How much def usage is normal?

[JanB]

Got my 2019 in November and now it has 3000 miles, about 900 of that towing an 11,000 lbs 5th Wheel.

It has used 5.5 G of DEF. Is that normal, or is something wrong?

 

[Arvid]

About what mine has used at well.
They say def use is heavier in the beginning. So I’ll see if it’s breaks in and uses less.

 

[Travelin Ram]

I’m guessing you’ve used about 200 gallons of fuel. IIRC Cummins literature says DEF is 2-4% of fuel. So you are good.

I’m presently on my fourth ISB (not the vehicle in my sig), all purchased new. I have never experienced any increase in fuel economy, power, etc after break in.

 

[mtnrider]

Seems about right, maybe a little on the high side but not much. It will use more when towing then not towing also. Higher engine exhaust temps when towing will create more NOx, which requires more DEF to neutralize.


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[mikeru]

I'm sure the HD uses more def than the ecodiesel does. But my only experience is with the ecodiesel. When I owned my 2015 ED, I went through about 8 gallons every 10k miles. I wasn't pulling anything though, just using it for commuting to work and home. Probably not useful information for you, but since the title of this thread doesn't distinguish between 1500 and 2500, someone shopping for a 1500 might want to know what to expect for the ED.

 

[Elkman]

DEF is added as fuel is burned to clean up the exhaust. Burn more fuel and more DEF is consumed. It should be a percentage of the fuel burned and not the miles driven. My truck gets from 10 mpg to 20 mpg depending on the conditions and load involved and at 10 mpg the miles per gallon of DEF is going to be twice as much as when I get 20 mpg.

I was consuming too much DEF and it turned out that there was a defective NOX sensor and this caused the computer to add too much DEF to the exhaust stream. Got the NOX sensor replaced and DEF consumption went down considerably.

 

[ticat928]

i have used 8 gallons in 8000 miles about 330 gallons of fuel thus my rate of DEF use is about 2.4 % of fuel use.

but i have not towed anything, just pushing wind at 70 mph no city driving other than getting out of town

 

[ticat928]

Got my 2019 in November and now it has 3000 miles, about 900 of that towing an 11,000 lbs 5th Wheel.

It has used 5.5 G of DEF. Is that normal, or is something wrong?

i guess you have used about 210 gallons of fuel if DEF usage can be measured accurately that works out to 2.6% of fuel usages which is good.

When i got my truck DEF gauge was at 3/4 full i added 5 gallons of DEF
Gauge stayed at full mark for the longest time, now know tank can be overfilled by a bunch

 

[stevenP]

On my silverado diesel, it was like clock work, it burned 1 gallon for every thousand miles. These rams hardly use any, till you tow. Which makes sense, as you are working the engine much harder whlie towing.