Mercedes-Benz GL320 BlueTec--Feeling a bit AdBlue over spending a lot of green

It wasn’t enough that our GL320 is feeling a bit inferior now that Mercedes-Benz changed its name to GL350. (No, the displacement didn’t increase--even the GL320 designation was something of a fib, given the engine was a 3.0-liter.)

Around 16,000 miles, our GL displayed a warning light saying that it was running low on AdBlue. This urea-based additive is necessary to keep the turbodiesel emissions-compliant; it is injected into the exhaust tract to break down smog-producing nitrogen oxide into nitrogen in a catalytic converter.


Normally the AdBlue would have been topped off by the dealer at a regular oil change. But with 80+ cars here each year, and multiple lifts and mechanics, it would be a needless hassle and expense to take every car to the dealer to change the oil. Since we had changed our GL’s oil ourselves, we wound up making a trip to the dealer to get AdBlue added. (We also had to get a shorted-out taillight repaired under warranty, plus get a software update and recall addressed.)



Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Mercedes-Benz GL320 BlueTec--Feeling a bit AdBlue over spending a lot of green