Swindon but will be going out in hot tomorrow,
The adblue level; is currently showing 3000 miles range and IIRC a maximum of 1.75 Gallon / 6.6 Litres to refill and I'm contemplating putting about 5 Litres in tomorrow to see what happens. I might regret it but we are due to do a drive down to Croatia at the end of the month and I would rather see any problems presenting themselves now rather than when we're potentially 1000 + miles from home. The said, I'm still feeling g a bit of pucker factor when I think about it.

 

[Saffa365]

Looking forward to hearing the final fix

 

[Lucasimo]

If I missed it earlier apologies but what model is the van? Mine's a T6 (150 if it makes any difference) and 6500 with a topped up tank (IIRC 13L) is the norm but some (maybe all?) T6.1s having a lot more miles due to a larger tank. In my experience, the countdown is not terribly precise and it's just as likely to jump down to 6000 or even 5500 in one go but you might need to drive for a bit more for that to happen. Has the engine light gone away yet? If you've got a Carista, you can plug it in and see what's going on - even better if you've got a subscription as you might also be able to cancel the light if you felt brave enough (I'm an idiot when it comes to this stuff so couldn't advise). TBH, a small part of my brain is saying that if it stays at 6500 miles and you don't get any other issues, just leave it but someone with a bit more sense mighty say get it looked at. In that case, I might let a good independent have a go first if you know one as I reckon they would be a bit more honest in acknowledging Adblue issues than a dealership who it sometimes seems, would rather fob you off than do a warranty repair - Adblue issues seem to be fairly common so it's a bit strange that VW dealerships have been known to say that they've never heard of them before. On the question of Adblue delete, that one has been more or less done to death on here. Chance are it will fly still through the MOT but there might well be other implications such as insurance. Without counting, I reckon the vote on delete or not is probably split down the middle on here. Some say don't do as the car will be illegal afterwards whereas others say crack on as nobody would know unless they do a deep dive into the system. A the end of the day, you pays yer money and takes yer choice after weighing up the pros and cons.
Sorry but this probably won't help much!

So after a lot of thinking and researching on this, I decided to pay for an Adblue delete on the ECU along with an economy gain remap for just £430. I had a work colleague having very similar issues with Adblue on his Range rover . It was a case for him of either spending £3000 or £500 for a delete. When you come across these numbers most people chose the latter option. Nice job done this morning and to be honest, I didn't want to ever have these stupid and expensive issues with Adblue ever again. It's a crap system and deleting it has no issues for MOT. It can always be flashed back in with a software update if someone else wants to have it back.

Adblue is a sticking plaster approach to an emissions control system. It's terribly unreliable and simply isn't fit for purpose.

The next van in say 5-10 years will be an electric one. I already have an ID3 and it's so much better and significantly cheaper to run with no fuel and very cheap charging. It's a no brainer really. I don't want any nonsense with Adblue or to deal with fuel driven vehicles in the future. It's old technology and it's time to evolve. Electric is the way to go and the second hand market for electric vans will certainly mature in a few years as well.

 

[Sasquatch]

Well, the market for new electric vans hasn't fully evolved yet!

We've been the eleftric car way for a decade and if VW had made a proper electric Transporter that would have been for me. Sadly they didnt at the time but if I ever replace my 6.1 in the future, doubtful with my age now, itll be battery-powered for sure.

Touch wood though I've never had an adpoo problem on any vehicle (hoping jve not tempted fate there!)

 

[Ayjay]

It can always be flashed back in with a software update if someone else wants to have it back.

@Lucasimo - I'm not sure it's that simple really. Yes, you can get it back with a software 'reflash' but, by the time you do, I suspect there's a good chance that the adblue remaining in the system will have crystallised even further with age etc. and more work (perhaps a lot more!) would be needed get the adblue system back in good order. When I had my Audi 'done' I always had in the back of my mind that when the time came I would either be selling it is (ie. with full disclosure unless it's going to a dealer D) or it would be scrapped. However, that's easy for me to say because it's now quite old and probably worth a lot more to me than I'd get selling it (it's a 14 plate that I've had since it was 6 months old and is pretty good general order). The van is another proposition though.

 

[Lucasimo]

@Lucasimo - I'm not sure it's that simple really. Yes, you can get it back with a software 'reflash' but, by the time you do, I suspect there's a good chance that the adblue remaining in the system will have crystallised even further with age etc. and more work (perhaps a lot more!) would be needed get the adblue system back in good order. When I had my Audi 'done' I always had in the back of my mind that when the time came I would either be selling it is (ie. with full disclosure unless it's going to a dealer D) or it would be scrapped. However, that's easy for me to say because it's now quite old and probably worth a lot more to me than I'd get selling it (it's a 14 plate that I've had since it was 6 months old and is pretty good general order). The van is another proposition thou

 

[Lucasimo]

So I'm pumping out the remaining Adblue in the tank using my chemical dosing pump that I "forgot" to hand back when I left a previous water treatment company in 2008

At 8L an hour at 4 bar max pressure, it's doing the job fine.

Best to drain it out as much as possible. I'm not taking the tank off again. That's way too much effort. Dosing pump will sort it.

Pump also works wonders for dosing sealed central heating systems when required.

 

[Howzat]

I'd well be tempted to flush it now. Top up to the brim with water then emtpy that out too.

 

[Lucasimo]

I'd well be tempted to flush it now. Top up to the brim with water then emtpy that out too.

I guess I can do that. Should be easy enough to sort. Taking a break in the lovely weather at the moment. I'll leave the tank flush to another time in a week or so.

 

[Lucasimo]

I'll pour some normal water in the tank now and let it slosh about in there to mix it up and then pump it all out in a week or two.

 

[Saffa365]

Where are you connecting the hose to to pump it out

 

[Ayjay]

I reckon @Howzat has come up with a very good suggestion. Iin the heat that we're currently experiencing, it probably wouldn't do any harm to leave the fill cap (or whatever it's called!) off in the hope that the tank dries out com[plately. Whatever you do, good luck.