DPF Care

[The_Hawk]

I have been reading more and more about this whole DPF thing and am reading through the manual to see if it says anything about how it all works and what I should or shouldn't have to do...

Anyway, page 30 of the manual has information labelled "Engine Data"...

So it says "103kW at 3,500 rpm with and without DPF"

Then under engine code: CAAC / CCHA

Looking else where in the manual it does have a part that talks about 'with' and 'without' separately, but both codes are mentions, so it isn't exactly clear if the new vans have them, but from what I hear I think I can safely assume, yes they do.

So I have read through the user manual to find out what I can about this reportedly very expensive and important part and how best to care for it.

Page 326 says:


If the light comes on drive for 15minutes at 70km/h+ Easy enough if you drive on the freeway each day, PITA if you don't.

Notice it refers to Page 327:



Which essential says use low sulfer diesel and don't overfill your oil... It points to Page 258 for details...

Page 258:


Page 259:


So in short, you need to use low sulphur diesel, but short of tell you that it must conform to the European Standard EN 590 there isn't alot of information...

Details on EN 590 can be found here:
EN 590 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BP's website has this information:
Products and services - On the road - Fuels - Diesel - BP Diesel 10ppm

constantly monitored by laboratory tests to ensure that each batch of BP Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (10ppm) meets Euro standards specification.

Of course it doesn't say what standard... should we assume it's EN 590? From what I read 10ppm is the mark needed, so it looks like we are all good. A quick poke around and Shells website says similar things. So it looks like all diesel in Australia has had to meet this requirement since 01/01/2009.

But back to my point question, for "normal" drivers is there anything special that needs to be done or is this one of those things that should just work for the next 150,000km?

The manual really doesn't have alot to say on the matter other than what the warning light means and what you should do.

[Cousin]

You reading the manual? Not Australian are you Hawk

Pretty similar to the other manufacture I mentioned.

They state at least once in each drive to attain at least 80 kph and automatic regeneration occurs when required.

Looks like VW are similar, use the right oil, fuel and get out on the highway and all should be good.

So it's looking more and more like diesels are now not suitable for just going to the shops and back each day.



M

[flyingfridge]

I honestly don't think it's too much to worry about. I was driving a Skoda RS 125TDI for a few months earlier this year and most of my driving in it was simply to work and back, at the time it was 5 minutes in the car including traffic lights and never saw the light once. Admittedly around once a week I'd drive to my girfriend's parents place which is a half hour drive with a little bit of freeway so that probably helped it but when I originally started driving it everyone in the dealership thought I'd be handing it back within in a week because I lived so close to work and I'd clog up the DPF, 4 months later that wasn't the case at all.

For the record we always use Shell diesel

[goober]

You reading the manual? Not Australian are you Hawk

Pretty similar to the other manufacture I mentioned.

They state at least once in each drive to attain at least 80 kph and automatic regeneration occurs when required.

Looks like VW are similar, use the right oil, fuel and get out on the highway and all should be good.

So it's looking more and more like diesels are now not suitable for just going to the shops and back each day.



M

correct, which kinda makes it hard for the Hyundai/ Golf/ BMW etc in diesel form. Especially those that dont use freeways and go from home to shopping centre being sold on a premise they fill up once a month cos of diesel

[Greg Roles]

Guys, the light only comes on in EXTREME cases. The car will do both active ( forced ) regens and passive ones without any lights letting you know. I've never had that light, but I've noticed these regens - the forced ones are obvious as the idle rises to 1000rpm - and the less obvious passive ones from correct driving via my EGT gauge. Bottom line is every regen is trying to burn off a partly clogged DPF, and the more regens that happen, the poorer your driving "parameters", the quicker it's going to clog. VW themselves say that it is finally clogged due to oil ash, which can't be burnt off. As I posted in the other DPF diesel section thread, now that I'm careful to stay out of sub 1800rpm, higher gear situations with a lot of boost, I rarely notice any sort of regeneration happening, short trips or not. I'm also no longer putting any of the oil blowby back into the inlet, so compared to a stock oiler, I'm ingesting a fraction of the oil, which leads to oil ash in the DPF.

Best case a DPF is going to last about 150k's, but it seems for the vast majority of unaware drivers, it's not going to get anything like that. The stock TDI ingests a lot of oil via blowby, so once again, I'll mention the MASSIVE need for a Provent or similar high quality oil seperator in ANY modern high compression diesel.

Or you can just buy new DPF's!

[The_Hawk]

Is the DPF covered by warranty? And under what circumstances? Max km's? etc etc

Given that I have an extended warranty up to 200,000km and 5 years can I assume it's not going to be my problem for that time?

(or is it a replaceable part)

[Greg Roles]

Replacable part. You could probably argue if it went within a few thousand km's, but it's going to clog one day, and VW want $4700 for a golf one.

Avoid high soot, off boost heavy throttle situations. Get an extra oil seperator!!

[The_Hawk]

That's one expensive part

The service schedule says it' not even looked at until 150,000km, I wonder if you can infur that it's supposed to last that long therefore should be covered by VW as a premature failure if it goes before then (assuming the vehicle is used and serviced correctly).

Plan B: Hope that it's only the minority that have issues and that your not in that minority

[Greg Roles]

I think we need to make a DPF info sticky, and I can put all my info in there, for it's indeed going to become a huge issue.

[Transporter]

The particles loading can be checked with the with VCDS or good scanner. So you can see how your driving affect the DPF.

So far our only car with the DPF is Touareg which done close to 40,000km now and we have no problems with it; used only BP Diesel, driven by my daughter 99% of the time and in past 6 months very short trips and still no probs (no Provent fitted on the Touareg), but will definitely fit one to Tiguan.

I believe that if you drive normally DPF should last beyond 200,000km even with some shorter trips.

[Cousin]

127,000 in my 06 Multivan and all seems good so far.

(hope I didn't put the moz on me!!)



M

[goober]

Is the DPF covered by warranty? And under what circumstances? Max km's? etc etc

Given that I have an extended warranty up to 200,000km and 5 years can I assume it's not going to be my problem for that time?

(or is it a replaceable part)

No, its not a warranty item, VW have washed their hands on the DPF, we have had two go on the blink and the dealer said "its not covered" even though we produced receipts for the oil that we are using, the comment from the service tech was.......and wait for it.........."dont do city driving", like WTF its a van for courier work in the city, I then rang the selling dealer and told him of this and he said its something he hasnt heard of before. Thus I am wanting to update in Nov with another batch of Crafters........am now looking at other makes, and Benz seem to be in front as we speak.

[4wheels]

Is the DPF covered by warranty? And under what circumstances? Max km's? etc etc

Given that I have an extended warranty up to 200,000km and 5 years can I assume it's not going to be my problem for that time?

(or is it a replaceable part)

I've had a DPF replaced under warranty after a sensor failure. DPF couldn't be regenerated after the failed 'exhaust pressure sensor' was replaced. It was replaced as part of the warranty repair 'no questions asked' by John Oxley in Port Macquarie. I managed to get a copy of the warranty invoice (as I was away from home, and wanted to detail the work to my home dealer in case of any further problems). The cost listed for the DPF was $1584.80 (part only). Not cheap, but not $4700 either.

Brian Reed
2007 Trakkadu 4M 128Kw.

[TDI DSG]

I was considering a new Transporter recently and the DPF along with the new DSG reliability were real concerns for me as it would be a long term purchase (min several years)
Same thing with updating our MKV Golf - ours missed getting the DPF by a month from memory.

The odd thing to me is that the car selectively burns MORE fuel to create heat to burn off particles - is this better than a more efficient no DPF restriction in the exhaust and no overfuelling to heat it up ?
Normally for longevity you do all you can to lower EGT on a diesel.
Has anyone considered removing the DPF ?
I know it's probably not something you can legally do - but then neither are ecu reflashes and chips that add fuel for performnace gains, totaly changing the factory emissions.