BHPian ankan.m.blr recently shared this with other enthusiasts:DEF Sensor issue faced during roadtripReporting an issue that happened with my Scorpio N during the Dushera holidays. I was enjoying a road-trip with my family in the Central India Bundelkhand region. The itinerary includes visiting Jabalpur, Khajuraho, Lucknow, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi and Orcha. While on my way from Khajuraho to Lucknow through Satna & Chitrakoot, I was cruising at around 100 KMPH on the deserted Bundelkhand Expressway. Suddenly, an error message appeared, indicating a problem with the DEF system, and the car’s ECU would not restart if stopped. We were 350 KM away from Lucknow. Frantically drove to Lucknow without any break, reaching at 6:00 PM and immediately locating a service centre. It was Gomti Mahindra at Transport Nagar, Lucknow. The service centre guys did some diagnosis and recommended full replacement of the DEF tank, which houses the DEF sensors. Their diagnosis was that either the DEF quantity sensor OR the DEF quality sensor was faulty. ECU will not start if the sensors do not work properly. The sensors do not come separately; they are part of the DEF tank. DEF tank is not a readily available spare, at least in Lucknow. That means ordering the part and keeping the car at the workshop for 2 weeks. There I was, travelling with my family (wife and son), with a car full of luggage for a 10 day roadtrip. Stranded at Lucknow due to faulty DEF sensor. I was desperate to try out all the available options before going for DEF tank replacement. It was past 7.00 PM at this point and the SC technicians were wrapping up their shift and leaving one by one. I befriended the Mahindra technician, took him outside the workshop, had tea-cigarette with him, and then requested to check all options before going for full Def tank replacement. I had some chit chat, made personal connection with him, told him about problems with keeping the car for long time as I am travelling with family. After requesting, he started checking other options. Efforts were made in solving the problem in different directions (connecting laptop, deleting the error message, emptying the DEF tank and refilling it etc). At last, after cleaning the sensor wiring couplers with high pressure air, the error was gone. It was 8.30 PM. There were only a handful of people left at the Mahindra SC attending to my issue. I am really thankful to Gomti Mahindra technician Mr. Praveen Maurya for making the extra effort and solving the issue. During all this time, I got some valuable suggestions from Mr.Kumar HV (senior Team-BHP member based in Mumbai and one of India’s best known motorists) over multiple phone-calls on how to fix the problem. Many many thanks to Mr. Kumar Sir who on his own even contacted 2 Mahindra technicians in Mumbai and requested their on-line advice. What makes me angry is, the software dependency on the functioning of the car. There are various sensors fitted, which can fail anytime, and the ECU will stop running the engine. That’s how the system is wired. Even with a perfectly fine engine, suspension & gearbox, the car won’t start because somewhere a sensor has decided to call it a day. The error message for reference (excuse the picture quality please). Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.
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DEF issue on my Scorpio-N & how it was solved quickly
