Fan problem

[Evilnim]

Hi everyone. I'm a relatively new Leon owner, with a recently purchased used 13 plate 1.6TDI SE.

I've had it about a month now, and have recently noticed that a weird issue with the car fan. Today for example, I drove to work (about a 4 mile trip), and it was cold (5C outside). I had the heating on, the condensation cleared up ok and everything seemed fine. Oil temp and coolant temp ok. Got to work, no problems. Coming home, the same journey, the same stop start traffic, and the same temperatures. Auto stop start kicked in ok despite the heating being on. When I got home and out of the car, my fan was going absolutely nuts. I've never heard a louder car fan before, like the engine was close to overheating. The bonnet was cool though, that went on for about 5 minutes after turning the engine off and locking the car. It was so loud my wife came out of the house to see what was going on! It turned itself off after about 5 mins. It's happened before as well, but not that frequently. Anyone else got this? Is it normal for this car!??!

Cheers

N

 

[JK1]

It will be a DPF regen. A filter collects all the diesel particulates, once the filter is (I think) 20% clogged the car will alter the engine to heat the filter up to very high temperatures to burn off the particulates.

Usually you won't notice it as it fits in with your journey however if you turn the engine off mid-cycle the fan kicks in at full speed to cool the DPF filter down. The reason being if you parked on something combustible like grass it could run the risk of setting light to it!

Keep in mind if you only do short journeys the filter will never have chance to purge itself and will become increasingly clogged until you get a warning light on the dash. So make sure the car does some lengthy journeys every so often.

 

[Evilnim]

Thanks a lot for the reply. Makes sense - it's not done a trip over 15 miles yet in one trip yet for various reasons.

Glad it's not something terrible though!

Cheers

N

 

[JK1]

Yer, my commute to work is only 2 miles each way so mine does short journeys to. On the 184 at least you'll notice a DPF regen is in progress if you come to a stop and the engine continues to idle at 1000 rpm rather than dropping to the usual 750 rpm, just take it for a spin somewhere where you can maintain a decent speed and after 10 minutes it will have finished.

Mine runs around every 6 weeks from the ones I've noticed.

 

[MLC4200]

2miles commute? Not heard of walking or cycling? You're probably doing more damage to the engine than good as it won't be warmed up before switching it off. Seriously how long does that take you?

 

[Seastormer]

2miles commute? Not heard of walking or cycling? You're probably doing more damage to the engine than good as it won't be warmed up before switching it off. Seriously how long does that take you?

Not to mention the pollution to the world your causing, get a bike you lazy b*****d

 

[MLC4200]

I've just done 8 miles get to work and my engine was barely above 80 degrees, I know it was around freezing but if you're only doing two miles the egr will be knackered.

 

[Evilnim]

Guys! No need to be so aggressive. There might be reasons to commute to work by car. For example my commute is only 4 miles, and I try to cycle or walk when I can, but often my work requires me to travel elsewhere from my workplace. The distance is too far to cycle/walk, and public transport routes are rubbish, to the extent it would take me three times as long as driving, which I can't justify in terms of spending time not working. So there is little choice but to drive.

Thanks everyone for their input here anyway. At least I now know I need a 15-20 mile trip every few weeks for the dpf regen.

 

[MarkBeatty72]

Guys! No need to be so aggressive. There might be reasons to commute to work by car. For example my commute is only 4 miles, and I try to cycle or walk when I can, but often my work requires me to travel elsewhere from my workplace. The distance is too far to cycle/walk, and public transport routes are rubbish, to the extent it would take me three times as long as driving, which I can't justify in terms of spending time not working. So there is little choice but to drive.

Thanks everyone for their input here anyway. At least I now know I need a 15-20 mile trip every few weeks for the dpf regen.

Evilnim - Did you dealer not mention this to you. I'm in a similar situation - 18 miles return commute daily and probably only 200-250 miles per week. Sometimes i will notice it doing an active regen on a weekly basis, sometimes wont notice it for a couple of weeks.

I kinda wish the dealer mentioned this prior to purchasing, considering he did ask for my typical mileage per annum so he could set the service intervals. Not sure I would have changed my mind and gone for a different engine but it would have nice to know.

 

[andrewpain]

I must say that this DDPF regen issue has been a concern for me for a while, as I work from home and quite often only need to do a 5-10 mile drive to the shops, recycling centre or doctors every few days (I live in the sticks with no local facilities). Some weeks the car only does 50 miles, others its 500 if I have to make a visit somewhere.
The dealer never mentioned mileage at all before I bought it, although to be fair I did go in with a definite idea in mind for the 184, and was trading in a merc 320CDi!
but the info on here has at least enlightened me, and I know what the reason is, and what I ought to do - drive my wife's car for the local stuff.....

 

[easybreeze80]

I was told that if you're only going to be doing short journeys then a diesel isn't for you, I think they recommend you drive it for at least 15 minutes to allow it to get up to temperature to avoid DPF problems, otherwise a petrol would be a better choice.

I had the fan noise when I stopped a few days ago and thought the engine must have been too hot, so good to know it's normal... Strange for me though as my journey to work is 35 miles so I wouldn't have expected it to do this at the end of my journey - not worried though

 

[Seastormer]

Guys! No need to be so aggressive. There might be reasons to commute to work by car. For example my commute is only 4 miles, and I try to cycle or walk when I can, but often my work requires me to travel elsewhere from my workplace. The distance is too far to cycle/walk, and public transport routes are rubbish, to the extent it would take me three times as long as driving, which I can't justify in terms of spending time not working. So there is little choice but to drive.

Thanks everyone for their input here anyway. At least I now know I need a 15-20 mile trip every few weeks for the dpf regen.

Yeh but 4m is double that distance, I'm an old bugger and I can walk 2m no bother, I would not even get the pushbike out to go that short trip, what's wrong with folk today, no wonder there are so many fat buggers about, costing the NHS a packet too.

 

[andrewpain]

let's be honest - if somebody's that fat/old/both they're not going to buy or get in a Leon....isn't that what peugeots and hyundai are for?

 

[Evilnim]

Evilnim - Did you dealer not mention this to you. I'm in a similar situation - 18 miles return commute daily and probably only 200-250 miles per week. Sometimes i will notice it doing an active regen on a weekly basis, sometimes wont notice it for a couple of weeks.

I kinda wish the dealer mentioned this prior to purchasing, considering he did ask for my typical mileage per annum so he could set the service intervals. Not sure I would have changed my mind and gone for a different engine but it would have nice to know.

Got mine used. The dealer never mentioned anything about it. A bit annoying to be honest. Still, after not being sure about selling up my 320d and getting the Leon (for a number of reasons), I can safely say that I absolutely love it. I'd love it more if my wife hadn't reversed her car (which has parking sensors AND a camera) into it within the first week, as my cheapest quote to repair the right rear panel is £1000!

 

[cptSparko]

DPF and EGR issues were the main cause for me trading my 320d BMW for a 1.8tsi ST FR. Car was fine when I did lots of miles, but change of circumstance and my miles dropped. That's when it got expensive cleaning/resetting/fixing/replacing parts! I only do about 5k miles a year and cycle the 15miles to work. These problems have been around years but the dealers don't like to mention them. IMHO all these little diesel city cars will die an early DPF-related death

 

[JK1]

So much rage about someone's commute to work!

 

[cptSparko]

So much rage about someone's commute to work!

Ha ha. Kittens, p#rn and ranting at strangers; Welcome to the internet

Dealers should be mentioning the dpf issues/features (not just SEAT).

 

[p.eco]

this is driving me crazy when dealers are not mention about DPF to their customers. here in Ireland everybody buying diesel cars because cheep tax. and 80% are driving in city short journies. when i was buying mine 1.8TSI dealer said it is 1 petrol ST they sold since it came to the market - 7 months! unbelievable.

 

[dsr]

let's be honest - if somebody's that fat/old/both they're not going to buy or get in a Leon....isn't that what peugeots and hyundai are for?

The problem with generalisations again. I may not be obese at well under 12 stone and well over 6 feet, but my 70th birthday looms. Can't wait to get my 184 TDI though and already thinking about remapping, or similar. Please don't write off the oldies!

 

[MLC4200]

I'm not being aggressive just astonished that someone commutes just two miles in a car. I'd walk it, it's a personal choice. I sometimes take my other car to work for the 8mile commute but I take the long route to ensure it's had a good run. As for pollution it puts out 430g per km so the trees get fed.