The usual - EML & AdBlu

[Black Pearl]

Hi all,
Please don’t scroll by as ‘just another post’!

I’ve had the 2017 reg 2018 T6 2.0 diesel since it was 6 months old.
It’s now covered just over 57,000 miles and in that time has had 7 EML issues and 3 ‘No.3 injector’ replacements.
August 23 lead to a VW Customer Services intervention and it was finalised in my favour.

No issues - until we reached French shores (naturally). Firstly I’d checked all levels before leaving Lancashire. 2000 miles showing in AdBlue field. No issues all the way down at all.

After 2.45hrs of driving at a steady 70mph ish the EML came on. No other handling issues were apparent.

Shortly after the ‘can and spanner’ symbol came on and the 650 AdBlu warning message showed. That dropped to 550 so I pulled into a French services, got turned over for 5ltrs of AdBlu and cautiously filled the tank. (Of note the van DID restart at a level showing 550 miles).
(I’d fallen foul of over filling it in the last).

After 8 miles driving the AdBlu level showed 3000 miles and the warning symbol & message went out.
EML remained on.

Van parked up for a few days but yesterday as it was raining we had a day out. EML still on.

On the way back I brimmed the tank with diesel ready for moving on come Monday….. and as we set off from the pumps the EML went out and stayed out all the way back to the site.

My question - has anyone else had this issue and what was the cause please?

Thanks, Dan

 

[Hilly64]

Had very similar issues, numerous trips to stealers. Injector replaced bla bla. Think a lot of what they do is just clutching at straws and deep down the SCR system is fickle. Always on a long run with no change in performance.

Latest was new injector which seems to have worked but strangely had fault codes almost immediately but only pending and not activating EML…. “Touching wood” been trouble free for a few months. I have never had the EML reset by itself but have had the pending codes disappear and a couple of 650 warnings pre injector replacement that have reset on their own with no intervention. I now keep an eye on Adblue use and intervals as I would not want to react to a warning by re-filling and over filling …. A few on here seemed to have done this and caused further overfilling issues.

I am now experimenting with premium diesel as I had some advice that this may help one from an AA Tech.

 

[Black Pearl]

Thanks for the reply Hilly64.

Like you I’ve been using main garage fuel - BP or Shell since August 23 and hadn’t experience anything until last week. VW service manager advised not to use the supermarket fuel which I had until then. (Tesco for the points plus they’re local to home and work).

I did an AdBlu ‘overfill’ when I was new to the van too so I’m wary about filling that tank now!!

Tomorrow will be the test day with a 4hr run!!

 

[dprice3411]

Hi all,
Please don’t scroll by as ‘just another post’!

I’ve had the 2017 reg 2018 T6 2.0 diesel since it was 6 months old.
It’s now covered just over 57,000 miles and in that time has had 7 EML issues and 3 ‘No.3 injector’ replacements.
August 23 lead to a VW Customer Services intervention and it was finalised in my favour.

No issues - until we reached French shores (naturally). Firstly I’d checked all levels before leaving Lancashire. 2000 miles showing in AdBlue field. No issues all the way down at all.

After 2.45hrs of driving at a steady 70mph ish the EML came on. No other handling issues were apparent.

Shortly after the ‘can and spanner’ symbol came on and the 650 AdBlu warning message showed. That dropped to 550 so I pulled into a French services, got turned over for 5ltrs of AdBlu and cautiously filled the tank. (Of note the van DID restart at a level showing 550 miles).
(I’d fallen foul of over filling it in the last).

After 8 miles driving the AdBlu level showed 3000 miles and the warning symbol & message went out.
EML remained on.

Van parked up for a few days but yesterday as it was raining we had a day out. EML still on.

On the way back I brimmed the tank with diesel ready for moving on come Monday….. and as we set off from the pumps the EML went out and stayed out all the way back to the site.

My question - has anyone else had this issue and what was the cause please?

Thanks, Dan

Hi Dan,

Yes I have a t6 2016 with 85k on. Very similar problems. Had new EGR valve, nox sensor. Travel down to Spain and after a while EML light come on Then Adblu light. Suspect the EGR valve was not correctly installed and this has caused more problems.
Are there any VW AdBlu specialists out there?
Thanks David

 

[Black Pearl]

The issues went on and on while we were away. AdBlue reading jumping around all over the place with different readings.

The EML came back on and stayed on, despite another full refill of fuel.

Booked in tomorrow (12/07/24) and we’ll see what’s up.

 

[robleady]

Curious to know what the issue was...
We're in a similar boat, AdBlu warning came on after driving from the Midlands to Belgium at the start of a road trip around Europe :-(

 

[Black Pearl]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for the message.

Would you believe that the van is still being looked at?
I took it in on 12/07/24 when I got back. The AdBlue symptoms continued round France so I made an appointment while I was away.

The dealership inspected it and the boffins at Milton Keynes asked for the immobiliser/tracker to be removed in case that had a bearing, which I did.

Further inspection work and an initial assessment that low voltage could be a cause as I don’t use it all the time.

I got it back for a trip down to Cornwall. I left at 4am and the ‘Can & Spanner ‘ symbol and EML came on - and went out!! By the time we got there neither were showing (high external temperatures affecting in ruled out) .

We ran round in the van all week (battery surely charged up?) and on the way back we got the ‘C&S’ symbol again plus the EML. The C&S went out but the EML remained.

Back to the dealership it went. We discussed it all and I raised the issue of whether cruise control could affect it. I never have the AdBlue issue round town or on varying runs, just long runs when cruise has been in for a long time (60 minutes or more). They raised an eyebrow at that as it hadn’t been considered.

I await their findings.

In the meantime I have a courtesy panel van to ride round in. Battleship grey, 6.1, no frills but it’s better than walking!!!

Hope this helps a little???
Dan

 

[robleady]

I suspect mine might be EGR related, but I've been reading a few threads which suggests it will (hopefully) reset itself after driving a while.
We've got about 250km to do tomorrow, so with any luck it'll sort itself out!
I do have a copy of VCDS with me, and managed to find a procedure on the ross-tech.com website to reset the counter so will have a go at that if it doesn't clear itself...

Like you, yesterday was the longest run I've done on cruise control. We didn't stop from Burton-on-Trent to Dover, (4+ hours), then straight from Dunkirk to Ghent (1.5 hours). The AdBlu warning came on on the second stint, dropping from 4000 to 600 miles.

 

[Black Pearl]

I phoned VW Assist while I was away, I explained everything with mileage and times etc and they just said “stick some more AdBlue in”!!
I was worried about overfilling and creating another issue but did as instructed. The reading corrected itself after 20 miles and 47 minutes driving.

I was advised to turn the ignition on, fill the AdBlue, wait 30 seconds (I did longer) and start up and they expected the level to correct itself. It didn’t but after the 20 miles it did and was ok after that. EML remained on though.

Have a great holiday, try not to get absorbed by it and spoil the break (fine for me to say!!).

Dan

 

[Hilly64]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for the message.

Would you believe that the van is still being looked at?
I took it in on 12/07/24 when I got back. The AdBlue symptoms continued round France so I made an appointment while I was away.

The dealership inspected it and the boffins at Milton Keynes asked for the immobiliser/tracker to be removed in case that had a bearing, which I did.

Further inspection work and an initial assessment that low voltage could be a cause as I don’t use it all the time.

I got it back for a trip down to Cornwall. I left at 4am and the ‘Can & Spanner ‘ symbol and EML came on - and went out!! By the time we got there neither were showing (high external temperatures affecting in ruled out) .

We ran round in the van all week (battery surely charged up?) and on the way back we got the ‘C&S’ symbol again plus the EML. The C&S went out but the EML remained.

Back to the dealership it went. We discussed it all and I raised the issue of whether cruise control could affect it. I never have the AdBlue issue round town or on varying runs, just long runs when cruise has been in for a long time (60 minutes or more). They raised an eyebrow at that as it hadn’t been considered.

I await their findings.

In the meantime I have a courtesy panel van to ride round in. Battleship grey, 6.1, no frills but it’s better than walking!!!

Hope this helps a little???
Dan

Mine was exactly the same, never round town only on long run 100 mile ish. Regularly as well. From reading other post this is not uncommon. The clever VW assist techs suggested that on a longer run the EMU/ECU has time to test and check parameters. I also wondered whether temperature might play a factor.

I spoke to a knowledgeable tuner ex VW who suggested Milton Keynes have roving techs who they can send out when the not so clever dealerships can’t fix but I could never get anywhere near these. The dealers must exhaust all avenues first even, as in my case, they suggest stripping the engine down at my expense. I was convinced this was extreme and that it would be something simple

I must add that the performance never changed just the EML every long drive.

The upshot in my case was a new injector which was tested numerous times before finally failing a test as they suggested it was <5% outside of tolerance so they could now justify replacing under warranty. Pending codes came on during journey home but since then all seems ok and no EML for 7 months

There is something peculiar and distinct associated with the longer drive scenario. I have read a number of other posts all with the same issue

 

[Black Pearl]

Interesting to note that you have had the same issues on long runs.

I’ve had 2 x No.3 glow plugs replaced and numerous ERG cleans (on the ‘All In’ warranty) so they’re starting to scratch their heads now.

If MK can send out boffins I hope they come and see mine soon!!!

I’ll keep you updated with news.

 

[Vanderlust]

I have posted re this on previous threads but a short version, have a 2017 t6 204 dsg and have had the adblue 650 mile warnings always on long motorway journeys.Our VW dealer no help the fault code remedy in the workshop states reset take no further action. A VW garage in the Netherlands told us the problem occurs on long motorway journeys as the low engine revs means the exhaust is not hot enough to stop a sensor sooting up. The solution was to put the box into manual and select a lower gear revs above 2000 for 2 or 3 miles. Exhaust runs hotter which clears the soot. A regen will also clear the sensor. We do this every 3/400 miles on long motorway trips and never had the fault recurr.

 

[Hilly64]

Interesting to note that you have had the same issues on long runs.

I’ve had 2 x No.3 glow plugs replaced and numerous ERG cleans (on the ‘All In’ warranty) so they’re starting to scratch their heads now.

If MK can send out boffins I hope they come and see mine soon!!!

I’ll keep you updated with news.

I have had 1 x glow plug 3 and a gasket on the turbo

 

[Hilly64]

I have posted re this on previous threads but a short version, have a 2017 t6 204 dsg and have had the adblue 650 mile warnings always on long motorway journeys.Our VW dealer no help the fault code remedy in the workshop states reset take no further action. A VW garage in the Netherlands told us the problem occurs on long motorway journeys as the low engine revs means the exhaust is not hot enough to stop a sensor sooting up. The solution was to put the box into manual and select a lower gear revs above 2000 for 2 or 3 miles. Exhaust runs hotter which clears the soot. A regen will also clear the sensor. We do this every 3/400 miles on long motorway trips and never had the fault recurr.

Interesting, mine has "blipped" the adblue warning a couple of times but in general it was just the EML light, P20EE and P204F (31103 and 33262). I can't believe VW don't know about the issue or have a fix. The dealers do not seem interested asking the question of head office. they are like robots just follow the designated test plans even if these repeatedly come back with the same answers which in my case was at least 4 visits
as stated above the injector replacement seems to have fixed the issue unless they have done something else in the background settings to get rid of me lol

 

[Black Pearl]

I have posted re this on previous threads but a short version, have a 2017 t6 204 dsg and have had the adblue 650 mile warnings always on long motorway journeys.Our VW dealer no help the fault code remedy in the workshop states reset take no further action. A VW garage in the Netherlands told us the problem occurs on long motorway journeys as the low engine revs means the exhaust is not hot enough to stop a sensor sooting up. The solution was to put the box into manual and select a lower gear revs above 2000 for 2 or 3 miles. Exhaust runs hotter which clears the soot. A regen will also clear the sensor. We do this every 3/400 miles on long motorway trips and never had the fault recurr.

Thanks. I’ll try this on the next longer run.

 

[Black Pearl]

Interesting, mine has "blipped" the adblue warning a couple of times but in general it was just the EML light, P20EE and P204F (31103 and 33262). I can't believe VW don't know about the issue or have a fix. The dealers do not seem interested asking the question of head office. they are like robots just follow the designated test plans even if these repeatedly come back with the same answers which in my case was at least 4 visits
as stated above the injector replacement seems to have fixed the issue unless they have done something else in the background settings to get rid of me lol

TBH, VW Lancashire have been liaising with Milton Keynes on matters so are going a little further than the normal “needs a clean” response.

 

[robleady]

I suspect mine might be EGR related, but I've been reading a few threads which suggests it will (hopefully) reset itself after driving a while.
We've got about 250km to do tomorrow, so with any luck it'll sort itself out!
I do have a copy of VCDS with me, and managed to find a procedure on the ross-tech.com website to reset the counter so will have a go at that if it doesn't clear itself...

Like you, yesterday was the longest run I've done on cruise control. We didn't stop from Burton-on-Trent to Dover, (4+ hours), then straight from Dunkirk to Ghent (1.5 hours). The AdBlu warning came on on the second stint, dropping from 4000 to 600 miles.

Well, as predicted by some of the other posts, the AdBlu warning went off after about an hour and half of driving, and at some point later the AdBlu range sorted itself out to ~6500km.

Typically, towards the end of the drive, the EML came back on which VCDS is reporting as:

23871 - EGR System
P0401 00 [236] - Insufficient Flow

and

31103 - SCR NOx Catalyst Bank 1
P20EE 00 [100] - Efficiency too Low

I think this means the EGR needs cleaning/replacing, but having been quoted ~£900 for that, I might get a second opinion!

 

[timthetinyhorse]

See my thread here 650 countdown issues , very similar issues that I never got to the bottom of and only ever occurs on long trips....think its something to do with the 31102 you have above indicating an emissions issue and it takes a long journey to log the fault. Its bothers me at the time and then once it clears i forget about it again until its time for another long run. next run im going to stop at 100 mile, turn off and then start again and see if it still does the same thing......

 

[mmi]

to stop a sensor sooting up

What's the sensor in question?

 

[Vanderlust]

Sorry for the delay now travelling in Netherlands first wi fi. Unfortunately I don’t know exactly which sensor is affected other than it is in the exhaust. The advice I was given works for my van as I have not had the 650 miles to no engine start error since following it. Sorry I don’t have a more specific answer. My own vw dealer was no help whatsoever re this issue.