AdBlue®: who answers for the failing tanks? Where proceedings stand in Europe

12 November 2026 — the position as of this date

Thousands of reported failures, authorities alerted in five countries, Europe-wide commitments obtained from Stellantis. And yet: no class action filed in any court, no penalty imposed for the defect itself. One precedent has been largely forgotten — in 2021, the EU fined carmakers for a cartel that covered, among other things, the size of AdBlue tanks.

In brief

Only one procedure has run its full course on the tanks: the Italian competition authority's case against Citroën and PSA Italia.
No class action has been filed in any of the countries reviewed. In Belgium it remains a threat; in Spain, an announcement.
No penalty against a carmaker or a supplier for the durability of the tank, the pump or the sensors.
A European precedent: €875 million in fines in 2021 for a cartel on SCR technology, including AdBlue tank sizes.

The defect: what has been acknowledged

On Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Opel diesels, the AdBlue tank, its pump or its sensors fail; the car announces a no-start countdown, and the bill follows: around €1,000 left for the owner to pay on average according to the French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir, over €3,000 for some. Stellantis covers part of the replacement for vehicles built between January 2014 and August 2020 — up to 100% of parts for a vehicle under five years old and under 150,000 km. That cover did not come from a court ruling. Authorities obtained it, country by country.

Italy: the only procedure taken to its conclusion

On 1 December 2022, the consumer group Altroconsumo referred the matter to the Italian competition authority (AGCM) with around 130 complaints. On 11 January 2023, the AGCM opened proceedings against Citroën Automobiles SA and Groupe PSA Italia for misleading and aggressive commercial practices (case PS12483). In September 2023 it accepted the manufacturer's commitments. In December 2024 it checked compliance: around €7 million in redress, including nearly €700,000 for owners who had already paid for a tank, and a new cover for repeat replacements. In the meantime, in May 2024, Altroconsumo had to report Stellantis a second time, for commitments not properly honoured.

Europe: the extension, then silence

On 20 December 2024, the European Commission and the network of consumer protection authorities (CPC) announced that Stellantis was extending these measures to the whole EU and European Economic Area. The compensation platform opened on 16 January 2025. The CPC network said it would "actively monitor" implementation, with national authorities able to act in case of failure. No assessment has been published since. On the ground, Euroconsumers wrote to Stellantis in March 2025 about an ineffective mechanism; the Belgian group Testachats described, in August 2025, refusals without explanation and offers sometimes limited to 30 euros.

France: two government bodies on the case, no published outcome

UFC-Que Choisir referred the matter to the consumer fraud authority (DGCCRF) in July 2023, on the strength of 1,731 testimonies, and counted more than 7,000 complaints by December 2024. Answering a written parliamentary question (no. 2925) on 18 March 2025, the Government said two bodies were handling these reports: the vehicle market surveillance service (SSMVM), which is conducting "investigations […] into the compliance of the system with the applicable technical requirements", and the DGCCRF, which "will be vigilant". No outcome of those investigations has been made public to date, and no class action has been brought.

Belgium, Spain: threats, no trial

In Belgium, Testachats complained to the Economic Inspectorate in July 2023 — which declined to act because of the European dimension of the problem — then served formal notice on Stellantis in July 2024, backed by nearly 3,500 testimonies, threatening a class action. In August 2025 that action had still not been filed. The group also reports complaints about Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Renault. In Spain, the OCU alerted the competition authority as early as November 2022; a law firm has announced a collective claim, of which we found no trace before a court.

Germany: recalls, but software ones

According to the German trade press, the federal motor authority (KBA) recorded several recalls of Stellantis diesels in 2025: a urea-dosing update on about 100,000 vehicles, then a recall of about 711,000 vehicles worldwide whose emissions-system warning light may fail to come on. These recalls fix software. None concerns the durability of the tank.

The 2021 precedent: a cartel over AdBlue tanks

On 8 July 2021, the European Commission fined Daimler, BMW and the Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche) in case AT.40178. Between 25 June 2009 and 1 October 2014, these manufacturers colluded on SCR technology: AdBlue tank sizes, range between refills, assumed average consumption. Fines: €875,189,000 — €502 million for Volkswagen, €373 million for BMW; Daimler, which revealed the cartel, paid nothing. The manufacturers avoided competing on the full potential of this technology, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in substance.

The decision recalls that the urea mixture was registered as a trademark, under the name AdBlue®, by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). It also notes that tank sizes, and the medium-term goal of smaller tanks, "were discussed in the associations ACEA and VDA and publicly communicated by these associations" (§ 78). VDA was not a party to these proceedings and was not fined. Nor did this cartel involve Stellantis.

Suppliers: fined over software, never over parts

In Germany, three suppliers paid for breaching their supervisory duties in the emissions-cheating cases: Bosch, €90 million (Stuttgart prosecutors, May 2019); ZF, €42.5 million (June 2020); Continental, €100 million (Hanover prosecutors, 25 April 2024). Those cases concerned engine-control or gearbox software. We found no proceedings against a maker of AdBlue tanks, pumps or sensors over the durability of its parts. Bosch and Continental appear on the public list of AdBlue® trademark licensees.

Not to be confused with: emissions cheating

The same systems are at the centre of a different body of litigation, about software rather than failures. In France, according to press reports, Volkswagen (January 2026) then Renault (July 2026) were sent to criminal trial for deception. In the Netherlands, the Amsterdam court ruled on 30 July 2025 that Opel, Peugeot, Citroën and DS diesels were fitted with prohibited software. In the United Kingdom, the July 2026 judgment in the large emissions group litigation largely favoured the manufacturers.

The question nobody has asked yet

The AdBlue® trademark is licensed to carmakers and suppliers. The quality of the fluid is governed by a standard and, for urea producers, by an audit. Nothing in the trademark owner's public documents says who answers for the durability of the tanks, pumps and sensors sold under that name. None of the proceedings listed here asks that question. What the AdBlue® trademark covers →

What this means for an owner

Every existing cover was won by numbers: 130 complaints in Italy, 1,731 then 7,000 in France, 3,500 in Belgium. One case alone is an anecdote; dated, documented cases make a file.

Report my case

Method: research carried out on 12 November 2026, country by country, on the public sources listed below. "We found no trace" does not mean "does not exist": if you know of proceedings missing from this page, tell us. This page sets out facts; it is not legal advice.