DPF Info - All CR-TDI Owners Should Read This

[nightflight]

because the DPF gets very hot when doing a regen, the fans stay on to help cool it and avoid it setting fire to anything under your car.

The burning smell is the smell of the soot being burnt off.

It won't drain your battery.

 

[R22 JGB]

Anyone know of a kit for removing the DPF? I know I can't do it whilst the car is under warranty, but the whole DPF thing is crap. My car seems to be forever doing regens and the car is most unpleasant to drive whilst a regen is being done.

Driving up a 60MPH A road today on cruise at 60 mph, the car started to accelerate & decelerate as if the throtlle was being opened or closed. I guessed it was a passive regen, dropped the car into netral, sure enough tickover at 1000 rpm. The quicker I get this binned the better!
I know a kit will consist of a bit of pipe replacing the DPF, the ECU will also need seeing to!

 

[skeat12]

Your revs will always be around 1k whilst moving, I think there's a road speed sensor that keeps the revs up until you actually come to a stop.

Maybe it' the 1.6 but my engine runs fine when doing a passive regen, none of this lumpy tick over or rough running.

 

[markmeus]

Your revs will always be around 1k whilst moving, I think there's a road speed sensor that keeps the revs up until you actually come to a stop.

Maybe it' the 1.6 but my engine runs fine when doing a passive regen, none of this lumpy tick over or rough running.

Never experienced anything like that with my 1.6 - never felt it do a regen, or had a DPF light in 11,000 miles. And yes I'm sure it's a TDI

 

[Biker]

Never experienced anything like that with my 1.6 - never felt it do a regen, or had a DPF light in 11,000 miles. And yes I'm sure it's a TDI

In 10,000 miles I have noticed the car do one regen and in fairness it wasn't really any inconvinience. As far as my experience with a car fitted with a DPF goes, all I can say is "what DPF"

 

[R22 JGB]

In 10,000 miles I have noticed the car do one regen and in fairness it wasn't really any inconvinience. As far as my experience with a car fitted with a DPF goes, all I can say is "what DPF"

24 active regens in 8.5k miles!!!! and it is unpleasant to drive during a regen

 

[The_Loony]

Driving up a 60MPH A road today on cruise at 60 mph, the car started to accelerate & decelerate as if the throtlle was being opened or closed. I guessed it was a passive regen, dropped the car into netral, sure enough tickover at 1000 rpm. The quicker I get this binned the better!

I have this problem on my fiesta 1.6TDCI (59 plate no dpf) found out the cause was the aircon compressor cutting in and out, which gives the symptoms as above and made it seem the car is lurching on the gas off the gas. it happened when the window was down then I heard the compressor clicking as it took power from the engine then click again as it disengaged, now when it happens I switch the climate off then back on and sorted.

 

[R22 JGB]

I have this problem on my fiesta 1.6TDCI (59 plate no dpf) found out the cause was the aircon compressor cutting in and out, which gives the symptoms as above and made it seem the car is lurching on the gas off the gas. it happened when the window was down then I heard the compressor clicking as it took power from the engine then click again as it disengaged, now when it happens I switch the climate off then back on and sorted.

Hi
It is not the air con on the Ibiza, I rarely use it. The problem I have is definitely the #'king DPF!!

 

[l60n cr]

hi can anyone help, 2 days ago the ecu light came on took it to a garage read the unit said it was the exhaust pressure sensor, cleared the light next day started up light on again did 10 miles to work parked it up, today on route to a garage the dpf light has come on! any ideas are the two problems linked? help would be much appreciated regards lee

 

[nightflight]

May be linked, in that if the DPF was partially blocked then the exhaust pressure would be increased due to restricted exhaust gas flow through the DPF?

However i had an issue with the wire for one of the exhaust sensors shorting out/melting through due to it coming into contact with the exhaust itself.

Best bet is to do a DPF regen run as per the manual before you do anything else.

 

[rji]

A couple of questions about the original information supplied by Volkswagen Technical Support Specialist David Bodily.

On each regeneration or attempted regeneration, a certain diesel fuel amount is injected into the engine oil

Why is diesel fuel injected into the engine oil?

ALWAYS, check your oil before any long journey, as DPF regeneration can use a fair bit of oil.

How does a DPF regeneration use engine oil?

It is becoming clear that I don't understand exactly what is going on during the DPF regeneration:
How it causes rough idling.
Why some people report it is a pig to drive during a regen.
Why the idle revs are 1000 to 1500 rpm.
How and why a regen uses egine oil.
Why diesel fuel is injected into the engine oil.
How much is the engine oil degraded by having diesel fuel injected into it.
How much is the engine life reduced by always running with diesel fuel in the engine oil.
How much diesel fuel is actually used during a regeneration.
How often should the regens happen.
Is the diesel fuel used by a regen measured and included in the trip computer calculations.

And finally:

Not recommended for sale in the Channel Islands and inner city driving.

Was anyone asked if they were going to use it only for inner city driving before they bought it?

 

[ashleyp91]

does anyone know what the effect of re-mapping does to the DPF, Ive read that remapping the 2.0TDI CR can make it a bit more smoky so will it constantly be doing regens?? If so whats the point of the map as the regen's will make it a pig to drive and impossible to use the extra power??

 

[ashleyp91]

A couple of questions about the original information supplied by Volkswagen Technical Support Specialist David Bodily.


Why is diesel fuel injected into the engine oil?


How does a DPF regeneration use engine oil?

It is becoming clear that I don't understand exactly what is going on during the DPF regeneration:
How it causes rough idling.
Why some people report it is a pig to drive during a regen.
Why the idle revs are 1000 to 1500 rpm.
How and why a regen uses egine oil.
Why diesel fuel is injected into the engine oil.
How much is the engine oil degraded by having diesel fuel injected into it.
How much is the engine life reduced by always running with diesel fuel in the engine oil.
How much diesel fuel is actually used during a regeneration.
How often should the regens happen.
Is the diesel fuel used by a regen measured and included in the trip computer calculations.

And finally:

Was anyone asked if they were going to use it only for inner city driving before they bought it?

On the part of SEAT, I think they are finally realising they need to point out these DPF problems to potential buyers. I went to test drive the 2.0TDI FR a couple of weeks ago and the first thing they asked is what type of driving I do, and the manager briefly explained the process of DPF regens etc. obviously its costing SEAT a lot of money...

 

[skeat12]

does anyone know what the effect of re-mapping does to the DPF, Ive read that remapping the 2.0TDI CR can make it a bit more smoky so will it constantly be doing regens?? If so whats the point of the map as the regen's will make it a pig to drive and impossible to use the extra power??

What DPF problems

 

[rji]

Our 1.6 TDi has done less than 4,500 miles and has done a lot of regens. When it was new and I didn't know about the DPF and regens it seemed to be idling at 1,000 rpm and running a regen for most of the time. Sometimes after more than 20 minutes of fairly fast driving it hadn't stopped.

The regens must get interrupted a lot because we can't tell when they are running except by checking the idle speed. Sometimes for days at a time it seems to be running regens. On some occasions when I have taken it for a high speed run to make sure the regen completes I found that it started another one after about another 10 minutes.

I discovered a document "Performance and durability of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s DPF System on a Taxi Fleet in the Paris Area". It is the only document I have found that gives any indication of how often a regen should occur and now much fuel it uses.

The chart for the Peugeot Citroën’s DPF shows there is an icrease in fuel consumption from 0.68 to 0.87 (approx) during a regen, that's an incease of 28%. Once every 400 to 600 km for 10 or 15 minutes is a relatively small amount. But when the regens are happening far more frequently sometimes more than once a day and for most if not all of a short journey it becomes a much more significant amount. I have never had a DPF light even though short journeys appear to be preventing regens from completing properly. It just keeps doing the regens on its own (and the mpg is crap).

 

[rji]

Particulate Filters Check

The service manual states:

Every 180,000 km (120,000 miles)
Particulate Filters Check (TDi Common Rail engines).

Does anyone know how the DPF is checked. Does it have to be physically removed from the car before it can be checked?

 

[nightflight]

A couple of questions about the original information supplied by Volkswagen Technical Support Specialist David Bodily.

As i understand matters... if anone knows otherwise please point me right

Why is diesel fuel injected into the engine oil?
Diesel is injected into the engine on the exhaust stroke in order to raise the exhaust gas temperature sufficiently to burn off the accumulated soot in the dpf. (hence why it sounds like it's misfiring, it basically is)

How does a DPF regeneration use engine oil?
It doesn't, but when the extra diesel is injected during the exhaust stroke, some of it doesn't ignite, and thus drains into the sump, mixes with the oil and dilutes the oil with diesel.


How it causes rough idling.
[speculation] By raising the idle revs to 1000rpm, it hits the resonant frequency of the engine mounts, and thus they don't damp the engine vibration as well as they do at normal idle speeds, transmitting engine vibration through to the rest of the car.
plus By injecting diesel during the exhaust stroke it's basically misfiring.

Why some people report it is a pig to drive during a regen.
sometimes mines nasty, sometimes mine feels more responsive

Why the idle revs are 1000 to 1500 rpm.
To increase the exhuast gas temperature

How and why a regen uses egine oil.
See above

Why diesel fuel is injected into the engine oil.
see above

How much is the engine oil degraded by having diesel fuel injected into it.
pass, can't be good for it though, and it's not advised to run with more than the "Max" levle of oil in the engine, my engine uses naff all oil, or at least, if it does, it gets replaced by diesel thanks to regens. my oil levle has always been above the max level, but i'm loath to drain some out given that it's diluted

How much is the engine life reduced by always running with diesel fuel in the engine oil.
hopefully not that much but who knows. probably best to do more frequent oil changes to alleviate

How much diesel fuel is actually used during a regeneration.
pass, though i've noticed fuel economy decreases when it's trying

How often should the regens happen.
depends how you're driving, they should occur when the soot level in the dpf reaches a preset amount (40% springs to mind?) obviously if you boot it in a high gear or don't reach operating temps inorder for passive regeneration to occur it'll be needed mroe often

Is the diesel fuel used by a regen measured and included in the trip computer calculations.
i would presume so

 

[NetworkMan]

A Correction
It's possible that readers are confused by the original posting above since only the text up to and including the second bullet point after "Important Information" relates to Seat Ibiza DPF filters. The rest almost certainly relates to Vauxhall. It does in the original posting on the Honest John site! (I believe I supplied the original link!)

 

[jemimabell]

Hi All,

I'm so glad I found this site and even more specifically this thread!

I'm really at my wits end with this DPF - I'm driving the 1.6 TDi CR ibiza and have had it for about 15 months. I was told when I bought it about this brilliant filter that'll bring my tax down and not to worry about it, that I'd see it once in a blue moon. The car is on the motorway practically everyday and the journeys haven't changed since I got the car and at the start I hardly saw the light - now when I fuel up the light will come between that and the next fuel up, so pretty much every week. I drive through the regen process and sometimes it will take up to 45 mins over 2k on the motorway to clear the light. Then last week the light wouldn't clear and stranded me on the way to an exam and off to the dealership it went to be cleared. After about 2 hours of 'discussions' on it I was told there was no fault and basically told it was the 'driving style' of the car (i.e. me) and refused to even entertain that there may be anything wrong with the amount of times the light comes on as 'the computer said' there was no problems. The AA guy says that it sounds like the sensors were faulty and the car itself wasn't kicking in to clear the soot quickly enough

I guess I'm asking if there's anything I should be doing e.g. complaining about the DSF to SEAT or is there anything new about there being a problem with the DSF system that would give me more confidence to call the dealership out to the possibility as we're at a stalemate with it. Missing an exam was bad enough but I look after a disabled mother and now have no confidence in the car....

 

[NetworkMan]

The AA guy says that it sounds like the sensors were faulty and the car itself wasn't kicking in to clear the soot quickly enough

Since your driving pattern hasn't changed much a possibly more likely explanation is that the car is reporting DPF clogging when there isn't any.

I wish I could help more. I'd complain about it again, stressing that you are doing the same journeys as before and that it wasn't originally a problem.