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DEF Fluid empty after 2500 Mile

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hotdog1922

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I came from a Duramax where I can go months with out having to fill DEF tank. Is this normal for a Ram?
 
I’ve got 4700 on mine and I just put in my third jug...2.5gal of DEF. it’s not being consumed as fast lately as the others tanksI have let the truck idle a lot due to the cold weather we’ve had as Ive been in and out of the truck a lot and figured I would just let it run. I have heard from others that a lot of idling can cause more DEF consumption.
 
Overall, mine has been averaging 800+ mpg/DEF. When towing, more like 500+/- mpg/DEF. As I recall, for earlier builds, there was a TSB reflash for excessive DEF use.
 
2500mi on my def tank & it's at 1/2 still. Only towed one short trip. Commute is 48mi r/t @ 70% hwy. Outside temps have been between 20f-40f on avg since purchase.
 
Thanks @hotdog1922! I was thinking about this very same thing this morning. It seems my '19 Ram consumes an inordinate amount of DEF compared to my '17 Ford F350. Mainly I see it when I am daily driving. When I recently had to drive to Florida and back, the usage was far less.
 
I have over 10000 kms and have never added DEF. Gauge just under 1/2
 
8500 miles and added 5 gal of Def so far. I was thinking it was consuming on the fast side.
 
Howdy,
Also remember the DEF tank gauge is certainly not accurate either.
The gauge could have been reading full, when you already used the upper.. say 2 gallons before it started to go down on the gauge.
 
hotdog1922 said:
I came from a Duramax where I can go months with out having to fill DEF tank. Is this normal for a Ram?
Click to expand...
They 19s seem to have a voracious appetite for DEF when new - mine did. It settled down after after about 6K kms. I'm now using DEF at a rate of 1-2 percent of fuel burned when empty and 4-5 percent when loaded/towing. That's in line with what Cummins specifies as acceptable usage.
 
If your truck is using excessive DEF fluid, you maybe experiencing the problem in TSB 18-052-19. Ask your dealership to determine if your truck requires the software update. Mine did.
 
While truck is warming up looks like a bit of steam coming from the exhaust almost like a cold gasser. I have also had what looks like water dripping from the exhaust, this is probably where the excessive DEF is going. No comparison to the horsepower or fuel usage but we have a few VW TDIs , a 2.5 gallon jug of DEF is good for about 10,000 miles.
 
I have a 68rfe in my 3500 and it uses an insane amount of DEF. Last winter I never even had to fill up the 18' Ford that I had. When I was in for my first oil change and fuel filters replacement, I asked about a DEF update and they said there was none available.
 
Fishinengineer said:
While truck is warming up looks like a bit of steam coming from the exhaust almost like a cold gasser. I have also had what looks like water dripping from the exhaust, this is probably where the excessive DEF is going. No comparison to the horsepower or fuel usage but we have a few VW TDIs , a 2.5 gallon jug of DEF is good for about 10,000 miles.
Click to expand...
That’s just condensation.
 
My truck drank a lot of DEF I’m think in 12,000 miles I have filled it up 6 times. I do not tow anything at all


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dwjez14 said:
My truck drank a lot of DEF I’m think in 12,000 miles I have filled it up 6 times. I do not tow anything at all
Click to expand...

6 DEF fill ups in 12,000 miles is excessive, especially when not towing. You are probably experiencing the problem in TSB 18-052-19 REV. A. Ask your dealer to install the software update for that TSB.
 
I bought my 2019 Ram 3500 HO in July of 2019. I have kept track of all DEF usage, and the data is below. I averaged 463 miles per gallon of DEF over 20,735 miles. I towed a 15,000 lb fifth wheel for 6,500 of those miles.

In February of 2020, the dealership updated the PCM for TSB 18-052-19 which is supposed to improve DEF usage. It didn't really make a difference with my truck. I averaged 458 mpg before the fix, and I averaged 464 mpg after the fix.

EDIT: I did tow a lot in the first 5,000 miles. One way to interpret the data is that the TSB made it better when not towing and worse when towing.


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