Blue DEF vs Platinum DEF?

rbdjr · March 8, 2022

Was buying DEF, The Walmart I went to was out of stock-NONE. Went to Home Depot they had it, Blue DEF-$15, and also Platinum DEF- $21, Is there a difference in Def Fluids? Worth the $ difference? Also, this is 2nd time Walmart sold out, is DEF fluid becoming a shortage item like everything else? Was not close to the dealer I deal with so I thiought Blue Def is fine? Think I used GM DEF 2 times and Blue DEF 2 times, first time I saw the Platinum DEF, I grabed a 2.5 gals of Blue DEF

redwngr · March 9, 2022

Peak claims that 'Platinum' def is 'better' than their regular def and the def of others.

Until this new product and new claim I was in the camp that all def is the same.

Several posters on dmax sites have reported issues after switching to Platinum, that went away when they switched back.

At least one poster reported talking to Peak -- who acknowledged there was an issue with some GM trucks, and claimed it was a GM issue. GM of course insists its's an issue with the 'platinum' version.

I'm not interested in trying it.

It's claim to be better because it 'fixes' a problem that my trucks multiple def trucks have not had.

I'd gladly use the regular version the peak sells -- it would even be on my preferred list -- but I'm not interested in paying extra to be a tester of the 'platinum' version.

CamGTP · March 9, 2022

It's all the same crap. The chemical formula is the same no matter what bottle you buy.

Urea is used at a 32.5 % mixture with 67.5% DI water, that's it.

I've run the truck stop DEF fluid for over 164,000 miles in my work truck, never once had a single DEF related failure because of that. We also buy the cheapest jugs of DEF from NAPA as a backup with no problems.

DEF is a stable fluid so it can be stored for a super long time. If you want to make your life simple you can buy a spare fuel jug (they sell blue ones) and just go to the local truck stop and pump it full. It's about $4 a gallon here I think. Can buy more gallons for $15 than you can just buying one 2.5 gallon jug from the store.

poppy510 · April 3, 2023

On 3/8/2022 at 9:13 PM, redwngr said:

Peak claims that 'Platinum' def is 'better' than their regular def and the def of others.

Until this new product and new claim I was in the camp that all def is the same.

Several posters on dmax sites have reported issues after switching to Platinum, that went away when they switched back.

At least one poster reported talking to Peak -- who acknowledged there was an issue with some GM trucks, and claimed it was a GM issue. GM of course insists its's an issue with the 'platinum' version.

I'm not interested in trying it.

It's claim to be better because it 'fixes' a problem that my trucks multiple def trucks have not had.

I'd gladly use the regular version the peak sells -- it would even be on my preferred list -- but I'm not interested in paying extra to be a tester of the 'platinum' version.

I bought box of the platinum because the Peak blue was sold out. I promptly received a P2BAA code "SERVICE DEF SYSTEM." The countdown to limp was activated. The code cleared after a few restarts. Interesting that others have reported issues with the Platinum....will be researching more.

redwngr · April 7, 2023

On 4/2/2023 at 11:53 PM, poppy510 said:

I bought box of the platinum because the Peak blue was sold out. I promptly received a P2BAA code "SERVICE DEF SYSTEM." The countdown to limp was activated. The code cleared after a few restarts. Interesting that others have reported issues with the Platinum....will be researching more.

Multiple posters on multiple 'GM' forums have reported problem with the platinum version -- even though the regular peak product has an excellent reputation.

(GM and Peak blame each other for the issues with the platinum version)

rbdjr · June 27

I Bought Walmart brand DEF about 10 days ago, was on sale for $9 reg $14, went today and there is NO DEF brand. are they stopping selling it or is a shortage coming?

Colossus · June 27

No shortage. Plenty in production. That store likely didn't order things correctly or someone came and purchased them all for their commercial fleet. Seen it happen a few times at my Wal-Mart. They were generally back in stock within a few days or a week.