VW SPECIALIST AD BLUE

rupertfinch

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Bangor
Hello folks. Desperately need a VW Indy to have a look at my ad blue system on our 80k 2012 Sharan.
Car threw up Adblue warning 650 miles left but the yellow one with spanner symbol yesterday. Car gloriously 3 weeks out of warranty.

Drove over to get ad blue, only took 4 litres to brim it.

Cycled the system - ign on for 30 seconds before starting then started. Warning remains today and countdown now at 600.
No VW dealer (tried 5 awaiting 1 reply) can look at it to 23rd July and I’ve the Rosslare boat booked so my wife can see her folks.

Car had Adblue heater tank replaced under warranty last July.

Need help - I have carista and will plug in now, but now a very cross wife.
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
Our caddy did the same thing, a few times in my experience drive on and it’ll clear it’s self. Also 4 litres is a good bit out of it
 

rupertfinch

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rupertfinch
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3,296
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Bangor
Our caddy did the same thing, a few times in my experience drive on and it’ll clear it’s self. Also 4 litres is a good bit out of it

Going to do a 45 min run in it now and see.


Post up the codes and I can try and help

Carista’s pro version came up with this (pic attached)



926234D7-BD6E-4750-A628-6B116CAD4221.png
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
Ours needed adblue yesterday, run the cycle and it wouldn’t reset, quick run, sorted. 2018 caddy.
 

mk2driver

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6,186
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Coventry
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Impreza Type RA
Going to do a 45 min run in it now and see.




Carista’s pro version came up with this (pic attached)



View attachment 287607

I was expecting something like PXXXX-XX

However the second one brought up a forum showing that as decoding as P20EE-00 which is SCR efficiency low

Typically caused by poor quality adblue or NOx sensor issues, alongside the obvious SCR catalyst no longer operating as intended and converting the NOx. Other causes can be the urea injector not functioning correctly

So the response of no engine restarts is what is required legally and it will actually not start

Best thing to do is take it for a reasonable length steady state drive - 60-90 minutes would be my recommendation

This will allow the monitor to run again - if it passes the no restart should clear, if not then it’s going to have to be investigated further
 

rupertfinch

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rupertfinch
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Thank you for this detailed response @mk2driver
It gives me something to work from, the out of warranty by days (especially when it was in driven over the lockdown and has done 100 miles since) is particularly gutting.

I took the earliest VW appointment next Friday, so already the holiday gets eaten into.
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
If it’s just been doing short journeys the past while it’s probably why your getting a warning about the catalyst. Good hard drive will sort that
 

mk2driver

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6,186
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How does it work then?

SCR dosing has a number of entry conditions including engine and exhaust temperature - as such if journey durations are short with cold starts you won’t even dose urea and hence run that diagnostic monitor

Alongside that a “hard drive” doesn’t do anything for the SCR catalyst efficiency - it needs to get up to temperature but that’s time based really rather than load based
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
SCR dosing has a number of entry conditions including engine and exhaust temperature - as such if journey durations are short with cold starts you won’t even dose urea and hence run that diagnostic monitor

Alongside that a “hard drive” doesn’t do anything for the SCR catalyst efficiency - it needs to get up to temperature but that’s time based really rather than load based
So it still needs a good drive lol, hardly going to jump in and hammer it freezing cold.
 

mk2driver

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It needs a drive like I described ideally - 60-90 minutes fairly steady state. Not as you said a good hard drive

Also the short journeys won’t be the cause of the issues - it needs the longer journey to run the monitor again not to deal with the issue
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
It needs a drive like I described ideally - 60-90 minutes fairly steady state. Not as you said a good hard drive

Also the short journeys won’t be the cause of the issues - it needs the longer journey to run the monitor again not to deal with the issue
Ok boss. I’m going by the advice I was given by qualified mechanics with decades of experience.
The second thing a mechanic is going to do with the car above after he takes it off diagnostic is take it for a drive, a proper hard drive, not a cut around the block.
 

mk2driver

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Coventry
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Ok boss. I’m going by the advice I was given by qualified mechanics with decades of experience.
The second thing a mechanic is going to do with the car above after he takes it off diagnostic is take it for a drive, a proper hard drive, not a cut around the block.
No problem - I’m involved in engineering the system and calibrating how it operates, I may know a little about it
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
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6,242
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E39 M5 Evo ix
No problem - I’m involved in engineering the system and calibrating how it operates, I may know a little about it
Oh yeah I forgot JLR are known for their fantastic engineering and build quality..... no sorry, they are known for being very unreliable. 😂
You may engineer and calibrate the parts but I have to deal with the mechanics and joe public when your fantastic engineering fails lol
 

rupertfinch

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rupertfinch
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Thank you chaps for this lively and informative debate. I took the car for a decent hour plus mixed roads run. Taking her to speed limit on dual carriageways etc but not thrashing the arse of it, I had the kids on board to give herself a little pSadly no change.

previous Adblue fill took an entire container 10l - I assumed it was decent stuff as bought from a long-standing motor factors. I estimate this was about 2k miles ago around Nov/Dec.

looking at current container (Halfords) it took perhaps 6l, so was down. It did brim which some say is an issue, but I’d imagine that run would have helped eliminate that problem.

What I find so frustrating is that this is something that is not vital to the engine/drivetrain and yet it’s preventing me from getting away. I haven’t neglected it, dealing with previous warning the moment it appeared, but cars are dicks.
 

trev 1515

RMS Regular
Messages
6,242
Drives
E39 M5 Evo ix
Thank you chaps for this lively and informative debate. I took the car for a decent hour plus mixed roads run. Taking her to speed limit on dual carriageways etc but not thrashing the arse of it, I had the kids on board to give herself a little pSadly no change.

previous Adblue fill took an entire container 10l - I assumed it was decent stuff as bought from a long-standing motor factors. I estimate this was about 2k miles ago around Nov/Dec.

looking at current container (Halfords) it took perhaps 6l, so was down. It did brim which some say is an issue, but I’d imagine that run would have helped eliminate that problem.

What I find so frustrating is that this is something that is not vital to the engine/drivetrain and yet it’s preventing me from getting away. I haven’t neglected it, dealing with previous warning the moment it appeared, but cars are dicks.
Did the light go off?
 

salster

RMS Regular
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706
Location
belfast
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mini
in my experience, it needs a constant drive at decent revs, not the life thrashed out of it. mk2 is right when he says all the conditions have to be met before it operates. its a bit like start/stop where people complain its not working but in reality it probably is, its just that there is so many conditions that need to be met to make it work.
 
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