I have ran mine down to zero and it did not derate. It is suppose to warn that it will.


I would not make it a practice to go to zero though as the def pump is running and only sucking air.


Truly there is nothing to worry about with letting it get much closer to less than 200 to empty.

 

OCD gets the best of us at times....I say drive it and not worry...sounds like your philosophy...

 

I thought the 500 miles to the end of the world countdown was the warning? I guess it has an additional warning? Reminds me of the joke from decades ago where the wife ran the car with no oil and siezed the motor. Husband asked didn't the oil warning light comeon? Wife replied yes, but I thought it would get brighter or something if it got worse or was really serious.

OCD maybe. I've also got a bum knee and prefer not to have to walk because the truck decides it's mad at me.

But it also comes back to the original premise. If one gauge is off in one direction, is it off in the other direction as well? What about all these other sensor gauges that may just be taking it's best guess?

I would like this truck to last as long as my last truck, so I'm trying to pay attention to everything. At work, we've got two 6.7 trucks. One has been in the shop a few times under warranty. The other was only in the shop once under warranty, but it was for a spun bearing at 55k miles. Not the best track record from my personal experience, so I'm just trying to pay attention.

 

So when everyone says, less than 200 miles to empty, I guess the less than is actual gospel and not just a general recommendation? DEF said 211 miles to empty this afternoon when I tried to add 5 gallons. I did it at home with the engine off so I could listen to the tank fill up. I was able to stop it before it dumped onto the paint this time, but still had about 1/2 a gallon or so left in the jug.

Maybe I should just start adding 2.5 gallons when it gets down to 300 miles to empty or so? Really starting to wonder if this DPF isn't going to bounce off over one of the pot holes I drive across all the time.

 

if you use the ford fill spout it will stop at full and no spills.

 

I dumped in 4 3/4 gallons last night with the ford spout. Didn't spill a drop. My DTE said 120 miles. I waste the remainder.

 

It helps if you rinse the spout with clear water when finished as DEF will crystallize and could stop up the vent. I rinse mine and store in a plastic bag.

 

I get that. I'm just opposed to paying extra for a special spout when having an accurate volume gauge in a tank isn't exactly what I would consider new technology in the automotive industry.

The real question is, if the Ford spout is so magical, why have the aftermarket folks not duplicated one yet? Do Dodge and Chevy (and now Toyota) have the same issues, or have they figured it out?

 

Buy Walmart DEF mostly, and use Ford Fill spout whenever I need to refill. Fords spout is head and shoulders above any other. Why no one else try's to match the quality of the Ford fill spout is there issue, not Ford's. They most likely just don't care if we spill their DEF on our expensive trucks. DEF usage and the lack of a perfect DEF gauge have been frequently talked about on this forum for the last 26 months that I have been following this forum. I too would like an more accurate system, but it is what it is, so we just learn to deal with it.

 

They can't do a float system in the tank because def freezes.

 

Well now that finally makes sense. Still has to be a better way though.

Do all the other manufacturers have this issue or is it only Ford that can't figure out the tank percentage?

That would be kinda important for some of the OTR guys I would think.

 

Ram has been using a guage, but it only interprets the same three rods as the ford, so it is not a true guage either.

 

The new '17 Fords use a gauge as well, but based on the same three elements, and then calculated for a percentage.

 

So what do Kenworth, Peterbuilt, Mack and those types do?