Clogged Def Injector/P218F00 Fault code

[Whittsram]

While my brand new 2019 3500 6.7 HO Laramie Truck was in the shop for a minor alignment adjustment they test drove it after and the check engine light turned on. The code associated was P218F00 dealing with the DEF system. They took care of two recalls as well. One of which was the current flash supposedly dealing with this fault. Today they determined it was a clogged DEF injector. What is everyone's thoughts? The truck only has 6000 miles. How and why would the injector be clogged already, and how can this be prevented? Thanks

 

[RedneckHippy]

Maybe it was a bad injector from the factory? I am mortified by the fit and finish of my truck from the factory. I had to get the cab aligned to the frame, adjust the drag link to get my steering wheel straight, fix the caster angle due to the truck leaning to one side and then seat most of the fuses correctly. And that was in the first 1000 miles.

 

[Whittsram]

Wow. Thankfully I haven't had those issues. I took the truck in for a minor alignment adjustment and 6 days later they "might" have fixed it. A clogged DEF injector doesn't seem right at only 6000 miles?

 

[Whittsram]

So the dealer discovered the DEF injector was clogged. My truck only has 6300 miles on it. Apparently Chrysler stated "Due to the DEF reservoir level dropping to near red line (1/4 tank) the system had more air introduced which allowed the DEF to begin crystalizing". These crystals then clogged the injector. Now this is the very first time I've ever let the system drop below 1/2 tank. I find it amazing that a system designed to hold X amount will induce a fault long before the same system tells you its even low? Very poor design if this is to be believed. I'd hope an eventual recall fixes this? Why isn't this a pressurized system preventing air to enter? Maybe it is and I just don't know? Any thoughts out there?

 

[chri5k]

Sounds like BS to me. The DEF tank had over 1 gallon of DEF in it. How would air get through 1 gallon of def to then enter the line, go through the pump and somehow sit at the injector long enough to cause the DEF to crystalize? In order to crystalize the water in the DEF needs to evaporate. Seems unlikely that would happen under those conditions. If they are going to make up BS, at least make it plausible.

I would be more inclined to believe a piece of of the DEF line was shaved off when the fittings were put together. It then made its way to the orifice of the DEF injector and clogged it.

 

[Elkman]

Probably has some contaminents when the tank was manufactured or how it was installed at the factory. Over 6000 miles the particles moved and clogged the filter. DEF is water and urea and so nothing to clog anything. Warranty protection is a cheaper alternative to good quality control by manufacturers. When Chrysler was having all the problems with its cars and trucks in the 1980's they simply started offering warranties for twice as many miles as other manufacturers did for their vehicles.

 

[crash68]

It was probably some crap in tank from manufacturing or possibly a bad injector.
There has been two lines of thinking with DEF that I see on the EcoD forums. Some guys keep the tank between 1/2 and 3/4 full, other run the tank almost dry. Not many problems reported but it's either something simple like the nozzle plugged or the pump/sensor has failed. If I remember correctly, when it's a DEF pump/sensor failure, the entire tank assembly is replaced. Some guys have pulled and successfully cleaned the DEF pump when it wasn't registering a level.