Hi,
New owner 2018 Discovery HSE Lux TD6, 54K miles.
I have the DEF Refill warning "1000miles left, refill 3 gallons". I saw it first with1500 miles left (or so) when I got the car, I drove it to first weekend family getaway and the car felt great!

I have been trying to figure out:

- can I use any DEF? I bought me two (2.5g) boxes of Peak AddBlue from Lowe's. I see, on the box there is also "AddBlue Premium", is premium just a hype or something I should consider?

- All info I find online, says "top off" with two OEM bottles (the ones that screw to prevent leakage etc), and then still take car to dealer for a full refill. Is the dealer trip really necessary?

- What will dealer do differently than adding the amount it is recommending? - in my case 3 gals. Can I just add 2.5 jog and not worry about the 0.5 gal.

- I am sensing, overfill may cause problems, and seems to me all the info out there is calling for "top off", and then let dealer "refill" it. I am thinking to add 2.5 gals box everytime the warning calls for more that that amount to be added

Am I overthinking this? It should be as simple as:
- do not let DEF run out
- do not overfill
- fill when ever it starts alerting with the amount it is asking for, and again do not overfill
- DEF brand should not matter as long as it is ISO 22241, which I am assuming all DEF in the market should be
Am I correct with above?

Thanks,
Ivan S.

 

Peak AdBlue will work fine, a 2.5 gallon refill will be the best approach. You can additionally get an LR bottle of DEF (1/2 gallon I think) and topoff first, then convert the bottle into a funnel by chopping the bottom off. There's a Youtube video showing you how to do this. It makes refilling the DEF a lot less messy and smelly. It's an easy self-maintenance once you get used to doing it. No point in paying the dealer for this.

 

Here's a link to the bottle.

 

Check you local VW or Audi dealer. They have 2.5 gallon jugs (pn GUS052910A3) that are pretty cheap. Here's the pn for the 1/2 gallon G052910A2.
Just make certain what ever you use is fresh. The VW jugs have the manufactured dates printed on them.

 

this is exactly what I did - dealer jug (1/2 gal) + Peak AdBlue 2.5 gals - it was calling exactly for 3 gals. New def range is 4500miles. Thank YOU guys!!!
(Next DIY is going to be oil change