Hi. I have a Diesel version and was wondering if there is a way of bypassing the Ad Blue usage in case I travel to a country with no Ad Blue (South America fro example). Is there a module or something that can be override?
Thanks
Hi Matias, update on this as we’re presently in South America with our diesel and have taken the time to confirm availability of AdBlue as well as diesel quality on the continent. I’ll also mention engine oil as the other key consumable.
AdBlue:
It’s sold as “AUS32” or simply “Urea”, which is maybe why so many overlanders aren’t finding it.
Typically available, although distribution can vary. Here in Colombia it is available at the pump, most often at rural gas stations used by trucks. These are easily spotted as they include a Urea price on their roadside signs. In cities it can also be purchased from many (not all) gas stations in 4L or 9L bottles.
In other countries it may be necessary to visit an auto store or even a European car specialist or distributor.
It’s prudent to check that whatever you’re buying is ISO 22241-compliant however. You’ll generally find it on the label or marked on the pump.
Diesel:
Again this is an area of widespread misconception in the overlanding community.
The Grenadier being Euro 6d compliant (except Africa spec) is designed to operate on Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), which has a sulphur content of <15 ppm. ULSD is not available in all countries in South America, and certainly not at all gas stations even in countries where it is available.
HOWEVER South American regulators have a ‘mezzanine’ standard known as ‘near-ULSD’ or ‘S-50’ rated at <50ppm. This is fine for Euro 5 engines and we can operate our Euro 6 vehicles for protracted durations without issues. Well, there are issues in the sense that the Ad Blue performance (in terms of NOx emissions) is compromised, but it doesn’t accelerate Ad Blue consumption or cause rapid sooting.
Throughout South America, Low Sulphur Diesel, ‘S-500’ or ‘ACPM’ (<500ppm) and Improved Low Sulphur Diesel (50-<500ppm) is also sold for heavy vehicle/farm machinery use. Now, this is not recommended for sustained use but can be used occasionally in our experience with minimal issues. There’s usually no need though as if you refuel cautiously you will always make it to a station with S-50/near-ULSD. Need to be careful though as ACPM is sometimes sold as simply ‘diesel’, so best check what you’re buying, or at least know the price of each as this is a pretty failsafe indicator.
The diesel to really worry about is High Sulphur Diesel, which can exceed 5000ppm. This is generally only encountered in Venezuela, Iran and some areas in Russia. High Sulphur diesel leaves sulphurous deposits throughout the emissions system and was able clog our LR DPF in about six weeks. You can fix the clogging but it can require removing and purging the DPF with solvents, a rather messy job best avoided.
Oil:
Our recommended oil spec of ACEA C2 LL-12FE can be rather hard to find on the shelf in South America (FYI also in the US).
However, pretty much anywhere they sell BMWs you will find the spec at dealers, and you can usually find it from online retailers or auto stores if you’re prepared to wait a few days.
I won’t suggest disregarding the recommendation, however ACEA C2 (just not with the BMW long life spec) is widely available, if you’re having a workshop source oil from their usual provider.
Having done a northern hemisphere circumnavigation, Australia and North America our general conclusion is that diesel is the vastly better option for overlanding due to range, safe handling and (counter-intuitively, perhaps) availability. Thing to remember is that with diesel, any passing truck can be a fuel source in an emergency… and the one thing that is eveywhere is trucks. Best not make a habit of it for the reasons above, but it is the better option for truly remote use.
Removed the DPF from our last vehicle and disabled the EGR for high altitude use. Wouldn’t bother with the Gren, it’s much more sorted than the early Euro 5 vehicles were.
. Somethings not right.
