Topping up adBlue

[familymangreg]

Hi all,

So the whole adBlue think is new to me, and I've got to top-up my car within about the next 400 miles. I know you need to be careful of paintwork and wash any spillage off etc. But 2 questions:

1. If I purchase from my local Shell, is it likely to come with the appropriate adapter to fit into the filler on my car (are these things quite standard?).

2. How do I know how much to put in and how to avoid overfilling? (I'd like to get it as close to full as possible).

TIA

:wq

[Hogster]

Yes most adBlue containers come with the appropriate spout (most are taped to the outside of the container).

I actually found it was easier to purchase the smaller container from Halfords and know I wasn't going to overfill, rather than buying a 10 litre container from the garage and constantly needing to fill it a bit, then check the level on the Sensus screen, and risk overfilling it.

[volvocamper]

Yes the Shell ad-blue ‘nozzle’ fits very nicely into the Volvo ad-blue tank aperture. When the light is just on (on XC90 anyway) the tank will almost hold 10 litres - I am never quite brave enough to try all 10 litres in but will certainly take 8-9 litres. Keep the container and next time you can decant some from the 10 litre container into the empty one and it makes it easier to handle say 5 litres as a time.

[techwatcher]

To avoid potentially overfilling I just put 5 litres at a time in the AdBlue tank when the first warning message appears.

[milzibkit]

There's a Shell garage near me that has AdBlue on pump. I find it much easier and also nice to know the pump will cut off once full rather than bother with any spillage.

[wheelnut]

I find it takes ages because of air locks to get the V90 filled up. Rocking the car with the roof bars and doing it over several journeys seems to be the way to do it.
Last time, I found some in a large sachet at my local BP garage. I think it was 3.5 litres, but it all went straight in by squeezing the sachet. Took just seconds and was so much easier.
I haven’t found a pump which cars are allowed to use. Have been told they are only for trucks.

[Wabby]

Not sure if your car shows you the max capacity but my V90 does, so I did some maths and figures 10l would be just under what space was left .. and it was

[mannyo1221]

Thought I was going to have to go through adding adblue when I got my D4 V90 back in May

Hard as I tried, I could not find a filler nor any display for adblue level. Turns out my 2017 66 plate does not have adblue at all.

[DriverDen]

I find prices vary for Adblue, with some garage forecourts nearly 3x the price of the cheapest option.

I've found Toolstation (and possibly Screwfix) to be the cheapest, at around £1 a litre.

[Washwipe]

Originally Posted by volvocamper

Yes the Shell ad-blue ‘nozzle’ fits very nicely into the Volvo ad-blue tank aperture. When the light is just on (on XC90 anyway) the tank will almost hold 10 litres - I am never quite brave enough to try all 10 litres in but will certainly take 8-9 litres. Keep the container and next time you can decant some from the 10 litre container into the empty one and it makes it easier to handle say 5 litres as a time.

Just be careful with any Adblue that dries around the donor container or around the filler, it when becomes dried out and crystallised it will not dissolve, if it falls into your Adblue tank your running the risk of it blocking the Adblue injector.