I have a 2010 Seat Ibiza 1.6TDI CR Sport (53500 miles, regular service, Engine J623-CAYC) with a problem with the DPF. I’ve listed the symptoms below in case anyone knows what the fix is and following that a more detailed history.
Any advice / suggestions on what the cause(s) might be would be greatly appreciated.
Basically when the DPF needs to regenerate the car produces lots of white/light grey smoke about a mile after a cold start well before it has warmed up. The engine water temperature is around 50-60C when the smoke starts. The smoke lasts until the engine/exhaust warms up and then stops. There is never any white smoke when the DPF does not want to regenerate so I believe it’s related to the DPF regeneration cycle. If it’s a warm start (even if the DFP regeneration cycle did not complete on the previous run) no smoke is produced so it appears to be temperature related. The distance between these smoke/regeneration events is about 200-250 miles. The car only started producing smoke at regeneration times in the last 18 months.
I’ve had the car in the local Seat garage a few months ago and they charged me £90 to tell me that there were no fault codes and nothing wrong but advised me “to bring it back if it’s still not working correctly” and for another £90 they will check it over again.
I checked the car today and there are two fault codes but they may not be related to this problem although given the mileage the first one was reported very recently.
7337 - EGR System
P0401 00 [096] - Insufficient Flow
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 2
Mileage: 85294 km
Date: 2067.14.25
Time: 12:48:50
00910 - Indicator Lamp for Emergency Flashers (K6)
007 - Short to Ground
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100111
Fault Priority: 3
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 122
Mileage: 83979 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2002.14.13
Time: 14:52:52
I checked all the indicator bulbs and they were working OK.
I’ve rationalised the problem to be the engine sending the diesel into the DPF before it is up to temperature thus it is only partially burnt giving rise to the whitish smoke. On a warm start the DFP is still warm / at a higher temperature so the diesel burns cleaner and so no smoke.
Has anyone get the same problem or does anyone know what is causing the problem and what needs to be changed / fixed?
The full history of this goes back about 3 years. I was driving a short (8miles) distance from home along the motorway from a cold start and just as I left the motorway the regenerate light came on (which it had done occasionally previously) so I wasn’t too concerned. I kept driving on A roads for another few miles during which the glow plugs light started flashing on the dashboard. I parked up at my destination. When I restarted the car the engine symbol (fault in the emission control system) came on and the car went into limp mode. I took it along to a local mechanic I know and he checked it over. His diagnostic unit told him the DPF was empty and it drove like it was empty. He forced to car to do a regeneration cycle but the engine symbol was still illuminated on the dashboard. The only way he could reset it was to tell the car that it had had a new DPF fitted.
After this the car was OK for 18 months and then one time coming back from work on the motorway the DPF light was on. I kept driving past my usual junction to give the car chance to complete the DPF regeneration but instead the glow plugs light came on followed by the engine symbol and after stopping the car went into limp mode when I restarted it. I went back to the mechanic I know and he reset the limp mode again by telling the car it had a new DPF fitted. Looking back I realise now I probably should have driven in lower gear to regenerate the DPF but if Seat did not see fit to tell customers this how can customers do this?
The same thing happened about 3 months later and after getting it reset by my local mechanic I booked it into the local Seat main dealer to get it looked at. Their conclusion, which cost me £90, was that there was nothing wrong with it. The car had done a regeneration on the way to the main dealer (30 miles on motorway) which was probably a good thing as they said they would have charged me another £90 if they had needed to do a forced regeneration. The only thing they found was that the DPF was recording a negative soot mass. I assume this is because when my local mechanic told the engine management system that a new DPF had been fitted (although the same one was still in) it would take the current level of soot as being the empty level. Subsequently when driving to the garage and doing a regeneration cycle if the level of soot fell below the level it was when the engine was told it was a new empty DPF the level of soot could go negative. To garage set the level of soot back to a small positive number however this and the fact that I can get the car to regenerate by driving in a lower gear does tend to indicate that the DPF is working.
While at the garage I asked for some information on how to drive the car to do a successful regeneration. The service guy assured me this information was in the manual but after I got it from the car and he examining it he concluded that it was not. All the manual says is that if the driving conditions don’t allow the DPF to clean itself the DPF light will come on. Nothing about what driving conditions are needed to start or complete a regeneration cycle. He said that he would follow this up with Seat but when I went back to ask apparently Seat had no information on how to drive the engine in my car to reset the DPF. His only advice was to drive the car at high revs (3000) when it needed to do a regeneration to heat up the DPF but that he couldn’t recommend this to me as he didn’t want to be responsible if the engine blew up.
The situation now is that the car is attempting to do a regeneration about every 200-250 miles after the last regeneration. I don’t know if this is a typical regeneration cycle distance or not? When the car wants to do a regeneration and starts from cold after about 1 mile lots of white smoke is produced which stops once the engine/exhaust is up to temperature. If I keep driving after this (even along the motorway in 4th gear for enough distance to complete the regeneration) the DPF does not regenerate. However if after the engine has warmed up I stop for 5 minutes (I turn engine off) and then drive along the motorway (in 4th gear) the DPF is able to regenerate. Using this technique (initial run to warn up, stop, motorway run in 4th) I can get the DPF to regenerate before the DPF light comes on.
It’s fairly obvious when the car wants to regenerate (other than the white smoke out the rear) as the engine gets bumpy. Often when the car wants to regenerate if I slow down for a road junction before the engine has fully warmed up the engine cuts out. Sometimes the exhaust system seems to make a rattling sound but the car has done that since new. The engine also sometimes sounds like it is pinking, even my local mechanic commented on this. I’ve tried the shell nitro+ but this does not seem to stop the pinking. I’ve never been impressed by the mpg of this car. My old 2000/W plate 1.9TDI seat Ibiza gave much better mpg.
It seems to me like the engine is injecting the diesel that should burn in the DPF before the exhaust has warmed up so that it is only partially burnt giving rise to the white smoke. Hopefully this is just a sensor problem although presumably the Seat garage would have tested these when they concluded that there was nothing wrong?
My daily run from home (cold start) is 1.2m to the motorway which is generally clear of traffic holdups (1mile of 30mph and 0.2miles 50mph – smoke starts to occur on the 0.2bit and continues onto the motorway), 9 miles on the motorway and then 3.7 miles on 40mph roads where there are quite a few traffic lights. If I do a warm start from home when the DPF light is on it normally completes the regeneration and the DPF light goes out just before I reach my normal motorway turnoff. On the way home (cold start) if it wants to regenerate the smoke starts to appear after about 1-1.5 miles. If it needs to regenerate I usually stop just before the motorway and wait 5 minutes with the engine turned off. A run down the motorway in 4th gear at 65mph (around 2500 revs) is usually sufficient to clear the DPF.
Please let me know if any additional information would be useful?
Any advice / suggestions on what the cause(s) might be would be greatly appreciated.
Basically when the DPF needs to regenerate the car produces lots of white/light grey smoke about a mile after a cold start well before it has warmed up. The engine water temperature is around 50-60C when the smoke starts. The smoke lasts until the engine/exhaust warms up and then stops. There is never any white smoke when the DPF does not want to regenerate so I believe it’s related to the DPF regeneration cycle. If it’s a warm start (even if the DFP regeneration cycle did not complete on the previous run) no smoke is produced so it appears to be temperature related. The distance between these smoke/regeneration events is about 200-250 miles. The car only started producing smoke at regeneration times in the last 18 months.
I’ve had the car in the local Seat garage a few months ago and they charged me £90 to tell me that there were no fault codes and nothing wrong but advised me “to bring it back if it’s still not working correctly” and for another £90 they will check it over again.
I checked the car today and there are two fault codes but they may not be related to this problem although given the mileage the first one was reported very recently.
7337 - EGR System
P0401 00 [096] - Insufficient Flow
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00000001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 2
Mileage: 85294 km
Date: 2067.14.25
Time: 12:48:50
00910 - Indicator Lamp for Emergency Flashers (K6)
007 - Short to Ground
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100111
Fault Priority: 3
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 122
Mileage: 83979 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2002.14.13
Time: 14:52:52
I checked all the indicator bulbs and they were working OK.
I’ve rationalised the problem to be the engine sending the diesel into the DPF before it is up to temperature thus it is only partially burnt giving rise to the whitish smoke. On a warm start the DFP is still warm / at a higher temperature so the diesel burns cleaner and so no smoke.
Has anyone get the same problem or does anyone know what is causing the problem and what needs to be changed / fixed?
The full history of this goes back about 3 years. I was driving a short (8miles) distance from home along the motorway from a cold start and just as I left the motorway the regenerate light came on (which it had done occasionally previously) so I wasn’t too concerned. I kept driving on A roads for another few miles during which the glow plugs light started flashing on the dashboard. I parked up at my destination. When I restarted the car the engine symbol (fault in the emission control system) came on and the car went into limp mode. I took it along to a local mechanic I know and he checked it over. His diagnostic unit told him the DPF was empty and it drove like it was empty. He forced to car to do a regeneration cycle but the engine symbol was still illuminated on the dashboard. The only way he could reset it was to tell the car that it had had a new DPF fitted.
After this the car was OK for 18 months and then one time coming back from work on the motorway the DPF light was on. I kept driving past my usual junction to give the car chance to complete the DPF regeneration but instead the glow plugs light came on followed by the engine symbol and after stopping the car went into limp mode when I restarted it. I went back to the mechanic I know and he reset the limp mode again by telling the car it had a new DPF fitted. Looking back I realise now I probably should have driven in lower gear to regenerate the DPF but if Seat did not see fit to tell customers this how can customers do this?
The same thing happened about 3 months later and after getting it reset by my local mechanic I booked it into the local Seat main dealer to get it looked at. Their conclusion, which cost me £90, was that there was nothing wrong with it. The car had done a regeneration on the way to the main dealer (30 miles on motorway) which was probably a good thing as they said they would have charged me another £90 if they had needed to do a forced regeneration. The only thing they found was that the DPF was recording a negative soot mass. I assume this is because when my local mechanic told the engine management system that a new DPF had been fitted (although the same one was still in) it would take the current level of soot as being the empty level. Subsequently when driving to the garage and doing a regeneration cycle if the level of soot fell below the level it was when the engine was told it was a new empty DPF the level of soot could go negative. To garage set the level of soot back to a small positive number however this and the fact that I can get the car to regenerate by driving in a lower gear does tend to indicate that the DPF is working.
While at the garage I asked for some information on how to drive the car to do a successful regeneration. The service guy assured me this information was in the manual but after I got it from the car and he examining it he concluded that it was not. All the manual says is that if the driving conditions don’t allow the DPF to clean itself the DPF light will come on. Nothing about what driving conditions are needed to start or complete a regeneration cycle. He said that he would follow this up with Seat but when I went back to ask apparently Seat had no information on how to drive the engine in my car to reset the DPF. His only advice was to drive the car at high revs (3000) when it needed to do a regeneration to heat up the DPF but that he couldn’t recommend this to me as he didn’t want to be responsible if the engine blew up.
The situation now is that the car is attempting to do a regeneration about every 200-250 miles after the last regeneration. I don’t know if this is a typical regeneration cycle distance or not? When the car wants to do a regeneration and starts from cold after about 1 mile lots of white smoke is produced which stops once the engine/exhaust is up to temperature. If I keep driving after this (even along the motorway in 4th gear for enough distance to complete the regeneration) the DPF does not regenerate. However if after the engine has warmed up I stop for 5 minutes (I turn engine off) and then drive along the motorway (in 4th gear) the DPF is able to regenerate. Using this technique (initial run to warn up, stop, motorway run in 4th) I can get the DPF to regenerate before the DPF light comes on.
It’s fairly obvious when the car wants to regenerate (other than the white smoke out the rear) as the engine gets bumpy. Often when the car wants to regenerate if I slow down for a road junction before the engine has fully warmed up the engine cuts out. Sometimes the exhaust system seems to make a rattling sound but the car has done that since new. The engine also sometimes sounds like it is pinking, even my local mechanic commented on this. I’ve tried the shell nitro+ but this does not seem to stop the pinking. I’ve never been impressed by the mpg of this car. My old 2000/W plate 1.9TDI seat Ibiza gave much better mpg.
It seems to me like the engine is injecting the diesel that should burn in the DPF before the exhaust has warmed up so that it is only partially burnt giving rise to the white smoke. Hopefully this is just a sensor problem although presumably the Seat garage would have tested these when they concluded that there was nothing wrong?
My daily run from home (cold start) is 1.2m to the motorway which is generally clear of traffic holdups (1mile of 30mph and 0.2miles 50mph – smoke starts to occur on the 0.2bit and continues onto the motorway), 9 miles on the motorway and then 3.7 miles on 40mph roads where there are quite a few traffic lights. If I do a warm start from home when the DPF light is on it normally completes the regeneration and the DPF light goes out just before I reach my normal motorway turnoff. On the way home (cold start) if it wants to regenerate the smoke starts to appear after about 1-1.5 miles. If it needs to regenerate I usually stop just before the motorway and wait 5 minutes with the engine turned off. A run down the motorway in 4th gear at 65mph (around 2500 revs) is usually sufficient to clear the DPF.
Please let me know if any additional information would be useful?
