Volkswagen Sharan Adblue light on and off

Bernard78

I have a problem with my 2011 VW Sharan 2.0 TDI since it got the software upgrade to solve the nox emissions issue.
The adblue light came on and I got the tank refilled a few weeks later the light came back on even though
the is no way it could have used up the adblue in that time. The light went on and off every now and again.
I brought back to Joe Duffy Volkswagen for them to have a look,
but the light went off before I got there. They said that the computer does not show any error codes and confirmed
there is no leak. So they topped up the tank again. They insisted that they have never heard of the issue before and it
could not be related to the software update. Now it has started going on and off again. I am going to go back to Joe Duffy again
but I think that they will try to fob it off. Has anyone experienced or heard of this problem or know if it could be connected to the
nox software update? I assume the car's computer will record that light coming on and that would record an error code is that right?

Any replies appreciated.

Tropheus

It sounds like it could be a level sensor issue. I'm sure the tank has a level sensor that works on resistance similar to that in a window washer reservoir to tell you when the fluid is low. If that sensor was faulty, I could see it turning the light on and off. You could mention it to them and suggest they replace the sensor.

Toyotafanboi

It could be related to the emissions update but it just as easily may not be.

To be fair, those systems were riddled with tricky niggles, long before the emissions update but if you've had the update done you may have soom grounds for a goodwill repair.

How long was it between having the update done and this issue presenting itself? What mileage is on the car?

Are you getting a generic adblue system fault warning or a low adblue level warning?

If it's a level warning and you've only had it once in quick succession, is it possible that it was just incorrectly filled the first time and wasn't actually full but just filled enough to turn the light off, so now it seems like it's used a tank very quickly when it hasn't at all.

I'd see how you get on with this fill.

Bernard78

Thanks for getting back to me. When they did the update they refilled the adblue tank (17 litres), and the warning came up in about a year, but less than 10,000 kilometers of driving. I did not even have to think of adblue for the 3 years before that. Brought it to Joe Duffy then and they mentioned the possibility that the tank was somehow not filled properly, so they topped it up again and made sure it was full. Then after 2,000 kilometeres of driving the level warning light came on again. Brought it back they could not find anything so they said just keep an eye on it as the light had gone out. Now about 6 months later adblue level warning light is back on and a generic adblue error message comes up. It has about 130,000 miles on it

Odyssey 2005

To be honest,after the update ,the adblue tank warning light will be the least of your worries. Had it done to avery good car,2.0 skoda and the car was never the same. They destroyed a diamond.

Toyotafanboi

It does sound like you may have an issue if you had the orange adblue warning on the dashboard.

I would expect the car to consume more adblue after the update to be honest, any adblue cars that have had the update are provided 7 free tanks of adblue after having the update and I'm sure they aren't extending that offer for the good of their health (excuse the pun)

It sounds like you've had one reasonable tank since the update, then one short tank and now another bordering reasonable tank. If your current tank is somewhere near the mileage of the reasonable tank and the bordering reasonable tank, then that's probably the new norm for your car in terms of consumption. If you are getting the orange warning light again, I'd treat that as a separate issue to the consumption.