DEF usage?

[CBari]

I have added about 7.5 gallons of DEF in the first 12,000 miles. I added 2.5 gallons the other day at 12,000 miles and it brought the gauge up over 3/4 now less than 750 miles later it is showing empty. Is anyone else seeing this kind of usage.

 

[firefighter_2000]

Your DEF usage seems about right for light or no towing. I'm getting about 8k on a 5.5 gallon tank. Sounds like a gauge problem. Have you had all of the updates done? There was a problem with the DEF gauge being very inaccurate in the '13s. Mine was one of them. Yours should have a 5.5 gallon tank as well. See if you can verify that its empty just to rule out a leak.
Craig

 

[Gonzo 1066]

My 13 used more DEF in the first 2000 miles than it did in the next 4000 miles.. Strange but it was all towing the same load in the mountains. Just like the engine for some reason required less DEF after initial breakin..>:????

 

[EDankievitch]

My DEF usage has been as follows; Non towing I use roughly a gal per 1000-1200 miles. Towing I use a gal per 450-550 miles. The gauge is not very accurate Does not move for a while then it drops fast. From half to empty drops like a stone. When it first reaches the half full mark it'll take 2.75 gal to fill it. when it's on empty with the computer screaming it's going in to limp mode soon or what ever the message was, it will take 4.5 gal to fill and over flow.

 

[gsbrockman]

How can any of you guys make any true comparisons of DEF consumption when a) the DEF gauge is so non-linear; and b) the DEF being put in is from a 2.5 gal container??? The most accurate way would be to fill the DEF tank up completely (preferably with bulk DEF at the pump), run it out, then re-fill with DEF at the pump again so one has an accurate count on total gallons consumed.......

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I agree with the inaccuracy of approximate filling.. Because the useage is very low it is difficult to be exactly accurate. But for me and my business trucks the added fuel economy had MORE than paid for the small amount of DEF I have to buy.

 

[Bill]

Last Sunday I was doing last minute things, getting ready to leave for a small vacation, pulling my trailer. I looked at the DEF gauge. It showed it had used just a tad over a 1/4 of a tank. Figured I would top it off. It took almost a full gallon to bring the needle up to the full line. I had 1828 miles on my 2014 2500. I had the wife watching the gauge as I poured the liquid from a gallon jug. The needle didn't move until I had just about an inch or so of fluid left in the jug. That's when the gauge "flew" past the full mark. There was no watching the gauge slowly filling up the tank. To me this stinks because it states in the owners manual to not overfill the tank. Pulling a 9,000 lb trailer (10,000 lbs) when full I got 9.1 mpg which was mostly on flat roads. Rear seal still leaking fluid and the transmission, while in a stopped position and going through all the gears, makes enough clunking sound to make me want to put a sack over my head. Dead Pedal almost got me into a wreck. ALL of this, according to the ser. mgr is "normal." Cut my camping vacation short because every time we left the camp site and returned, taking the truck out of "D" and into "P" makes a sound as if the transmission just fell on the ground. Had the radio replaced once, ser. dept did a HUB download for whatever reason which I couldn't tell if it was anything positive or negative. I'm fairly new to diesels so all of this is a learning situation. Had a 2007 Chevy diesel, a 2012 Dodge Diesel and now this 2014 2500. No problems with the Chevy. Got rid of the 2012 2500 due to 6.8 mpg while not pulling or hauling anything. The 2014 is giving me about 11 mpg in town and 15 mpg on the hwy - empty. My Rubicon Jeep gets better mileage than that. Not sure what to do about all of this ~ go back to a Chevy OR take a hard look at the Ford diesels. However I love the Dodge.

 

[MJWenrich]

If you started out like the rest of us with 2/3 of a tank of DEF, it sounds like your useage is less than normal. My first 2,000 miles took mine down to the 1/4 mark and the tank took all the 21/2 gallons I offered it. Since the DEF helps our mileage maybe that's some of the problem. You don't mention your gears or trans but I can tell you my 1 ton is doing much better than that. The dead pedal got me again yesterday trying to pass a motor home on a two lane and I had to abort. Next attempt, I dropped back, started my approach early and the HP got me around in good order after the lag. That really sucks but so far, no CEL's and otherwise happy with the truck. Got the notice to reflash the radio module, or whatever it is, and I am afraid to go in. I might wind up with other problems I don't have now. You might consider filling out your profile so we know what truck you have. And let us know if you are driving uphill, both ways.:-laf

Mike

 

[Bill]

Mike: The ******* - ah Dealer tried to pull a fast one on me and only filled the DEF tank 3/4's full. Caught him on that and he filled it right up to the full mark. I'm running with 3:42 gears with a 6 speed auto transmission, 4x4. Have the short bed on it. Prior to buying this truck, I bought a new 2014 3500 4x4 Long Bed. Only put about 300 miles on it. Couldn't stand to not finding a parking space that I could squeeze that long sucker into. Took the truck into the ser. dept last Friday. Mgr wants the truck tomorrow so he can run some kind of test on it to find out why the mileage is so rotten. It's strange but every new truck I buy, the mileage is great on them. Shortly afterwards, mileage just seems to take a dump. Not heavy on the pedal either. Tried different diesel stations but no help. Friday I asked the ser. mgr if he had ever heard of Dead Pedal. Nope he didn't. So explained it to him. He said it was normal, was caused by the transmission. Asked him then why didn't the truck do it when I first bought it and up until about 3 weeks ago. I had a radio reflash on all four of the 2014 1500's I bought, and with about 400 miles on this truck, they did another reflash. Then early this month they did a HUB reflash. Have to tell you Mike, every reflash I have had done has screwed up something on the INFO screen and other electronic information. Doing any speed in this 2500, it only shows my speed as 23 mph regardless if in town or hwy. Hey I filled out my profile like you asked but HOW do I get that info to appear when I post or reply to msg's? And "yes" I am driving uphill both ways ~ I think.

 

[Bill]

I was dumb when I bought my new 2014 Laramie. Bought the first DEF from the parts department. $11.85 a gallon. So I am curious as to what you said about the DEF being in a 2.5 gal. container. Haven't seen those any where. With my mileage at 11 in town and 15 on the road, I sure as heck don't see how this DEF is so wonderful when it comes to getting better mileage. And this is with my truck with roughly 1888 miles on it. Running with 3:42 gears and a 6 spd auto transmission, short bed. Pulling a 10,000 lb trailer I got 9.1 mpg which was mostly on flat highways. I agree with you idea of finding an accurate way to get total gallons consumed. However, regardless if I fill up my gas vehicles, motorcyles, etc, my mileage would always vary because even .5 tenths or whatever difference you get when you fill up is going to give you a completely, maybe close "average" but it will never be the same. Think you would have to run the DEF tank empt like you said. However, when filling it back up, once you look at how many gallons it takes, you would have to do the "exact" same thing in order to even come close to an accurate mileage. Hope that didn't confuse you ~ it did me. Filling my truck with diesel I always take the nozzel out after I hear the first click. Refill the truck the next time and do the same thing again. Mileage never comes out the same. Foam, air temp, etc all have a bearing on mileage when filling up. So I wonder if the same is applicable with the DEF??? By no means am I trying to degrade your post or upset you but when you say run the DEF tank empty, just how empty do you plan on letting it get? We know we can't always be around a DEF filling station when we run low on DEF. That's why I always carry 4 spare gallons of it in my tool box. I guess my point is this ~ the DEF tank does not show "gallons." The owners manual states when it shows you have used 1/2 a tank, fill it up. It further states that you should put 2 1/2 gallons in it at that time. Never overfill it. When I dumped in almost a gallon when I had only used about a 1/4 of a tank, the gauge never moved an inch until all of a sudden it shot past the full mark. So I guess I'm wondering how in the heck one can tell when you are "exactly" at the true full mark. I've just reached a point in my life, regardless if it's diesel or gas. If my gauges show I need it, I fill up but I'm about ready to stop figuring how many gallons any tank takes. Just pay the guy at the pump and drive away until the next tank/s are due.

 

[MJWenrich]

Bill. Sounds like you have a faulty DEF gauge and one other person on the forum had that recently as well. Did a reflash and his is good now. I bought my first 2 1/2 gallon container from O'Reillys and paid just a little more than you did for a gallon. I believe it was 14.50. Later, I checked with my local Pacific Pride dealer and they have it for 9.50 per 2 1/2 gallons. There is a shelf life to the stuff and I noted that one container at the aforementioned auto parts store had been instore for quite some time. I passed on that. The local PP dealer goes thru a lot because they service the county trucks, construction outfits and folks like myself. That's who you want to buy from and avoid carrying the stuff around if you can. I live in the foothills and do combined solo and towing so I cannot give you an accurate mileage I am getting one way or the other but I would estimate I am getting18 solo and getting better as it breaks in. The initial long drive I took to May Madness with only 1K miles to start got 16 but by the return trip it was 17.5. I am running 342 gears and a 6-spd Aison. You should be getting better mileage with those gears.

 

[gsbrockman]

I was dumb when I bought my new 2014 Laramie. Bought the first DEF from the parts department. $11.85 a gallon. So I am curious as to what you said about the DEF being in a 2.5 gal. container. Haven't seen those any where. With my mileage at 11 in town and 15 on the road, I sure as heck don't see how this DEF is so wonderful when it comes to getting better mileage. And this is with my truck with roughly 1888 miles on it. Running with 3:42 gears and a 6 spd auto transmission, short bed. Pulling a 10,000 lb trailer I got 9.1 mpg which was mostly on flat highways. I agree with you idea of finding an accurate way to get total gallons consumed. However, regardless if I fill up my gas vehicles, motorcyles, etc, my mileage would always vary because even .5 tenths or whatever difference you get when you fill up is going to give you a completely, maybe close "average" but it will never be the same. Think you would have to run the DEF tank empt like you said. However, when filling it back up, once you look at how many gallons it takes, you would have to do the "exact" same thing in order to even come close to an accurate mileage. Hope that didn't confuse you ~ it did me. Filling my truck with diesel I always take the nozzel out after I hear the first click. Refill the truck the next time and do the same thing again. Mileage never comes out the same. Foam, air temp, etc all have a bearing on mileage when filling up. So I wonder if the same is applicable with the DEF??? By no means am I trying to degrade your post or upset you but when you say run the DEF tank empty, just how empty do you plan on letting it get? We know we can't always be around a DEF filling station when we run low on DEF. That's why I always carry 4 spare gallons of it in my tool box. I guess my point is this ~ the DEF tank does not show "gallons." The owners manual states when it shows you have used 1/2 a tank, fill it up. It further states that you should put 2 1/2 gallons in it at that time. Never overfill it. When I dumped in almost a gallon when I had only used about a 1/4 of a tank, the gauge never moved an inch until all of a sudden it shot past the full mark. So I guess I'm wondering how in the heck one can tell when you are "exactly" at the true full mark. I've just reached a point in my life, regardless if it's diesel or gas. If my gauges show I need it, I fill up but I'm about ready to stop figuring how many gallons any tank takes. Just pay the guy at the pump and drive away until the next tank/s are due.

I've not encountered any issues as of yet. The plastic the tanks are constructed of (based on memory) have an ability to expand 7% to 8% without any issues. As much towing as I do, and as a small amount of DEF the neck can hold, I highly doubt I'll have any issues. It's not severely cold in my areas of travel but a few months of the year. Any other time, filling to the neck should be a non-issue. I'll add that I've done DEF filling in this manner with my previous '13 RAM 3500 Crew Cab DRW through 42k miles and my '14 RAM 3500 Crew Cab DRW through 27k miles with ZERO issues. Neither truck has EVER had a check engine light come on.

As DEF starts getting low, you'll see this :
#ad


At 200 miles to de-rate.....you'll see this :

#ad


There is indeed a reserve in the DEF tank also:
#ad


I have ran mine as low as this :
#ad


If anyone is interested.....I can dig up my past intervals and gallons consumed of DEF (including DEF mpg's) and post'em up later on.

$11.85 per gallon is INSANE when it can be purchased at a truckstop for $2.699 or $2.799 per gallon. Heck.....$14 for 2.5 gallons ($5.60 per gallon) is INSANE as well.

I guess the points I'm trying to make are : Your RAM pickup will not turn into a pumpkin if you get a message saying you're 200 miles to de-rate; Bulk DEF at the pump is cheaper, has a high turnover rate, and there's no messy containers to deal with after filling, and is CONSIDERABLY cheaper; You can indeed fill to the top of the filler neck without any issues; Adding a gallon or 2.5 gallons to the tank when it's not empty only allows one to mix "old" DEF with "new" DEF and COULD contribute to some problems with the DEF system; Contrary to popular belief, your paint will not dissolve and roll off the bedside if you spill DEF on the paint; If it makes ya feel better, keep either a 1 gallon or 2.5 gallon container in your truck when traveling (I do not). In the 69k miles I've driven between the two trucks in 13 months or so, I've always been able to buy bulk DEF OR find a parts house that sells it OR find a Tractor Supply that sells it OR find a WalMart that was open.

Has anyone really EVER been 200 miles away (or more) from a truckstop or retail place that sells DEF ????

 

[Bill]

Mike: When you say I might have a faulty DEF gauge, can you please explain that a little more. Faulty in which respect? The more information I can give to the service mgr, the better I feel about it. I realize that these diesel trucks need quite a few thousands miles on them to completely break in the engine which then gives one better mileage - or so I've been told. I have a PP dealer where I live so going down today, meet the owner and start buying my local DEF from him. It may not be necessary to carry extra gallons of the DEF when I travel but I've always had some type of tool box where I can store jumper cables, oil/filters, some tools, etc. I carry TWO sets of jumper cables because I had the battery on the passengers side go bad to the point the truck wouldn't start. Found out from a diesel mechanic (not the dealers) that if that happens again, using the two jumpers I can jump the truck by going from the battery on the drivers side, over to the one on the passengers side. However, at that time, and with less than 1800 miles on the truck, no mechanic can figure out why the one battery went dead. With all the problems I've had with this truck, I may just go back to the Gen. Mgr and tell him to order me another 3500 and trade the 2500 in. I can always park it all the way across any parking lot while shopping. ~ ~ ~ "Dead Pedal" ~ Last night I remembered something. When I bought my first 2013 Dodge 1500 4x4, there were times and at different speeds that the engine would just stall. Not quit, just stall for a few seconds. This happened on the second, third and fourth 1500 I bought. You could put the pedal all the way to the floorboard and nothing would happen. Then, a few seconds later the truck would lunge forward and quickly speed up. Chrysler said this was due to TBS (Throttle Body Sensor). They said if you even touched the brake while driving it would engage the TBS. Finally I bought the 2500's. When I had my truck at the dealers around the 3rd of this month, explaining the Dead Pedal to them, the mechanic said "customer complains of lag in engine response while driving ~ customer is driving with left foot on brake." I do drive with my left foot "over" the brake pedal but never touching it unless I want to stop. Mechanic told me that this Dead Break is almost like the TBS on the 1500's and that without me knowing it, I had to touch the brake in order for the truck to slow down. So on the way home, I hit the brake, light, medium and heavy for about 20 miles. Not once did this create the Dead Pedal effect. So apparently Chrysler is aware of this but my service manager said it was the transmission's fault.

 

[Wingate]

interesting chart showing DEF levels and what action is taken. I ran my 14 model down to where the needle on the gauge was in the red, nothing happened, no messages or bells going off. Added 2.5 gallon container and it now shows completely full... pretty sure there is something fishy going on here.

 

[CBari]

Wingate that is about what mine did but now it is down to empty again with less than 750 miles. I am set to leave out on another trip this weekend and I am going to see if I can get the 200 miles to empty message.

 

[Bill]

Strange! I'm reading all different things about how much DEF is used after how many miles. I signed up for the latest consumer reports last night and got some interesting reading. The DEF is a concern, the engine is a "major concern", the fuel system states, in part, that it can cause stalling of the engine ~ Perhaps the Dead Pedal?? Dodge did not get a great report ~ not to good but yet not as bad as I expected after reading all the posts on here. I would have to agree with you that something fishy is going on with the DEF gauge - system. Also, consumer reports stated that the diesel mileage is not good.

 

[MJWenrich]

Bill....I recall seeing a thread where someone had an issue with the gauge and a reflash cured it. It may not have been a 13 or 14 but with anything electronic on these trucks, it seems there is a reflash for it. As for the price of DEF, not all of us live near truck stops and the best, high use terminal I found was the one I mentioned earlier. When I roll down into civilization, or whatever you call that madness in populated areas, I look for truck stops I can get into. Usually the bays are backed up with big rigs and I don't have credit cards for all the different stops. I'm a cash kind of guy and so far have never had my I.D. stolen. Dang...now I've done it. Jinxed myself. So I have to pay a little more.

 

[PMcCall]

There is another thread on this and according to the that thread, the DEF tank doesnt have a float in it because it can/will freeze in the winter so it uses come sort of sonar sensor to read the level in the tank. The gauge is only "accurate" under a half tank. Any reading on the gauge over half is a "best guess" by the computer. (or something along those lines, but that is in the general area of what was said )

Based on that I wait till my gauge is down to about 1/3rd and I dump a 2.5 G jug in and it always fits no issue. I have about 15K miles on the Ram now and I have put about 12 gallons of DEF in the tank having actually consumed about 9-10 Gallons as I am currently reading just over 1/2 on the gauge. I am seeing about 1500 miles per gallon-ish. I average 19.5-22 MPG and have been up as high as 24.4 driving on the flat roads in Delaware doing 65 using cruise control.

We have an amazon prime membership which gives you free 2 day shipping for a year. I buy the blue def from them in 2.5 G jugs for about $11.50 a bottle, with free shipping. The jugs come with a plastic spout and are pretty much "spill free".

 

[jacknife]

You guys need to find a truckstop close by you can buy it for about $2.40 to $2.84depending on the area you are in.

 

[skorski]

Can anyone tell me where I can buy a magnet for the def pumps at truck stops.