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Hmm. Here's the tale ...
Car was indicating 390 miles before Ad-blue would run out. Car has 3600 mile recorded so presumably the Ad-blue tank was not full when delivered new.
It was driven 12 miles and parked outside our house (across the drive on a very slight slope. So something like parking in a pavement.
Would not start - saying Ad-blue required. Minimum .9ltr.
Managed to get my car off the drive (awkward ..) and went and bought a contained that turned out to be 3.5 ltrs of Ad-blue. Tipped that into the Ad-blue tank. Ad-blue gauge showed tank half full. Warning stopped. Still no start. Some noises from under the bonnet even when nothing apparently happening.
Volvo were called. Could not add anything to the diagnosis and said they would send someone to have a look. Would take about 90 mins.
Daughter stranded here with 2 grandsons - all because she had locked herself out of the house and needed our spare keys.
Son-in-Law came here on way home from work. Found something in another part of a manual somewhere that indicated a minimum of 4.5ltrs of Ad-blue would be required for the system to recognise that it had been topped up (One wonders why since it had not actually failed through being empty). So he went and got a 10ltr + container and filled the tank. After which the systems took a while to reset themselves and the thing started.
It was a good job that worked since the service people had called back to say they could not get anyone out for another 4 or 5 hours - so 6 hours rather then 90 minutes as primised.
So, interesting lessons learned.
Quite why the system needs 4.5 ltrs minimum fill and did not complain enough to present an on screen message when telling us that the Ad-blue tank was now half full after I had put 3.5 ltrs in it I'm not sure. That and failing to work in the first place simply because is was parked on a slight sideways incline makes me question the design. Bear in mind that with the car parked and parking brake on we could not even push it a car's length onto the flat to see it that made any difference. No way of releasing the brake (that we could discover) without starting the engine.
I very nearly picked up another container of Ad-blue anyway as a possible last resort but knowing nothing about recent diesels and Ad-blue decided I would leave that to Son-in-Law whose arrival was imminent.
The more I discover about about the results of recent regulation and the effects on product complexity the less inclined I am to consider buying any sort of recent car. When they are older I can only imagine that the complexity and associated costs will drive them from the market well before the useful life, in core engineering terms, has been attained.
Thanks for your help everyone. A most interesting afternoon one way or another and not at all what I had planned! Very informative though. I now know something about Ad-Blue. Indeed much more that I ever thought I would need to know! Also that the Volvo Ad-blue gauge shows about 4ltrs as being half full in a tank that must hold at leat 14 ltrs based on what it had in it by the end of the afternoon.
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