Quote:
Originally Posted by gregf
I have not driven my diesel Sprinter south of the border yet, but understand that the diesel may, at times, not meet the sulphur standards that U.S., Canada, and Mercedes recommend. Also, one person told me that it may be a tad difficult to find the BlueTec additive south of the border, so you may need to bring a supply along?
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Since we drive a 7.3 we didn’t pay that much attention to the availability of DEF. We did see ultra low sulfur and have friends that drove a Euro 5 Iveco around Africa, South America, Central America, and are currently in Mexico (1 of 2 Euro 5 Ivecos on the PanAm we know of personally). Another friend drove a Euro 5 VW van southbound from the States and had to regen often but his van was running fine when we last saw him in Ushuaia. We also came across a newer Mercedes 4x4 Sprinter from Turkey, also southbound. Our point is, it can be done with a modern engine and a lot of due diligence. We can’t say we noticed ultra low sulfur everywhere, or DEF, but search the Pan American Travelers Association group in FB if you are considering heading south. As the US and Europe keep making stricter requirements the diesel available around the world tends to be slowly catching up.
We will say, many choose gas or older diesel vehicles to not have to worry about it. Unleaded octanes are also different so taking a performance car isn’t advised but someone did drive it in a Porsche sports car...obviously the short coastal route skipping the rigorous off road tracks.