[Tell]

The use of AdBlue is on 279-281 of the manual. It came up recently.

First I didn't realise it's a nasty chemical to get on yourself so definitely a gloves on operation if you are doing it yourself unless you fancy washing for 15 minutes.

Red light warning only, the engine won't start until you top it up.

Red light and spanner, you'r stuffed

Yellow light and spanner, semi stuffed

You get a top up warning light at 2,400 kms and below

The refill bottle is screwed onto the receiving end in the filler compartment, is full when no more pours in. (not sure whether bottle is empty then or some valve action, does talk about part topping up)

Then a procedure of when to turn the ignition and for how long.

Suspect these pages will get well thumbed. I've booked marked them in the PDF.

On a related subject to coaking up the catalyst in a diesel the manual elsewhere says if you get the warning light drive in lower gears in manual and names the revs, if DSG select S, sport. Normally you only need to do this if making a number of short journeys and you get this issue that must be fixed before it disables the vehicle.

 

[Magpie86]

Topic came up as I asked what it was at the LHD model viewing. Basically said it was a pain in the arse but helps bring emissions down so they can hit lower targets. But carry a small bottle of it around everywhere so you don't get caught out. You are pretty stuffed without it!

 

[Ghiggz]

How long does an adblue bottle last??
Will I have to buy it at any time, or will it last say between services?
Probably do about 9k a year!!

 

[Tell]

Magpie you are alright since yours is a petrol if my brain hasn't stopped working, it's for diesel emissions, reduces NOx emissions. It cost about a £1 too £2 per litre looking at the net.

The wiki says it's safe to handle, the Ateca manual says, no. I would go with what the side of the bottle says

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_exhaust_fluid

The chemistry of how it's used is in the wiki.

The Ateca AdBlue tank can take 12lites, minimum amount than can be filled is 5.7 litres. Page 280 manual. They recommend you don't do it yoursel but VW dealer said you could and give you a bottle with the Tiguan to start you off. Same filling cap. It is a service top up fluid but may run down between services.

This German article seems to say AdBlue isn't used in front wheel drive but that could be inaccurate.

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.auto-news.de/test/einzeltest/anzeige_Seat-Ateca-mit-1.4-TSI-und-190-PS-Diesel-im-Test-Guenstig,-kurz-und-gut_id_38502&prev=search

It cites 1 litres does 1,000 kms but there is a read out like a petrol one which shows consumption. 8,000 miles per re fill is shown elsewhere.

The manual

vwts.ru/pps/pps_seat_163_seat_ateca_eng.pdf

Shows the order of warning as follows (usefull manual on technical stuff)

Filling level warning sequence:

/ As of 2400 km: the white warning lamp is activated. The warning is repeated every 400 km or 8 hours. OPERATING RANGE WARNING INDICATOR The remaining operating range warnings cover information about the minimum and maximum amounts for refilling. The minimum amount is used to change the indication after refilling. The maximum amount is useful for choosing a suitable refilling container. FILLING LEVEL WARNING INDICATOR Warnings for insufficient filling level of the Adblue tank warn the driver of the need to refill it. If these warnings are not heeded, start-up will be blocked when the remaining operating range runs out. In this case, once the ignition has been switched off, it will not be possible to restart the engine.

/ As of 1,000 km: the yellow warning lamp is activated every 100 km or 4 hours.

/ As of 200 km: the yellow warning lamp is activated every 20 km. / At 0 km: the red warning lamp is activated, together with the "Start disabled" warning.

The pamphlet shows the screen display. Basically AdBlue is cheap but fiddly plus corrosive.

The YouTube video shows a VW car being filled within the boot but using the screw the bottle on option. You can ignore the last big since the Ateca provides read out.

Another article says buy it on Amazon it's cheaper. Best to check the 1.6TDI uses it Ghiggz. Think it's like oil you need to keep some with you since it will need topping up between services if you do more than 8,000 miles per year. If you are on a road trip you may need it at some point.

Yes if you look on Amazon there is a trick where you buy a small bottle to get the unlocking device contained in the bottle, then a big bottle covered in this comment to fill - bearing in mind Seat say it's not nice stuff to come into contact with. Like that 15 minute was of skin and eyes.

It does what it says on the tin bit its tiny. Most vehicles require around 5 litres minimum so it could get expensive! The best method is to use this then cut the bottom off and use it as a funnel as you need the special filler mouth on these bottles to 'unlock' the tank. Then you can pay under £20 for 5 litres of the stuff from then on.

However if you are unsure or think you could be prone to spilling it you may be better off just buying multiples of these as there is no spillage at all.

Have to put that product in my private wishlist.

Another video which shows the two ways of topping up adblue, third way is to cut the bottle and top up with a big one. Reckon it's best to invest in the pipe / valve and use a 10 litre bottle, second way. The small bottles are pricey, 1.5 bottle with fitting valve costs the same as a 10 litre without fitting valve. Reading suggests use only the pipe designed for the bottle, keep to the same manufacturer. Think before holidays you just give it a good topping up. Shelf life isn't suppose to be good. 6 months in a "vented bottle".

A PDF from one of the manufacturers

http://www.halfords.com/wcsstore/libraries/document/AdBluebooklet.pdf

If it's like screen wash and you pay your owner services best to get a 10 litres bottle, the matching dosage pipe from Amazon or eBay and do it yourself. My considered view, bottle cutting and slopping it around on your new paint work isn't a good idea.

 

[Magpie86]

Yeah I knew it was diesel only. Was just commenting as I wondered what it was when I opened the filler cap, and got a few quick answers about out of general interest. I had never heard of it before.

 

[Tell]

I heard of it but wasn't totally aware of what it was till the VW guy explained. It is white stuff if you spill it. I noticed a lorry with an external jerry can sized adblue tank with the white residue spilled down the tank side. Yep, that's the stuff.

Thinks it's highly in advisable doing the bottom of the bottle recycling trick since you must be going to spill it about. Best is to get a 10 litre bottle with filler pipe made for the bottle as per what you see on Amazon eg. Cartec 9923 and the original AdBlue VW filler hose. Then it's a two person job, one to hold the bottle up, the second person to lock on the filler pipe and push down. Can cope with that.

Then out monuever the dealers service charges by doing it yourself ahead of it going in for service. I reckon with about 8,000 - 10,000 miles per year you would have to refill it twice a year, you would use more than the 10 litre bottle.

I see from Seat's fixed price servicing they don't top it up for free, screenwash they do. Seat charge £2-99 per litre. Amazon 10 litre bottle is £1-31 a litre. More than double the price. You just got to clear the cost of the pipe and valve which you would do on the first fill up.

 

[ernieb]

You can buy a VW filling pipe with connectors at both ends, one for the car and one for a VW 10ltr AdBlue bottle, it auto stops when full. I bought mine from flea bay.

 

[Tell]

Ernie that's the one I'm talking about on Amazon.

This one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Audi-Adblue-Filling-Solution/dp/B01AS75V76/ref=pd_sim_263_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2RMMPPH14TGAW34B7T1C

VW part number 000012499

Apparently works with the Cartec bottle but dribbles with Greenchem bottles according to a review so I'll use Cartec who trademarked AdBlue so I read.

I do wonder how much AdBlue they put in it when you leave the forecourt when new, a thimble full like fuel. Given it doesn't cost as much may be a full tank. This is where the impressive VW dealership said we give everyone a bottle of AdBlue when they leave, although I expect those were the small bottles with the valve built in.

 

[ernieb]

This VW part seems to have been used by many on the Yeti forum I follow and no one has reported any issues that I can see. It's much more important on the Yeti as it's an after thought to use the Euro 6 TDi engines. So the filler is located within the boot space. Comments on that forum suggest that the tank, on delivery, is probably about 70%+ full but not completely full. People seem to be getting about 900-1000miles per ltr. The warning is set to come on at 650 miles again this seems to be reasonably accurate. I think that style of driving, road types, speed, stop start, summer /winter etc., will impact on this figure to some extent. Some people have filled the tank from a pump at the service area for lorries. This may be more practical for those with an external filler than say the Yeti.
The test figure suggest the system works so I for one am happy to use the AdBlue until new research indicates that this causes some other environmental issue, remember it was not that long ago that governments were falling over themselves promoting the environmental benefits of diesel over petrol!

 

[Tell]

The Ateca manual gives some usage figures (thought it did) however

The AdBlue® tank level capacity is approxi-
mately 12 litres.
The minimum amount to be poured in (as-
suming the tank is empty) is indicated on the
AdBlue® sticker located on the floor of the
luggage compartment.

The AdBlue® tank should never be empty.
When the distance to empty drops below
2400 km, a warning to refill the AdBlue® tank
will appear on the dash panel display
››› page 280. If this information is ignored, it
will later no longer be possible to re-start the
engine ››› in Introduction on page 279. If
this warning does not appear, it is not neces-
sary to refill the AdBlue® tank.
AdBlue® is a registered brand of the German

If a warning message about AdBlue® levels
appears on the dash panel display, fill at
least the minimum amount required (approx.
5.7 litres). Only after adding this amount will
the system detect that AdBlue® has been
added and you will be able to start the en-
gine again. The maximum amount that can
be refilled is 12 litres.
Switch the ignition off. If the igniti

This is going to give the Ateca's percentage figure =100*5.7/12

=47.5 percent.

That means the Ateca will warn when half the tank is used, unless too fill is at a different point too had enough. Assuming minimum is warning at 5.7 litres. At 70 percent they want to give you a bit of distance before you need to top it up when the car is new. Their text and figures are a bit confusing. Could be they insist on a large safety margin in filling.

2,400 kms is 1,500 miles before it gets critical is my reading. But far enough not to get home if on holiday. I can see that you might want to use a garage pump if you needed just a bit in and the storage limit of 6 months on open containers kicked in, save opening another etc. Think I would fill it up using a 10 litre bottle ahead of a trip abroad since you wouldn't want any difficulties whilst away. Basically if you are doing 8-10,000 a year it's going to be 10 lites or more required during the year, so I expect you do the operation two or three times a year.

Did the Yeti people explain how garage delivered AdBlue goes in. Do you attach that VW part. Are the valve/ pipe connections all standard. ?

 

[ernieb]

@Tell, the garage pumps are as a normal garage filler with a smaller pump nose.
People have commented that you need to almost fill the tank to get the car to go IF you turn off the ignition. If I was doing a longish trip I might consider one of the small, 1 Ltr bottles, and top the tank up on the go before it gets to the 50% mark. Those bottles can be refilled from a big 10Ltr container so might be worth considering carrying around if it's possible to find suitable space in the boot.

 

[Tell]

Ernie, will look into it. My European trips go to about 2,000 miles so I reckon I would fully fill it up just in case before leaving. AdBlue is a bit of a performance but the VW pipe and the 10 litre bottle seems to be the best solution.

The other way on long trips is to carry an empty small bottle and top that up from the lorry garage filler ?. The emergency solution perhaps. So you don't have the possibility of leaks. Fork out for the first emergency bottle on the road then use that.... that seems to be the best solution when on the road. Perhaps your Yeti friends do the cut the bottom trick and fill into there.

 

[ernieb]

@Tell, yes cut the base off but I understand that they can be filled without doing that. Any splashes if left will leave a white deposit which can easily be washed off when it happens with water. I think that 67% is DI water anyway.

 

[Tell]

Thanks Ernie. Water solvable, it will rot out aluminium.

Found a useful video of a guy filling up at truck stop, US. DEF is what it is, AdBlue a trademark, so the little nozzle just goes in.

Then a useful European site for finding AdBlue truck filling stations. Covers UK as well. That's done by the industry for truckers.

http://www.findadblue.com/

Saved that to my Android home screen so whilst on those foreign trips will be able to find a lorry AdBlue pump if need be. There is also an Air1 app by Yarra with similar if not the same information, bit more touch friendly.

Think what I'm going to do is get the VW filling pipe and a 10 litre container of AdBlue as specified above, that's for home filling. Check out the truck stop filling prices. When the container is empty, if cheaper at a truck stop, just refill it. Use the truck stops abroad for emergency refilling if need be. The guide price at a filling station is half the price if diesel, would make it 60p a litre half the price of a big bottle from Amazon / eBay. Have a plan .

Another video, by far finding a truck / lorry car adblue pump is the best I think so you don't get half used bottles of it around that have a storage life of six months when open. Video on a Mazda, think it's in Oz and of course the Ateca's is under the fuel flap not in the boot

Pump dispenser for the technically minded

If you live close to one of these pumps or have access reckon it's better than keeping degrading open bottles of the stuff and cheaper.

 

[Kindness71]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it as don't usually read the adblue posts with having petrol, but Halfords have it in there sale at moment, 10ltr for £14. Not sure that's cheap or not but easy to pick up as some of you probably need to top up by now

 

[Tell]

Adblue is coming up in my mind at the minute since I reckon I'll hit the warning when I'm on my European travels. If you fill up at commercial lorry pumps it's about 65p a litre in the UK. The bottles you really need a pipe and valve. You can use a funnel but then it will probably overflow. There is the cut the bottom off the mini bottles with the build in valve. Those Halford ones can be used with that method. Then you need a funnel to slop the unused back into the bottle.

But then at a truck fill up at 65p a litres it's cheaper, less messy in principle if it doesn't blow back. Once those bottles are open its shelf life is only 6 months. It seems BP pumps are friendly to customers such as ourselves, others may be. I did read one story of someone being turned away.

Finding commercial pumps

http://uk.air1.info/en/adblue-supply/adblue-filling/

Also

https://www.findadblue.com/

Also an Air1 app (Yara) available on the Playstore probably on iOS.

My current plan is to roll up at a lorry pump when the time comes and hope they aren't sniffy about cars. You just have to watch the flow rate.

 

[Ghiggz]

or buy the 1.6tdi.... lol!!

 

[SparK]

Is this an option with all diesel models? I had seen the extra cap on the Tiguan but do not recall seeing it on a Diesel Ateca in the showroom? Not sure it would have had an influence on my choice considering all city driving and no motorways in Malta but I had seen it as a plus on the Tiguan compared to the Ateca

 

[Tell]

The 2 litre TDIs have SCR with AdBlue, the 1.6 doesn't.

Seat thought they were going to get away without AdBlue on the 2WD 2 litres, there hangs a story, they took the orders, but then testing showed they needed the full system so they pulled the 2WD version and gave those people effected a free upgrade. Mostly people in German and Spain effected where orders were being taken in the spring and summer of 2016. A few UK people benefitted from when pre orders could be placed from July onwards catching the tail-end before they pulled them from the configurator.

Thus the only TDI 2 litres are 4Drive, TDI 150 in manual, TDI 190 DSG, where the original engineering was set up for the SCR / AdBlue system. Seat hasn't bothered to re-engineer the TDI 2 litres 2WD models and just didn't build any, or if they did they scrapped them. The episode is contained on the board for anybody who want to read more.... roundabout September 2016.

 

[mcderms]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it as don't usually read the adblue posts with having petrol, but Halfords have it in there sale at moment, 10ltr for £14. Not sure that's cheap or not but easy to pick up as some of you probably need to top up by now

IMG_2701.jpg

Only had to top up Adblue once, so far, with 1,000 mile range left. Used 2 x 4 litre packs from the Halfords picture from Kindness. An absolute doddle with the supplied non-return nozzle. OK more expensive than buying the 10 litre pack, but the tank wouldn't have taken that much to top up. 8 litres took Adblue range back up to 5,500 miles
Wouldn't recommend any other "Heath Robinson" approach to filling up e.g. cutting up bottles to provide a "funnel" etc etc. Think I'll just do same again.