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gkas's avatar
gkas
Explorer
May 14, 2013

DEF Price

The price of boxed Diesel Exhaust Fluid seems to have skyrocketed. I last got a 2.5 gal box at O'Reilley's Auto Parts about 2-3 months ago. I paid about $11. The box is my only option because the nearest pump DEF is about 70 miles away. Today I went in to pick up another box of Peak BlueDEF. $16.99 for 2.5 gal!!! I paid for it and Googled it when I got home. That seems to be the going rate for most brands at most stores. The last time I checked the local WalMart their lone box looked like it was used for football. The lowest price seemed to be at NAPA stores.
  • Walmart has started to carry it, I saw it there for $11/2.5 gal.
  • Quite steady priced around here too at from $2.80/gal to $3.09/gal at the pump depending on which station. Buying it in 2.5 gal containers simply means you are paying dearly for the container it's in. Keep the containers! Several bucks each time one's bought! When near a pump, refilling one or two of those DEF containers lets you take advantage of the lower price big time. 2.5 gallons lasts a lot of miles so it's not often you'd have to refill it. Also when there, of course fill the truck's reservior and you're good for 10,000+ miles before needing more. Works out to about 1/10 of a penny per mile driven. Just the normal evaporation of the costly diesel fuel itself costs you more than that! How much cheaper could it get as the DEF system in return gets you 1-3 more mpg's!

    Remember that having an empty container or two means you had already paid for it once, why again?
  • Have to also qualify with the OP's location as everything is high or higher priced on the left coast. So be it! Sunshine is free here but it seems to be very expensive over there like everything else!
  • I've only had to refill my DEF tank twice on my Dmax in the first year I ownded it. I think people make it seem like its a big burden on the new trucks when its really not...When you factor in what you spend on diesel over that year the DEF is a just drop in the bucket. My $.02