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cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/5691972
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The original was posted on /r/technology by /u/Wagamaga on 2025-04-19 17:06:58+00:00.
The dumbest part is that after I got my car updated (the Passat only needed a firmware update) the fuel economy was not even one MPG worse. It’s been a decade and I’m still regularly getting slightly better than 50MPG on the highway and low-30s in the city. There was no reason to cheat.
No way!
Was the cheat focused on the rest of the fleet (larger cars?), but applied to all [JIC]? 🤔
50+ wao
It’s my understanding that the cheat was in all TDI models, but the smaller Jetta was particularly bad because it didn’t have a urea system and the fix for that model was to retrofit one. My Passat may have needed a more robust urea injector and not just software, but I can’t remember now. Either way on my year/model the fix was barely noticeable.
How do you fill a urea tank on a passenger vehicle? I don’t see those pumps at the gas station, and doubt it’s as easy as peeing into a bottle…
It’s just like the DEF tanks on 18 wheelers. I buy a 10L jug of it from Walmart for something like $10. In my trunk there’s a panel you remove and under it there’s a small cap very similar to the gas cap. Remove that, hook up the DEF bottle hose (the bottles come with a 12-15" corrugated hose) and very slowly pour it in. You don’t want to spill that stuff, it’s nasty not because it’s urea, but because when it dries it kind of crystallizes and makes a real bloody awful mess.
Replace the cap, replace the panel cover, close the trunk and you’re done for another 9-15mos.
Huh, interesting. I knew about urea injection to reduce diesel emissions, but didn’t know it was a thing for passenger cars.