Virgin Adblue Re-fill Experience Audi A6 Diesel UK Rental

[Boringchap]

I did a forum search on 'Adblue' and no results came up.  So I am starting this thread to share with you a recent Adblue refill experience on a rental Audi A6 Diesel Estate car, while on holiday in the UK.  My family had gone to the UK for a driving holiday this winter.  We rented from a company called SIXT, picked up the car at London Heathrow on arrival, and drove out of London immediately on the day we landed.  In winter, hours with light were shorter so I had to maximise daylight time for all the driving I had to do.  The plan was to go as far north as Glasgow and Edinburgh, before driving back to London. 

 

I had booked an Estate Car (so that we get more boot space for all  our luggage).  I had hoped to get the Mercedes E-class estate but they issued me with an Audi A6 Estate instead.  No matter, since this was the car in the same category of rental.   This is what the car looked like. 

 

It was quite long. 

 

The boot was very spacious, as with most estate cars.

 

The car was almost brand new, with just over 3,000 miles on the odometer.  Plenty of gadgets to play with, including a very useful Satellite Navigation system that brought us to our destinations efficiently.  The car was roomy and the boot (or trunk) space was very good.  We had plenty of luggage.  Here is a video of the car, including the Sat-Nav system.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think that this model of car (Audi A6 Estate Diesel) is available in Singapore.  Now, the point of this post is not just to show you the car, but to talk about my virgin Adblue experience, which will be the topic of the next post. 

[Boringchap]

What is Adblue?  I had no idea and no clue.  I knew the difference between petrol and diesel and I made doubly sure what type of the fuel the car consumed before I left the car pick up.  Also, it is usually very clear from the tank whether it is a petrol or diesel car.  But in this case, I noticed that there was another cap (much smaller) right beside the Diesel one as per picture, and the cap said Adblue.

 

At first, I ignored it.  Probably nothing to do with my rental.  I was so wrong.  First, what is Adblue?  Thanks to google, I found that that it was a type of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). DEF is used as a consumable in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in order to lower NOx concentration in the diesel exhaust emissions from diesel engines.  

 

How did this Adblue situation come about?  Well, shortly after I got the car and I was driving out from London towards Stonehenge, an Adblue warning indicator came out, telling me to refill the Adblue tank.  It said Adblue range 1,500 miles or was it 1,200 miles.  At first I ignored it, but something was nagging at me.  So in the evening, I went to read about Adblue and Audi online, and I soon learnt that if the Adblue tank dried up, the engine wouldn't start.  Well, 1,500 miles sounded like a far enough distance to cover my planned route. (Distance from London to Edinburgh was about 400 miles), but still I didn't like to live on the edge.

 

Then things got worse.  The Adblue warning kept showing up and the range dropped faster than the distance I had travelled.  At first, I thought I remembered wrongly since I wasn't paying too much attention to the Adblue indicator. Then I decided to pay more attention.  So I started the day, with the Adblue Range saying 1,200 miles.  By the end of that day, the warning indicator said 900 miles and I was very sure I had not done 300 miles that day.  The maximum I drove was 200 miles.  Now, this was worrying.  I wasn't confident I had 900 miles more to go, and I was in Scotland, and we were barely at the half way mark of our driving holiday.

 

So, I called the SIXT hotline.  Had to wait to get through to an agent.  Thankfully I had free minutes on my UK SIM card which I didn't plan to use, so I didn't mind the wait.  (10 minutes or so?) I got through and was told that I might have to fill up the Adblue tank on my own. And to assist me, they would get an Audi technician to call me.  Oh, ok.  True enough, the Audi technician called me within the hour, and true enough, I was told to refill the Adblue myself and to claim the Adblue cost from the car rental company when I returned the car. 

Alright, didn't sound too difficult.  But here came the twists.  This is the video that shows me refilling the Adblue after dark, while in Scotland.  Be warned, the video is kind of suggestive, especially the blue filler pipe.  Anyway, this shows you in great detail, how I managed to fill up the Adblue tank.  Not fun.

 

First Twist - Adblue Cap Couldn't Open
The Adblue cap (which was adjacent to the Diesel cap) couldn't be opened using my bare hands.  Audi technician told me to retrieve the wrench from the boot.  I couldn't find the wrench and was told to check the spare tyre . I still couldn't find it and I was told to REMOVE the spare tyre to look underneath.  I finally found it.  Removing the spare tyre in winter, wasn't too fun, but I did it.

Second Twist - 15L of Adblue Required! 
Audi technician told me to fill the Adblue tank with at least 15L of Adblue, otherwise the warning indicator may not go away. Ouch.  I thought maybe filling it up with 3L or 5L would suffice, but 15L?  Ok, that sounds like a challenge.  I went to a nearby gas station and I could only find 10L Adblue bottles.  So I bought 2 such 10L bottles.  They were heavy.

Third Twist - Hard to Fill  Adblue Tank
I thought re-filling the Adblue would be easy, since filling the car up with Diesel was so easy.  Boy, I was wrong.  I had to physically pour the Adblue solution into the Adblue tank using this blue filler device, and the flow of the Adblue was very slow.  You have to watch the video to understand why. The filler device was long and very tight-fitting.  Due to the design, very little air could escape as I filled the tank, making the progress very slow.  A lot of wiggling and jiggling! I managed to sort it out, finally.

Fortunately, everything worked.  I filled the tank up with about 15L of Adblue and the warning indicator went away.  When I returned the car, I claimed back the cost of the Adblue (each bottle cost 11 pounds). I had sent an email earlier to SIXT to register my feedback but I was never given an explanation why the Adblue tank was not filled up prior to SIXT handing over the car to me for my 10 day rental.  Of course, I could have made a big deal out of this, but since I managed to get the Adblue sorted, I figured no point raising a ruckus and ruining my holiday.

Audi at fault? - Adlue Range too Low? 
Furthermore, when I was reading through all the Internet documentation on Audi and Adblue, I learnt that an Audi A6 on a full Adblue tank was supposed to last up to 10,000 miles. When I got the car, the odometer only showed slighly more than 3,000 miles.  I could not reasonably fault the SIXT people for not re-filling the Adblue tank.

All that said, SIXT and other car rental companies should really pay more attention to this Adblue issue.  Hirers like myself rent the car for extended periods, and want to drive many miles.  If the Adblue indicator comes up, the car hirer needs to know what to do, otherwise he or she would face inconvenience or worse, the car may stall completely because the Adblue warning light was ignored.

Car hirers, take note. If you rent a car with an Adblue tank, you should be aware of what needs to be done.

 

Audi Car Adblue Design Flaws

Since I have gone through this Adblue experience, here are the design issues that Audi should seriously think of how to improve.

 

First, there needs to be a better Adblue indicator on just how much Adblue there is left in the 17L Adblue tank.  I read that the first warning only comes up when the Adblue falls to the reserve level, and the car has just 1,500 miles more to go.  Since Adblue is as important as Diesel (because without Adblue the car will not start), why did Audit not have a running indicator (like the Diesel tank) to show how much Adblue is left?  Why wait till only 1,500 miles range to show Adblue?

 

Second, please design the Adblue cap for easier opening.  If a wrench is needed, can it not be hidden under the spare tyre?  Removing it was no easy task because I had to empty my boot. 

 

Third, filling up a large quantity of Adblue, like 15L at one go, was no joke.  The bottles were heavy and the flow of Adblue into the tank was slow.  Worse, I was told by the Audi technician to fill at least 15L otherwise it may be futile.  Why was the Adblue system designed like this?

 

Anyway, the above are my bugbears.  I don't own an Audi car and I have no plans to buy one.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by Boringchap

[Thaiyotakamli]

So troublesome lol

[Kb27]

Just be thankful you manage to find adblue at your nearest gas station.

Or it will be another painful twist, if you have to spend the night searching for it in winter condition.

[Spidey10]

Just be thankful you manage to find adblue at your nearest gas station.

Or it will be another painful twist, if you have to spend the night searching for it in winter condition.

SG Audi hv diesel that need to ad this ad blue? I only knew Citroen cars need to add every 10k km.

The newer bm and merc diesel dun need to add...that's my understanding...

I think SG Audi dun sell diesel leh..

[Boringchap]

Just be thankful you manage to find adblue at your nearest gas station.

Or it will be another painful twist, if you have to spend the night searching for it in winter condition.

 

Yes, and there were only 3 or 4 bottles of Adblue left when I got there. 

SG Audi hv diesel that need to ad this ad blue? I only knew Citroen cars need to add every 10k km.

The newer bm and merc diesel dun need to add...that's my understanding...

I think SG Audi dun sell diesel leh..

 

I don't know.  But if can avoid this adblue, best to avoid.  Makes life more complicated. 

[Kb27]

I might be wrong, but I believe the adblue case is related to VW diesel emission cheating.

VW removed the adblue, claiming they can meet emission standards without it; but by cheating on the software.

And Audi just so happens to belong to VAG.

Now, who wants the inconvenience of adding adblue ?

[Ake109]

Maybe because it was a rental car and it spent quite a large part of its first 3000 miles being trashed or idling in crawl-stop traffic in London, so the ad-blue got used up fast.

 

I assume Audi made it 10k miles, lets say 5k miles realistic so that you theoretically get the mechanic to top it up during oil changes instead of DIY.

 

Anyway, most manufacturers give optimistic claims. Just like my Audi's trip computer, tell me have 60km but after 5 km of driving it becomes 40km and another 5km of driving it becomes 20km, then 2 traffic lights later it is like 'refuel now!'.

 

Then I refuel and compare amount pumped to mileage drove and what the trip computer FC is telling me and kena cheated 15-20% at least. TMD.

Edited December 17, 2016 by Ake109

[Hamburger]

Thanks for the write up.

[Ake109]

btw, was it a 2.0 or 3.0 TDI?

[Boringchap]

btw, was it a 2.0 or 3.0 TDI?

 

Sorry, I didn't check on this.  My paperwork didn't indicate the engine size.  That said, the engine performance was more than adequate for my needs and driving habits, given that I drive an almost 10 year old Corolla.  The car is very stable at high speeds.  Driving at 100 mph was effortless and it didn't feel fast.  

Edited December 17, 2016 by Boringchap

[Boringchap]

I might be wrong, but I believe the adblue case is related to VW diesel emission cheating.

VW removed the adblue, claiming they can meet emission standards without it; but by cheating on the software.

And Audi just so happens to belong to VAG.

Now, who wants the inconvenience of adding adblue ?

 

I read that more and more Diesel cars in Europe are using Adblue, in order to comply with the Euro 6 emission standards.  Not just the upmarket models but also the more common and standard models across almost all major brands.  So don't be surprised if and when  you hire a car in Europe that you get a rental vehicle that requires Adblue, given that rental companies keep the fleets very new. 

[Kb27]

I read that more and more Diesel cars in Europe are using Adblue, in order to comply with the Euro 6 emission standards.  Not just the upmarket models but also the more common and standard models across almost all major brands.  So don't be surprised if and when  you hire a car in Europe that you get a rental vehicle that requires Adblue, given that rental companies keep the fleets very new. 

 

Thanks for the warning for everyone. But I watch your video of filling up adblue is a little inefficicent, which most people will do.

 

First of all, the spout should not be at the lower end. Turn the container around, such that the spout is at the higher end.

This allows air to go in more freely.

 

Secondly, if you were able to, don't jammed the spout into the filler hole. You should leave some air gap.

 

Remember when liquid is going in, air must have a way to come out.

 

If you jammed the air escape, the ilquid won't go in, bcuz it's fighting with the trapped air coming out.

 

In other words, if you're not working the camera, you could have stood down, have the container rest on your shoulder.

With the container outlet/spout on top (not below) just simply pour in (don't jam the filler hole) and it would have been a lot easier.

 

This applies to everything, including pouring your orange juice out of a container.

If you do it correctly, the flow will be smooth. Otherwise, you'll get bubbles and jerking as the liquid struggles to get out.

 

Remember to turn the container hole outlet to the top and not at the bottom.

Edited December 17, 2016 by Kb27

[Kb27]

How to pour out liquid from a bottle the correct way:

 

[Holdenutessv]

btw, was it a 2.0 or 3.0 TDI?

 

2.0 TDI.

[Adrianli]

I am driving the exact same car, but petrol version.

 

http://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2684724-audi-a6-avant-1087m-whats-the-catch/?p=5922921

 

 

There is automatic boot which u mentioned on have.

- kick under the boot with remote in ur pocket or hands. Swift action, and the boot will open.

- on the remote, center button. Press and hold.

[Boringchap]

I am driving the exact same car, but petrol version.

 

http://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2684724-audi-a6-avant-1087m-whats-the-catch/?p=5922921

 

 

There is automatic boot which u mentioned on have.

- kick under the boot with remote in ur pocket or hands. Swift action, and the boot will open.

- on the remote, center button. Press and hold.

 

Thanks for the info!  I'm sure there are many more features of the car that I do not know how to use.

 

What do you think of the drive?  

 

Frankly, while I enjoyed the feeling of hugging the road and the responsiveness of the vehicle, I found the ride too firm (for UK roads, which can be bumpy at times).  But I think it would be very smooth on Singapore roads.

[Lala81]

Thanks for the warning for everyone. But I watch your video of filling up adblue is a little inefficicent, which most people will do.

 

First of all, the spout should not be at the lower end. Turn the container around, such that the spout is at the higher end.

This allows air to go in more freely.

 

Secondly, if you were able to, don't jammed the spout into the filler hole. You should leave some air gap.

 

Remember when liquid is going in, air must have a way to come out.

 

If you jammed the air escape, the ilquid won't go in, bcuz it's fighting with the trapped air coming out.

 

In other words, if you're not working the camera, you could have stood down, have the container rest on your shoulder.

With the container outlet/spout on top (not below) just simply pour in (don't jam the filler hole) and it would have been a lot easier.

 

This applies to everything, including pouring your orange juice out of a container.

If you do it correctly, the flow will be smooth. Otherwise, you'll get bubbles and jerking as the liquid struggles to get out.

 

Remember to turn the container hole outlet to the top and not at the bottom.

Thanks learnt something new from you!