I've been a naughty boy & used the wrong diesel - what do I do now?

[Kiels3927]

I'm getting thoroughly confused as usual.

Was a time when I ran my 2007 Comfortline TDI auto pretty much exclusively on Shell. We shop at Coles, their pump is closest & when I travel down the Newell Highway, they seem to have the keenest prices & accessible low flow pumps. However, when I popped the sensor that looks after the particulate filter (I'm a user, not a mechanic these days - can't remember the name), the shop that replaced it & (naturally) did a regen then told me that Shell is too sulphury for the filter & I should use BP & Caltax. Since I've done that (& it hasn't hurt the wallet since the ACCC got into Coles & Woolworths), my around town economy seems to have got a tad excessive & it's maybe half a litre less sharp on the highway. That was 10-12000ks ago.

I followed a thread on tuning to a site sponsor, Greg Roles & he said back a few years now:

Big fan of Fuel Doctor because it's fluro green. Big fan of Moreys Diesel smoke killer, for it really does what it says as far as reducing soot. Unless the VW dealer has special equipment or actually removes the injectors and ultrasonics them, I suspect all they did was what you can do yourself with a can of LiquiMoly Diesel Purge from Supercheap for about $20. I hear of people charged $200 for the same thing.

Running BP or Caltex can largely alleviate the need for such drastic measures in the first place as well.

So, I seem to be using the right fuel now, but is Greg's advice to purge the injector system with LiquiMoly Diesel Purge still a good first IA to recover the economy I used to have? I have around 100000 on the clock.

Thanks, John

[Sunny43.5]

Does anyone else but me get angry with all the problems this "supposed" smart technology causes , having to add fuel additives or filling up at particular stations narks me if the DPF is blocking then its a faulty system . I have said it before we do not have to have these things here in Australia from what I have read , so for me the first time the DPF plays up IT'S GONE for good . Yes I am angry because if VW technology plays up its the consumer who pays Vw don,t care as they will never acknowledge that DPF's will play up , they will just say that you must drive a certain way or drive in a certain manner to prevent the DPF from needing to be regened .

[Transporter]

I'm getting thoroughly confused as usual.

Was a time when I ran my 2007 Comfortline TDI auto pretty much exclusively on Shell. We shop at Coles, their pump is closest & when I travel down the Newell Highway, they seem to have the keenest prices & accessible low flow pumps. However, when I popped the sensor that looks after the particulate filter (I'm a user, not a mechanic these days - can't remember the name), the shop that replaced it & (naturally) did a regen then told me that Shell is too sulphury for the filter & I should use BP & Caltax. Since I've done that (& it hasn't hurt the wallet since the ACCC got into Coles & Woolworths), my around town economy seems to have got a tad excessive & it's maybe half a litre less sharp on the highway. That was 10-12000ks ago.

I followed a thread on tuning to a site sponsor, Greg Roles & he said back a few years now:

Big fan of Fuel Doctor because it's fluro green. Big fan of Moreys Diesel smoke killer, for it really does what it says as far as reducing soot. Unless the VW dealer has special equipment or actually removes the injectors and ultrasonics them, I suspect all they did was what you can do yourself with a can of LiquiMoly Diesel Purge from Supercheap for about $20. I hear of people charged $200 for the same thing.

Running BP or Caltex can largely alleviate the need for such drastic measures in the first place as well.

So, I seem to be using the right fuel now, but is Greg's advice to purge the injector system with LiquiMoly Diesel Purge still a good first IA to recover the economy I used to have? I have around 100000 on the clock.

Thanks, John

The BP diesel has the highest cetane number and therefor will burn better in the engine causing less particulate matter to be trapped in the DPF which will result in shorter DPF regeneration times and extend the DPF life.

IMO, further use a good diesel additive that helps DPF is beneficial and will save you money, but not in the rental car or if you keep your car for a short time.

[Transporter]

Does anyone else but me get angry with all the problems this "supposed" smart technology causes , having to add fuel additives or filling up at particular stations narks me if the DPF is blocking then its a faulty system . I have said it before we do not have to have these things here in Australia from what I have read , so for me the first time the DPF plays up IT'S GONE for good . Yes I am angry because if VW technology plays up its the consumer who pays Vw don,t care as they will never acknowledge that DPF's will play up , they will just say that you must drive a certain way or drive in a certain manner to prevent the DPF from needing to be regened .

Almost all car manufacturers are using the DPF in todays diesel vehicles. I don't blame them for that. If you want to change it, you need to lobby your politicians and the environmentalist, not the car manufacturers.

Using a particular brand of fuel because our diesel is rubbish (and please, spare me of pointing out that it complies with EU DIN) can help and if you want the change (to be able to fill up with any brand of diesel), again you need to do something else about it than talking in the forums. Mind you, if you do and succeed, the greedy oil companies will lift the price of the fuel even more and tell us that we 'd wanted a better fuel.

Removing or disabling the emission devices from the car that came with the car is against the law and there are stiff penalties for that.

[Sunny43.5]

Thanks transporter yes its pretty ordinary the way fuel companies gouge pricing and as pointed out quality is suspect causing problems we should not have to have . Look back only a few short years ago and diesel was around $1.15 litre now over $1.50 why because they know the diesels are now so much more popular and they price accordingly . As for petrol I would like to know why the price of the three grades of petrol are so different sometimes 15cents difference between one level and the next . I do have large knowledge of ADR compliance etc but I stand by the fact if it plays up its gone , I drive according to all the posted methods to avoid blockage of the DPF but if because of some unforeseen circumstance it fails I won't hesitate in making alternative arrangements . Forgot to ad that when fuel companies changed the additives in diesel a few years back look how many transport companies faced huge repair bills for failed components caused by this "improvement"

[Kiels3927]

I appreciate the insight into the politics of technology, guys, but will there be any benefit in giving my engine a clean out with LiquiMoly Diesel Purge or some like product?

[Seano]

The simple answer is that it can't hurt but don't expect miracles.

Thing is that if you do regular runs on the open road for hours at a time then you probably won't have any particular dramas with a DPF anyway.

As for diesel quality and pricing...much of this is becoming moot since most of it is coming in from Singapore these days rather than being made here. As a result we'll start to see more grades of diesel on the forecourt. Caltex currently offers two grades of forecourt diesel (regular and Vortex), three grades of transport diesel (TecD) and two grades of biodiesel plus the specialised winter blends...no wonder there's confusion!!

[Kiels3927]

Thanks, Seano.

I'll probably try it anyway but I do tend to do more than the occasional 3-12 hour run with the bus.

Up to now, our local Caltax shop has only Vortex in the slow flow & one grade of transport diesel, but it's not a highway stop, just a suburban/industrial pump.

Just noticed my status - New Dubber. Bit of a giggle for a guy who ran aircooleds from 1973 until 1997 when I bought a T4.

[Sunny43.5]

I think one of the best solutions to avoid the problems is on a weekly basis thrash the living daylights out of it , surely some very short bursts of fast runs will do more good than harm . Engine should be warm then from stop on open highway plant foot to floor and get up to speed limit the extra fuel being drawn through should help clear any injectors and burn off residue inside the DPF . My wife drives our T5 and is a bit more gentle , but whenever I drive it I always give it a boot full at least once every drive to clear it's throat , probably explains why ours has not played up yet who knows '

[Adam777]

Hello Guys,

I used to live in the UK and it is a well known fact that diesel over there is of a much higher standard than here in Australia, if you go in a fuel station over there you have to look for the petrol where as over here you have to hunt for the diesel, i have run Transporters, Merc Sprinters, 330d BM's, Audi and VW diesels and you never get a puff of smoke out of the back of modern diesels, Shell does V-Power diesel and then BP has their own top grade diesel too amongst all the other major players in the fuel market over there, i don't feel that VW is to blame with regards the DPF problem i think here as a country has to start and produce better fuel inline with the ever growing number of diesel car's on our roads and the stringent european emission standards that these vehicles have to meet.

I bought a brand new Navara STX-550 in 2012 with the Renault engine and the DPF box in the exhaust is there but there is no filter inside it's just an empty box, now this tells me something why is the Australian version of that vehicle the only one not fitted with a DPF?? the 140kw models have them but the european engined one doesn't.

Also i think the speed limits over here don't help as on most motorways near me it's only 100 k's an hour thats 60mph in the UK and you're barely off tick over in top cog, the difference been admittedly the limit is only 70mph in the UK but you can easily not worry about doing 85-90mph on the motorway without any problems and here you have less tolerance with regards speed so also engine speeds are considerably less.

It's not just VeeDubs that have the problem here my friend runs a garage and he regularly gets Hyundai's etc in with the DPF's clogged and the engine light on.

This is only my opinion though.

[Diesel_vert]

My observation of overseas forums is that DPF issues are no less common in the UK and Europe than it is in Australia, nor is it an issue isolated to the Volkswagen Group.

Owing to the nature of the technology and how it is implemented, it's simply inevitable that issues may crop up if the vehicle is used under certain conditions. Vehicle manufacturers so much as admit this implicitly in the owners manual, by advising the driver to operate the vehicle in a certain manner in order to alleviate the problem.

It remains up to the purchaser to research and determine how much of a potential inconvenience that may or may not be, according to their anticipated driving conditions and expected usage patterns.

Was a time when I ran my 2007 Comfortline TDI auto pretty much exclusively on Shell. We shop at Coles, their pump is closest & when I travel down the Newell Highway, they seem to have the keenest prices & accessible low flow pumps. However, when I popped the sensor that looks after the particulate filter (I'm a user, not a mechanic these days - can't remember the name), the shop that replaced it & (naturally) did a regen then told me that Shell is too sulphury for the filter & I should use BP & Caltax. Since I've done that (& it hasn't hurt the wallet since the ACCC got into Coles & Woolworths), my around town economy seems to have got a tad excessive & it's maybe half a litre less sharp on the highway. That was 10-12000ks ago.

Unless there was an issue, it sounds as if you'd have been better off leaving things alone.

Since 2009, the level of sulfur in diesel for Australia, at less than 10 ppm, matches that of the UK, EU, NZ, Japan and Korea. The limit in the US and Canada is 15 ppm. These fuels are necessary for the optimal function of the DPF.

From 2006 to 2009, the level of sulfur in diesel here was 50 ppm, similar to other advanced economies, though Germany adopted 10 ppm diesel earlier than most other countries.

I bought a brand new Navara STX-550 in 2012 with the Renault engine and the DPF box in the exhaust is there but there is no filter inside it's just an empty box, now this tells me something why is the Australian version of that vehicle the only one not fitted with a DPF?? the 140kw models have them but the european engined one doesn't.

Our light vehicle emissions standards are not as stringent compared to those in the European Union.

In the EU, new models released after 01/09/2009 must comply with Euro 5 emissions standard, which are strict enough as to having the effect of making DPFs necessary. By 01/01/2011, all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles must comply with Euro 5.

In contrast, new models released in Australia after 01/11/2013 are required to comply with a "watered down" Euro 5 emissions standard, which are lenient enough not to require the fitment of DPFs, depending on the engine. Euro 5 in its entirety is not due to kick in here until 01/11/2016 - a full 5 years and 10 months after its introduction in the EU.

Hence why many passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are not fitted with DPFs here.

[Transporter]

My observation of overseas forums is that DPF issues are no less common in the UK and Europe than it is in Australia,

Only the difference is the number of diesels here, I think that London alone would have several times more diesel cars than whole Australia. So, since they have much more diesel cars, there would be more faults to report.

nor is it an issue isolated to the Volkswagen Group.

I agree

[Kiels3927]

Thanks, folks, I'll hold of the LiquiMoly for the moment.

[Adam777]

there's got to be some differences somewhere along the line because i see X5's, Mercedes ML's, Audi's, VW's etc over here and they all smoke like hell when under acceleration, some even have sooty rear bumpers that is a very very rare sight over there, i had an A3 S line 170 TDi and on a night in the dark with someone behind you you could give it full boot and not a hint of anything, if i shoe my navara or transporter here with someone behind me it's like the bat mobile!

[Diesel_vert]

there's got to be some differences somewhere along the line because i see X5's, Mercedes ML's, Audi's, VW's etc over here and they all smoke like hell when under acceleration, some even have sooty rear bumpers that is a very very rare sight over there, i had an A3 S line 170 TDi and on a night in the dark with someone behind you you could give it full boot and not a hint of anything, if i shoe my navara or transporter here with someone behind me it's like the bat mobile!

No DPF.

As mentioned previously, Euro 5 (the watered down version) only kicked in 5 months ago - and that only applies for newly released models.

The full Euro 5 emissions standard doesn't apply here until 2016, so it'll be a while before a significant number vehicles in the Australian fleet are fitted with a DPF.