Guys. Added 2.5 gal of Peak Blu DEF a few days ago. I topped it off from 1/2 and got a "Incorrect DEF...see dealership" with a CEL the next day. About 12 hours after it was added and driven about 25+ miles. I flashed the CEL and got a P207F code. I went ahead and cleared the CEL. When I topped it off, the truck was running and I figured it could have been a vacuum issue just as a loose gas cap can throw a CEL, if loose. Multiple times after starting the truck, the message would pop up on the in-dash display again, but no CEL and the message would not show up again. Even after the message would pop up, it would not show as stored in the "messages" area when scrolling over to check...The truck is just shy of 12,000 miles and I'm assuming any work associated at the dealer for a fix is covered under warranty...I'm on day 2 of the occurrence. I know it's not an issue of the truck running low on DEF. I never let the DEF get much below half before I top it off.
Bad DEF. Where did you buy it. Dealer will charge you to purge the system.
It's not gonna be covered under warranty. DEF has a shelf life with a date code.
Don't buy in a box. I buy mine at the truck stops.
Hopefully you still have the box. If you do, and the date is good and you you have the receipt and the def is bad, Autozone should cover the cost of flush.
If you can buy it at the pump, great. If your like me and a lot of other people, there is not a truck stop or gas station that has it at the pump anywhere close let alone convenient. There is nothing wrong with buying it in the box. Buy from a place that sells a decent amount, has it inside the store in the AC, check the date on the box, and make sure the bottle hasn't been tampered with before putting it in your truck.
I don't have the box but I still may have the receipt...I wonder how much of a hassle it's going to be to have autozone cover the cost of a flush. Shame I didn't keep the box, no way of knowing I'd need to keep it to CSI this issue...
There was another thread on here that had info on how to read the date codes on Blue DEF. I can't find the thread to link, but here is the info (I saved it lol):
Example date code: GA153590089
GA: The designator of the plant that manufacturer the DEF.
15: The year of manufacture, plus 1. So, this DEF was made in 2014.
359: The day of the year: 365-359=6, so the 6th day of the year (January 6th)
0089: The batch code.
The example box of DEF was made January 6th, 2014.
There was a thread also going around about a different style of date code, which that one I don't know about. I just bought my first jugs of Blue DEF from Sam's Club a month or so ago with this type of date code that equated to a March 2016 production date.
The latest jug of Blue DEF I bought has a completely different code. The number imprinted on the bottom of the jug was 690122160733-03. There were half a dozen or more other jugs and they all had similar codes.
Pretty obvious Peak does not want us stupid consumers figuring out how old the DEF is sitting on the store shelves.
I'm here at the dealer, so we'll see what they figure out. Hopefully a computer update is all it needs. When getting in the truck this morning, no CEL, just the same "incorrect def..." message on the in-dash display.
So verdict from the dealer...bad DEF, needs to be pumped, $300...How positive is the consensus that autozone will reimburse costs of the dealer for their bad DEF. I'm heading home when I leave here to find the receipt and I'll be marching into autozone soon after with my dealer work order...
Been down that road before. I had the check engine light on and brought it in. They tested the DEF and said it was bad. Just like you, I bought the stuff in the box. Mind you this was back in 2013 when this stuff was just hitting the consumer market. Anyways, they told me $450 to drain the tank and refill the DEF. I told them for that price, I'll burn it out. When I picked up the truck, they didn't even reset my check engine light. They told me for $120, they would reset it for me. I laughed and paid the $130 diagnosis fee and reset the light at home. The light kept coming back so I just kept resetting it until the DEF was low enough and refilled with fresh DEF.
On a side note, one time I had the truck in and my DEF was low so I asked them how much for the Mopar DEF. It was $45 for the DEF plus $45 for them to fill it up LOL. I told them to put it in the back of the truck and I'll fill it up at home.
Hell drain the DEF tank yourself. There's a plate on the bottom of my truck covering the bottom of the DEF tank. Remove the plate and I bet there's a drain plug or hose you can remove and drain it yourself. Make sure you have another box of new DEF to put back in it after your done. DEF isn't toxic or corrosive.
I've also heard people buying a box of DEF and then refilling it with water and returning it to the store and of course the store just sticks the box back on the shelf. I make sure the box I buy hasn't been tampered with and I also look at the seal on the jug closely before I use it.
Keep us posted as to the turn out.
I'd drain it myself and refill with new DEF and see what happens before I'd pay a dealer $300 to do it.
I'll definitely be going mopar def from here on out for sure. I think they're more inclined to have it covered under warranty if you buy it at a dealer, have the receipt, and they've concluded its THEIR bad product. Still at the dealer, but I'm going to ask about the test or how they concluded it was bad.
I went to peaks website and they have a section under contact to "make claim". I put my info down and told them about the issue and that I was seeking reimbursement...I'll feel better once I get the receipt and have my paper work from the dealer as to get my ducks in a row. But I'm sure I'll eat it and they'll say there's nothing they can do and peak and autozone will point fingers at each other...
Good luck with that. You'll have a hard time proving it. Just go and pick up your truck and burn the DEF out. Its not going to damage anything. The DEF gets injected in the exhaust.
Yeah, I just got off the horn with autozone and of course they passed the buck to peak. I'm sure peak will pass the buck back on to autozone, saying they left the def on their shelf too long...well this blows...
$300 sounds cheap. I've read others in the same situation have had to have the pump replaced. Whether that was a shady dealer taking advantage of the situation I don't know.
Your dealer should test the DEF to provide proof it was "bad DEF". Also save you a sample of it. Auto zone and certainly the manufacturer will want something more than a dealer quipping "bad DEF" with no proof.
I might also now be inclined to start buying all my DEF from the dealer so that if issue comes up again, the dealer can only blame themselves or Chrysler.
I'll definitely be going mopar def from here on out for sure. I think they're more inclined to have it covered under warranty if you buy it at a dealer, have the receipt, and they've concluded its THEIR bad product. Still at the dealer, but I'm going to ask about the test or how they concluded it was bad.
Hell drain the DEF tank yourself. There's a plate on the bottom of my truck covering the bottom of the DEF tank. Remove the plate and I bet there's a drain plug or hose you can remove and drain it yourself. Make sure you have another box of new DEF to put back in it after your done. DEF isn't toxic or corrosive.
I've also heard people buying a box of DEF and then refilling it with water and returning it to the store and of course the store just sticks the box back on the shelf. I make sure the box I buy hasn't been tampered with and I also look at the seal on the jug closely before I use it.
Keep us posted as to the turn out.
I'd drain it myself and refill with new DEF and see what happens before I'd pay a dealer $300 to do it.
So is a $300 unreimbursed repair bill. If retailers aren't going to stand behind the defective product they sell and dealers are going to be quick to jump on the "bad DEF" bandwagon, then it leaves us little choice.
I went to peaks website and they have a section under contact to "make claim". I put my info down and told them about the issue and that I was seeking reimbursement...I'll feel better once I get the receipt and have my paper work from the dealer as to get my ducks in a row. But I'm sure I'll eat it and they'll say there's nothing they can do and peak and autozone will point fingers at each other...
Thanks to threads like this one I purchased a refractometer (I believe it is OTC). Since owning my truck the DEF was refilled one time at the dealer during the first oil change. I got a CEL within 13 miles but it was for the SCR (which was replaced with the updated one) and not for bad DEF. My dealer is great and had me fixed up in one day!
I don't know if or when I will buy DEF at a store but I feel that checking it before dumping it in would be prudent. Also, if I did ever get the dreaded "bad DEF" message I would figure out how to dump it myself if the seller won't back up their bad product. Hope this turns out good for the OP. The more we learn about this system, the more we will be able to avoid problems or fix them down the road.
I wasn't worried about the truck itself per say, I was worried about the fact that the CEL and error would put the truck into limp mode, thus making it not drivable. I've heard about those horror stories or I wouldn't have had an issue with just driving it and burning it off...Yours didn't go into limp mode? I've heard of other drivers having a mileage countdown until it would go into limp...
Wouldn't there still be bad def left in the line that runs from the tank to the pump even after pumping out the reservoir tank which would still trigger a cel?
Just a few points here. Peak doesn't make the DEF. At most they blend in the blue coloring or possibly dilute it to strength if they buy it in concentrated strength. They also package it for retail sale.
If you decide to test it yourself you'll need to test for strength. The spec is 31.5 to 33% urea and you can test for specific gravity and temperature and convert to strength or get a refractometer that is calibrated for and has the data to test for urea concentration. Also you need to test for free ammonia which, outside of a lab, is almost impossible due to the equipment needed. The free ammonia has to be around a .3 depending on the vendors specs.
Like others have said, buying from someone that turns it over regularly or has it in bulk is ideal. The product degrades based on temperature, humidity, and time.
Have any of you guys filled your DEF tanks via a def fill pump, similar to gas pump, that they have at some truck stops? Outside of that, your resorting to filling out a container. I don't know of any def pumps at any truck stops around my area. It would be worth checking out.
I'm in central Ohio, about 20 miles south of Columbus. There's a truck stop outside of a town just to the south of me...not sure if they have def pumps. It's about 8-10 miles south. Worth driving IMO
I know for a fact Pilot has pumps. They send quite a few Pilot trucks per week to my plant to fill up with concentrate (50% urea) to take to their facility for dilution and sale.
Its kinda a pain but the 1 gallon jugs are usually alot fresher than the 2.5 Gallon Box. It just would take more to fill the tank.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Cummins Diesel Forum
8.8M posts
379.2K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to all things Cummins Diesel! Originally founded for owners and enthusiasts of Cummins powered Dodge pickups, the Cummins Forum has expanded to include ALL Cummins Engine applications! Come join the discussion about reviews, drivetrain swaps, turbos, modifications, classifieds, builds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!