# Urea fill up intervals



## jonesdds (Apr 2, 2003)

I'm not finding this in the manual just it should be maintained when in for oil changes. How many miles are expected from one tank? Can it be refilled if not near empty? I do some 800 mile trips with no dealers in between, would hate to limp home halfway there.


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## montr (Oct 7, 2006)

When you are low fluid, you will get a warning with 900 miles left. I refill then with 2.5 gals. Do not overfill.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

jonesdds said:


> I'm not finding this in the manual just it should be maintained when in for oil changes. How many miles are expected from one tank? Can it be refilled if not near empty? I do some 800 mile trips with no dealers in between, would hate to limp home halfway there.


Welcome Newbie!:rofl:

The DEF should last the OCI which is 13k miles under normal driving conditions. If you jackrabbit start and stop, it could be less. If the dealer fails to properly fill both (Active and Passive) tanks it could be less.

I usually get the warning light very close to 13k miles and it gives you 999 miles warning. If you go past the 999 miles then your car will not stop, but it wont restart if you do shut it off.:tsk:

I've actually never added DEF to my 335D as it has always been done by the dealer at the scheduled services. Once they improperly filled it, of forgot to fill it, but they corrected it after I returned and complained.

I think our DEF tanks hold about 6.5 gallons total. You should burn about 1-2% DEF for every gallon of diesel fuel, so you can do the math on your mpg and driving 13k miles.

There is plenty of threads on this site that discuss all about this topic.:thumbup:


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Flyingman said:


> You should burn about 1-2% DEF for every gallon of diesel fuel, so you can do the math


so, one should burn 50 - 100 gallons of diesel fuel for each gallon of DEF injected.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Doug Huffman said:


> so, one should burn 50 - 100 gallons of diesel fuel for each gallon of DEF injected.


You did the math Doug!:thumbup:

13,000 miles divided by 29mpg = 448,3 gallons of diesel X 1% = 4.48 gals of DEF.

The 1-2% is a guideline, I think it is closer to about 1.5% in actuality.

Supposedly it measures the exhaust emissions and meter the DEF (Urea) accordingly.:dunno:

I just don't worry about it, let the dealer top it off each OCI and forget about it.:thumbup:

In my MB GL350 I just top it off every 5-6k miles because the dealer will charge a ridiculous price to refill it.

The business of draining and refilling the DEF tank I don't think is required. At one time it was but I think actual results have shown it is not necessary.


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## jonesdds (Apr 2, 2003)

Thanks! I'm a long time BMW owner, one listed on my profile is 7 BMWs ago or so. Had a few M3s but latest before this diesel is a 435i Convertible. Not very excited with that car quite honestly, uninspiring. Direction we are going......

Just got approval to get buyback on my Jetta Wagon TDI, waiting for the email to schedule handover on that car. I liked that car but this is a whole different animal. No Urea tank on it and after driving my car today for the first time(yes, long distance purchase) I'm very impressed, more than I thought, thank god. More than double the price, obviously but what a great car! I do some long distance driving so this is ideal and need a wagon or SUV.

Almost bought a X1, glad I didn't, totally uninspiring, fun cars going to Porsche but can't be happier with this car!

I assume I can keep a can of needed fluid just in case, is it expensive? Also is it included in maintence program or addl?

I'll update my profile soon....


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## rbreding (Sep 6, 2016)

The ad blue can be purchased at just about any gas station, definitely the ones with the big rig fill ups. Its cheap, no need to keep an extra around. It is covered during the "paid for" scheduled maintenance.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

I also moved to X5 diesel from Jetta Wagen ALH TDI, though coincidentally a few months before dieselgate. The X5 has big shoes to fill. 

There is no need to keep DEF in the home as you will have 999 miles of warning when it is exhausted. There are cautions and requirements in BMW SIB's of which the dealerships service departments seem unaware.

Use only a bottle to refill. Do not over fill. Some fill only the passive tank. The tanks and active module are plastic and appear relative fragile.


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

Doug Huffman said:


> I also moved to X5 diesel from Jetta Wagen ALH TDI, though coincidentally a few months before dieselgate. The X5 has big shoes to fill.
> 
> There is no need to keep DEF in the home as you will have 999 miles of warning when it is exhausted. There are cautions and requirements in BMW SIB's of which the dealerships service departments seem unaware.
> 
> Use only a bottle to refill. Do not over fill. Some fill only the passive tank. The tanks and active module are plastic and appear relative fragile.


Many good points here. It's not obvious you need to use the bottle to refill, there is a internal seal on the fill port that get's pushed opened by the bottle. Also DEF does have an expiration date, buy it only when you need it. Even Home Depot sells it.

My car seems to use almost no DEF. With both tanks filled it will go over 30K miles before it starts complaining (999 miles to no start). My plan is to just fill the passive with 2.5 gallons when I get the warning. That way I'm sure there will be no overfilling and vent plugging issues.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

KeithS said:


> Also DEF does have an expiration date,


LOL. Your manufacturer puts an expiration date on its bottles for the gullible to repurchase to replace.

DEF does not expire. If you think it does, then write out the chemical formulas with only time as an argument.


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

Doug Huffman said:


> LOL. Your manufacturer puts an expiration date on its bottles for the gullible to repurchase to replace.
> 
> DEF does not expire. If you think it does, then write out the chemical formulas with only time as an argument.


Plastic is not impermeable. Doesn't O2 from the atmosphere have some impact?


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

If you ever spill the DEF (Urea with distilled water) the water will quickly evaporate and leave behind a white substance. I usually spill a little every time I top off the MB GL350. Just wipe it off with a wet towel or hose it down and it is gone.

So long as air isn't getting to the DEF it should stay quite soluble.

I have (7) years now and no issue with the 355D as regards DEF. A non-problem.


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## Michael47 (May 9, 2014)

DEF should be cheap. It is composed of only two chemicals, the ratio of which is defined in Federal regulations, so any brand will be exactly the same as any other. What's more, those two chemicals are two of the cheapest chemicals known to mankind. Still, you can pay anywhere from about a buck and a half a gallon to $25 a gallon for it.

I generally go to Wally World and buy a 2.5 gallon jug of whatever they are selling the cheapest. I think I paid $8 for the jug last time. But it's convenient. Cheapest you'll find is at truck stops that have bulk hoses for the big rigs, but they are a bit of a pain to deal with.

Most of us spring for the 1 liter bottle from a BMW, Audi, Mercedes, or Jeep dealer, dump that into the tank, then cut the bottom off the bottle and use it as a funnel to add DEF from the 2.5 gallon jug. That little bottle, btw, is going to be the most expensive DEF you'll find, but the bottle is worth it for preventing spills and overfills.

When you get the 999 mile warning, dump a fresh 2.5 gallon jug in and motor on.


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## imtjm (Oct 5, 2004)

Flyingman said:


> If you ever spill the DEF (Urea with distilled water) the water will quickly evaporate and leave behind a white substance. I usually spill a little every time I top off the MB GL350. Just wipe it off with a wet towel or hose it down and it is gone.
> 
> So long as air isn't getting to the DEF it should stay quite soluble.
> 
> I have (7) years now and no issue with the 355D as regards DEF. A non-problem.


you are among the lucky non-problem DEF people. Two common problems are the SCR reservoir and SCR Metering valve.


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## docvb (Dec 6, 2004)

With the X5d I purchase 3 of the 2.5 gal jugs when the light goes on, fill both tanks with multiple refills of the dealer-jug I kept from my ML 350 BT. Usually coincides with oil changes (I do these as well--for convenience sake with topsider). No need to reset the light. If you go about 200 miles with warning light on, a CEL also comes on--p203a code--to goad you to go to the dealer. Can't reset with OBD scanner, but will also go out after refill of the tank


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## Proconsul (Aug 2, 2015)

Anyone know what the warning actually looks like? I recently had my 20K service on my 2015 X5d, and if I recall I just got a car icon on the instrument cluster when I started it, with a progressively smaller "X" miles to service message before I took it in. Mileage was about 19,200. Nothing about a 999m warning, nothing about shutting down, nothing about low DEF. Would I have gotten a warning if I had driven it longer? Would be nice to know when I'm down to the last 999 miles so I don't drive it to zero, then not be able to start the car. I got a service interval warning message on my prior Lexus also, but being a couple of hundred miles over the interval was no big deal. They did do some sort of software update this time that took about 4 hours....


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## Jamolay (May 11, 2014)

The DEF warning is obvious in my 2014 328d wagon. Yellow triangle and a written warning in the instrument panel, plus a idrive warning I had to acknowledge every time the car was started. Maybe it would have gone away if I left it long enough, but you will want to refill the DEF if just to stop the constant warnings!
The liter DEF at the BMW dealer with the proprietary nozzle was about $11, similar in cost to a 2.5 gal jug elsewhere. I just bought the dealer one yesterday.

Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## Michael47 (May 9, 2014)

Jamolay said:


> The DEF warning is obvious in my 2014 328d wagon. Yellow triangle and a written warning in the instrument panel, plus a idrive warning I had to acknowledge every time the car was started. Maybe it would have gone away if I left it long enough, but you will want to refill the DEF if just to stop the constant warnings![/url]


Um, no, the warning will not just go away. It will count down to zero, and when it reaches zero, the engine will refuse to start until it gets towed to the dealer, the DEF tank is refilled, and the dealer tweaks the secret handshake that all is now well. When the warning comes up that you are running out of DEF, they really mean it.


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## Jamolay (May 11, 2014)

Michael47 said:


> Um, no, the warning will not just go away. It will count down to zero, and when it reaches zero, the engine will refuse to start until it gets towed to the dealer, the DEF tank is refilled, and the dealer tweaks the secret handshake that all is now well. When the warning comes up that you are running out of DEF, they really mean it.


What I meant was that maybe I didn't have to clear it by acknowledging it each time. Of course it will come on every time I start the car until I fill it or can't start the car.

Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest mobile app


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