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Adblue cap won't undo

43K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  Canuk 
#1 ·
Hi,

My DS is in for its first service today after 2 years and almost 15K miles. The adblue warning came on about 500 miles ago so I thought I'd top it up myself and save being fleeced by the dealer. I even bought a big 20ltr bottle and a 2ltr easy pour jug to decant it into and make the whole thing as painless as possible.

This morning before going to the dealer I went under the bonnet to top up the adblue and for the life of me I couldn't unscrew the cap. Video's online make it look very simple and requiring almost no force whatsoever.

Has anyone else had the issue that their Adblue cap won't unscrew ?

If you have how did you get it sorted ?

Unfortunately mine will now be topped up by the dealer today and I will have to stump up the elevated cost for LR branded Adblue.
 
#2 ·
Try loosening it when the engine bay is really hot, but don't burn yourself on the exhaust. As with all caps of this type try not to squeeze too much across only one axis. For example try using thumb and forefinger of both hands together.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the advice.

So if i'm right it sounds as if Adblue is a bit like marmite. If you get marmite on the jar's cap thread and leave it a couple of weeks its a bugger to open.

Also with marmite I run the jar under hot water and hey presto. The suggestion of running the car to heat up the adblue cap sounds like a similar trick.
 
#5 ·
There's an earlier thread from someone who had the same problem and ended up destroying the cap. A search might find it.
 
#7 ·
So the stealer charged me £48 inc VAT on top of the service cost to fill my car with 10 litres of adblue.

At least the cap is now unstuck and easy to open.

My big fear now is the Adblue range is estimating only 4598 miles. seeing as it was showing 1056 miles before they added 10ltrs that equates to only having gained an extra 3542 miles.

So after the service they now estimate I will get only 354 miles per litre !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have kept some pretty good records of actual mileage vs adblue range and my car was previously covering 1.27 actual miles for every adblue range mile lost. If I multiply by the same factor I get an adjusted estimate of 450 miles per litre. This still seems low. Perhaps this will turn out to be an N289 effect.
 
G
#8 ·
Its early days for me, but after 590 miles my DEF range has actually dropped by 590 miles (from 5498 on delivery, to 4909 to be precise) - thats been a mix of daily commute at a variety of speed and stop/start, some 1 mile trips to the local shops/refuse dump and a weekend away in Devon (100 miles each way). Keeping a close eye on it for the next couple of months - not convinced it was full when i picked the car up, but also not risking throwing DEF fluid in and it over filling :lol:

If i assume it was full with 13 lites of adblue on collection, then thats 425miles per litre of DEF
 
#9 ·
The service was the first mistake - If your dealer is anything like the one I use, they update the software during the service and unwittingly install a whole new generation of Gremlins.
It is quite possible that new software has been installed that drastically reduces the range of the adblue tank, then again it is possible that an employee at the dealers added 5 litres of adblue and charged you for 10 litres.

Only saying this as I normally get 10k miles per tankful, mine went in for service with probably 3-4 litres of adblue on-board, the dealer charged me for an additional 8 litres (at 69p per litre plus VAT) and the range was 4,722miles on a supposedly full tank.

Strange thing is I put another 5 litres in a couple of weeks later - suggesting the dealership weren't being honest.
 
#10 ·
Andy131 said:
The service was the first mistake - If your dealer is anything like the one I use, they update the software during the service and unwittingly install a whole new generation of Gremlins.
It is quite possible that new software has been installed that drastically reduces the range of the adblue tank, then again it is possible that an employee at the dealers added 5 litres of adblue and charged you for 10 litres.

Only saying this as I normally get 10k miles per tankful, mine went in for service with probably 3-4 litres of adblue on-board, the dealer charged me for an additional 8 litres (at 69p per litre plus VAT) and the range was 4,722miles on a supposedly full tank.

Strange thing is I put another 5 litres in a couple of weeks later - suggesting the dealership weren't being honest.
I thought the same thing, that they had perhaps added less than charged for, based on the Adblue range showing on the dash. So before I left the dealer I asked to see proof they had filled the tank. An engineer plugged a handheld device into the data port and showed me the status of Adblue being 100% full.

I said that it seemed a ridiculous range and was told that it would adjust as I drove the vehicle.

BTW - Compared to me you were charged a great price for the adblue. My stealer charged £4 + VAT per litre :eek:
 
G
#11 ·
It is a ludicrous range (hence why i bought 10 litres of Adblue even before taking delivery of my Landmark !) - just a reflection of the latest software and JLR not wanting to be caught out by some independent testing.

You can expect ca 450 miles per litre of Adblue - if you buy in 5 / 10 litre bottles it's cheaper to buy, and fill your own, than the diesel cost to drive to the dealer !
 
#12 ·
Whooooooosh said:
So the stealer charged me £48 inc VAT on top of the service cost to fill my car with 10 litres of adblue.

At least the cap is now unstuck and easy to open.

My big fear now is the Adblue range is estimating only 4598 miles. seeing as it was showing 1056 miles before they added 10ltrs that equates to only having gained an extra 3542 miles.

So after the service they now estimate I will get only 354 miles per litre !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have kept some pretty good records of actual mileage vs adblue range and my car was previously covering 1.27 actual miles for every adblue range mile lost. If I multiply by the same factor I get an adjusted estimate of 450 miles per litre. This still seems low. Perhaps this will turn out to be an N289 effect.
AdBlue top up should of been a fixed price of £29.95 regardless of amount of AdBlue needed
 
#13 ·
Q86ARR said:
AdBlue top up should of been a fixed price of £29.95 regardless of amount of AdBlue needed
Hi,

Is this £29.95 a published price from Land Rover ?

If so please let me know where can I find evidence as I'd love the opportunity to go back and complain of an overcharge.
 
#16 ·
When I got put through to the Service desk I asked if they were doing the adblue fixed price top up for £29.99 as advertised online. The answer was "yes".

Then I asked why on Friday I was charged £48 for a fixed price £29.99 service item.

Then the mood changed and I was asked if the offer was on the Land Rover website or their own. I said it didn't matter as he had already confirmed they were a participating dealer.

As compensation for the "system error" of overcharging me for the adblue top up my vehicle will receive its next adblue top up for free.

So in effect my next adblue top up has cost £18 paid 6 months in advance.
 
G
#19 ·
For those adding their own AdBlue, its probably a good idea to only add 5 litres at a time..

1. less chance of an overfill
2. more frequent cap removal , hence reducing the risk of a seized cap
3. more frequent cleaning of the filler neck and cap threads

Remember the cap doesn't need to be anything other than finger tight
 
#21 ·
I don't have the luxury of the high maintenance Diesel but it looks like a job for a kitchen jar opener. Find one the app size preferably with rubber grips and easy, with little chance of damage. :D
 
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