Blackpool illuminations on the dash - DPF and more

[BuZZarD73]

Less than 2 months ago, I pretty much swapped my Nissan 350z for a used Leon TDi FR (£405 road tax, £200 a tyre, 20mpg - no-brainer!).

Monday this week, the DPF light came on (a week after doing 250 miles on the A1 the previous weekend when the DPF came on for a short while) followed closely by the exhaust light.
I took it on to the motorway to clear the DPF but the only thing that happened was it went into limp mode and meant I was slowing trucks down on any slight incline!

I did 40 miles on the motoway and all 3 lights remain on (the engine light flashing) but the car continued to drive perfectly (except for the rev limiter killing any chance of tackling hills).

As it was out of warranty, I took it to my local garage who used to do my 350z but he didn't have the machine to effectively diagnose this particular engine.

My question is, do I need to take it to a dealer (none conveniently near me) or can somewhere like nationwide or Kwik Fit (ugh) do the job?

I need the car for work and can't be without it - particularly next week.
If it is a sensor, how much are we looking at?

Cheers.

 

[crigisback]

i think its a main dealer issue as they have to turn the lights off. The one in nottingham did it for the customer at cost as a goodwill gesture. Try talking to your local seat dealer vey nicely! Good luck

 

[SeanCorky]

Local SEAT dealer or an independant VAG garage should sort it for probably half the price

 

[robin cur]

when you get it done would be interested in the price

 

[SimonFRTDI]

This happened to me once not long after buying the car, I was told it was the exhaust pressure sensor and was replaced under warranty. At the same time I had an issue with the fusebox (it melted itself and shorted out all the electrics whilst driving)

may not be related, but since this was replacedi have had no problems and no dpf regenerations.

There is also some info about an ecu update on briskoda forum which may be useful. IIRC it is the update which is rumoured to remap to lower bhp...

 

[Sooty torques]

Yep - best do a search on DPF issues and remedies. Loads of stuff on here, in the TDI section too (mainly?).

Usually is exhaust pressure sensor = common fault. When you have the job done, ask for an ecu software upgrade if not done already. As said, VAG independent is best, followed by Skoda dealer, who are often cheaper... Taking it on the motorway for a blast is not the best idea (not saying you did of course). If first light comes on, best to switch on all electrical loads and then drive at around 2K rpm in 4th or 5th until everything is nice and hot. This usually works. If all lights are on then its a garage job, sadly.

 

[BuZZarD73]

Cheers guys.

I took it to an independant VAG garage this morning and they talked about the pressure sensor possibly being to blame.
They suggested I take it to the SEAT dealer to have replaced and force a regen.

They said it neededto be the dealer as it requires a software update and they are the only people who can do it.
Unfortunately, they aren't open until monday and there's no way I can get to them as I have a crucial work deadline on monday. However, I may be near a VW/Audi dealer next week - would they be able to apply the update?
Or, there is a local specialist who carries out remaps - would they have the facilities?

 

[Poverty]

Take it that the car wasnt a SEAT approved buy? Might be worthwhile deleting the DPF once you get it fixed.

 

[BuZZarD73]

I bought it privately and had the car checked out properly prior to purchase - all was well.

The trouble is that I do a week or two of shortish journeys (25-30 mile a day) then a week of motorway driving which I expected would balance it out evenly.
I didn't want to drop too much BHP and torque after bing used to the 350z and wanted a diesel - so the Leon seemed logical.

What do you mean by deleting the DPF?

 

[robin cur]

I think you have the DPF removed and have a new pipe put in then remaped, up to about 230 to 245 bhp and you also get about 10 mpg more.
A lot of threads about this would be worth doing a search.

 

[BuZZarD73]

Spent all day today reading forum posts on bypassing the DPF.
It seems like the only way to go due to the massive amount of issues DPF is causing although it doesn't address the issues that the frequently failing sensors cause.

Having only recently purchased the car and not too keen on forking out another £820 (or having the time to go have it done at the moment), I'm a bit limited.

I can live with the DPF as long as it works properly but the sensor issue is a concern - if I replace the sensor, do I get a 12 month guarantee with it?

I now only have two warning lights on the dash - the EML and DPF. The exhaust light went off earlier today. Is regen possible with the EML lit (flashing yellow) and would this resolve everything if it's not a faulty sensor?

 

[OLDOILER]

Spent all day today reading forum posts on bypassing the DPF.
It seems like the only way to go due to the massive amount of issues DPF is causing although it doesn't address the issues that the frequently failing sensors cause.

Having only recently purchased the car and not too keen on forking out another £820 (or having the time to go have it done at the moment), I'm a bit limited.

I can live with the DPF as long as it works properly but the sensor issue is a concern - if I replace the sensor, do I get a 12 month guarantee with it?

I now only have two warning lights on the dash - the EML and DPF. The exhaust light went off earlier today. Is regen possible with the EML lit (flashing yellow) and would this resolve everything if it's not a faulty sensor?

Don't know your car's passed history, but ALL VAG Marque DPF diesels should have now be fitted with ceramic coated sensors - these are much more robust than the original designs I think costs thro the dealerships are around £60.00 ea. Check with one of our sponsers Ted Johnson, give him you car reg and he should be able to give a good price for you. ...............................good luck