Has anyone been adding their own DEF to the tank?

If yes - where do you buy it?

Any issues with pouring it in?

 

Don't know where you are (US? Canada?) but in the US most VW dealers sell it cheaply...I've heard that Autozone sells it...many truck stops do...some Wal Marts do (I bought a 2.5 gallon jug at Wal Mart).

Fillups aren't that difficult,expensive or time consuming.Here's what I'm doing (others might be doing it differently).

1) Buy a 1/2 gallon bottle (with the special nozzle) at a VW dealership.It's about $12.Also buy one or more jugs without the nozzle at about $5/gallon.

2) Empty the 1/2 gallon bottle into the filling port.Then,carefully cut the bottom part of the blue nozzle to release the crimp fastener thus allowing the blue nozzle to be easily screwed on and off (takes 5 minutes to complete).

3) Fill the 1/2 gallon bottle from the larger jugs and fill again as in step #2.

Total cost of your first fillup...about $40 (subsequent fillups will be easier and cheaper if you reuse the 1/2 gallon bottle you've modified).Time taken=about 15 minutes.

Do NOT allow a Mercedes dealer to do it unless you've got pre-paid maintenence.They'll charge you something like $250 (according to Consumer Reports Magazine).

 

Thank you very much.

 

Thanks again for your help and yes, the local VW dealer had the exact part you wrote about.

One question, I looked at my set up & it appears as though I could put a skinny funnel into the opening and pour the DEF in that way.

Am I missing something?

 

No youre not missing anything, just top it off and dont let it go empty.

 

I've always assumed that any vehicle that has the same type of filling port as our Bluetecs (the "screw on" type) *required* the use of that type of bottle and wouldn't accept any kinds of tubes or funnels.However,I certainly could be wrong.

If I *am* wrong it should be noted that everything I've heard and read indicates that DEF is something you don't want to spill on yourself or your vehicle.It's not *dangerous* in any way but it's a pain in the neck.Perhaps *that's* the reason for the special nozzle.I think another advantage of the nozzle is that it won't allow you to over-fill.

 

I'm thinking about just running it until the dashboard tells me I'm low. Then it's less guessing and less opportunity to spill.

 

So as we know, the M-B dealers tend to get about $150 to fill the Diesel Emission Fluid reservoir in our Bluetec diesels. DEF is DEF, in fact the same bottle that is sold at M-B dealers also has VW and Audi and BMW part numbers on it.

My M-B dealer sells a 1/2 gallon (2 liter) bottle for about $10, and the tank holds somewhere between 6 and 7 gallons. In fact, my dealer quoted me $10 a bottle for however many bottles it would take to fill (even though they fill from a big 55 gallon or so drum of DEF.) FYI the 7 gallons or so of DEF that the car holds lasts well more than the 10,000 miles recommended between oil changes and services.

So, I'd read that many truck stops today have a DEF pump right next to the diesel pumps for the big 18 wheel trucks. I googled and found such a truck stop about half an hour from my house. But the car's tank has a proprietary cap and you can't just stick a nozzle in there and fill it up. One person recommended buying one 1/2 gallon bottle and then cutting off the bottom, and using it as a funnel. Sounded good, so I did that....



And I learned a few things:

1. This is a two person job. You have to push down on the bottle to get it to drop the fluid into the tank, but if you push too hard and the fluid goes in too fast, then some fluid shoots up the small tube which is meant to let the air escape out of the tank while the fluid goes in. There is a delicate balance to how hard to push, otherwise you are making a huge mess.

2. The truck stop pumps don't work like gas stations that you and I are used to. You have to go inside and they activate the pump from there, and they'll look at you funny because you're not dressed like a truck driver, and your truck doesn't have a truck number. You can't just drive up and swipe your Amex card.

3. It took me a long time to pump five gallons into my car, like 20 minutes. Any faster and the DEF shoots out the exhaust tube in the bottle.

4. The only way that you know that the tank is full is when the funnel won't allow any more DEF into the tank. So you then have to unscrew the funnel, and discard the little bit that's left inside it. You COULD use a regular thin spout long neck funnel, but when the tank's full, you'll make a mess with that's left in the funnel.

5. Now the good news: My 5.061 gallons of DEF cost me $14.67 or $2.899/gallon. So I filled the tank for $15 instead of over $100.

Overall, I saved about $100. Was it worth the hassle? I'll let you decide that. For me, I am not really sure what I'll do at the end of the next 10,000 miles.