Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) Tracking

[jack0351]

I am curious to see if anyone else is interested in tracking their DEF usage like we track our fuel usage.

I would prefer to see a section for tracking this in various vehicles, but would settle for a section to where it just tracks DEF usage in general, provided it keeps detailed info about MY usage on MY account.

So the twenty dollar question is: Does anyone else feel this way, or am I the only one that is OCD enough to care?

[CADmanks]

I think that a bigger question is, how many people actually fill their own DEF?

Our vehicle takes DEF, and I have only had to put it in one time. That was the time that the dealer forgot to install it. For us, our DEF tank makes it between oil changes. Our dealer fills it every time that they change the oil as part of the service. So I don't really have any idea how many actual gallons of DEF are being added...

[trollbait]

Can't check now with the database error, but isn't there a place to track service items like oil changes? if so, it should be possible to track DEF use there.

[BDC]

I just used the note feature for all maintenance. DEF is pretty much the same thing. You might want to track your "mileage" for DEF usage, but the note function is the best way to do that, and just calculate the mileage and cost per mile yourself if you're really worried about it. You can add a cost and have that logged but it's just a one-time cost per "note."

I assume that many/most diesel owners that actually have DEF will have it changed by a mechanic or dealer, which makes the "mileage" aspect of it unnecessary because the dealer will drain the existing fluid and then refill it completely. Keep in mind most Jetta TDIs don't have it, which probably makes up the majority of Fuelly diesel users. None of the Europeans use it either because in Europe (save France) they don't care about pollution, just about CO2.

[Draigflag]

Saying Europe "doesnt care about pollution" is an insane comment. Most of the highest ranking "greenest" countries on the planet are European. The US ranks 33rd in the World. Ranks are here: http://epi.yale.edu/epi/country-rankings

[jack0351]

BDC-
I wish my DEF intervals were at the oil changes. I fill the DEF about 3 times in my oil change interval, and I imagine the big rigs are even worse about it.

Plus, when I'm using my truck for work purposes, it is nice to be able to properly account for ALL of my expenses, even if DEF only adds about a penny per mile.

Europe uses DEF, they just call it AdBlue. Their emissions requirements are pretty close in line with ours.

But again, the point of the thread is to find out if anyone actually wants to track their DEF (AdBlue) usage with the Fuelly website/app.

I want to be able to compare my empty usage to when I've got 20,000 pounds hooked up to my truck, and how much that impacts my bottom line. A pleasure use only vehicle isn't going to care, but one used for work will.

[blackhawk783]

I would love to see a feature so that we would be able to track DEF mpg.

[BDC]

I don't mean to derail, but do European diesel subcompacts really need DEF? I was under the impression that only the larger vehicles used adblue, especially since most of the smaller federalized diesels (i.e. most TDIs) don't require it. Given that our NOx requirements are more stringent than europe, and since DEF is used for reducing NOx (thus basically all diesels other than TDI Jettas require DEF), I was under the assumption that all of the very small diesels in europe would not require DEF. And if that's the case, that probably means the majority of european diesel owners do not need DEF tracking.

Maybe Draigflaig can add something useful to a thread and tell us if his european subcompact uses adblue. I am unable to find much via google searching. I would say the feature is much more pertinent to be if it's used in all european diesels versus just the big ones, as it is in the US.

[Draigflag]

Personaly i've never heard of any kind of additive for any diesel vehicle, personel or commercial until I joined Fuelly. I think this is another strange US only thing...

[BDC]

Exactly -- most european diesel owners don't need to track DEF usage because it's not required for the diesel subcompacts that everyone over there drives.

I suppose using notes to track the cost of DEF is the best way to do this for now. Since few europeans and most american diesel owners (aka TDIs) don't need it, I don't suppose it will be high on the list of new features for development. But you can calculate and record the cost and DEF "MPG" yourself using notes. I do this for all my maintenance costs.