DPF - anything to pull out from VCDS to advise on % clogged or how much life is left?

[c3nturi0n]

like majority of users on this forum i guess you think 'wish i never bought the damn...'... excellent cars but reliability and running costs of new(er) diesels from 2006+ is nowhere near to justify the spend (over petrols). Enough of that and to the point... i need some advice and was wondering does anyone know is it possible with VCDS to find out if ( and how much) the DPF filter is clogged up and more importantly how much more life is left in it?

SYMPTOMS: hesitation on acceleration, regular regen's plus the fact that i mainly use it in London for short trips of 3-5miles it definitely does not help.


Much appreciated...

 

[c4a5er]

there's some MVB info for PD engines here..

Diesel Particle Filter Emergency Regeneration - Ross-Tech Wiki

 

[c3nturi0n]

what a nightmare to say the least... so the answer is simply - if you use the car for short trips and city driving DO NOT (under any circumstances) buy a diesel ! After all this public transport under rush hour seems a better proposition... Thanks for your feedback btw!

one last point... does anyone have any experience or had anyone tried to physically remove -> clean -> and put back the DPF? or once they reach high % of clog they are effectively useless?

 

[a6_chris]

Does your car have a DPF? Check the data sticker in the spare wheel well for code 7GN, if 7GN is there then you have no DPF, if you see 7GG then you do have one.

 

[c3nturi0n]

it certainly does... massive grey lumpy cylinder almost half size of the engine ! And just had that lovely message on the dash to regen the bl()()dy thing - Mr Wynn's in combination with Shell VPower diesel married to M40's tarmac will hopefully take care of that (for now).

ps. i wish i didn't sell my E60 530d w/o DPF - so much more easier to live with .

 

[a6_chris]

DPFs don't cause any problems if you look after them. My A3 has one and I've had zero issues in the 70k/2yrs I've had it.

 

[c3nturi0n]

not sure what exactly you meant by '...look after them'?

i do regular servicing on the car (every 8k miles max with all filters + synthetic oil according to Audi's spec - e.g. they do it), car is driven in London which is not ideal but i do do regular (once a month at least) motorway runs to ensure it remains in 'fit for use' state plus anything else that one needs outside of earlier mentioned she gets... so not sure what much more I (and owners alike) can do to keep one afloat.

I bought one hence i i'd want to have troublefree motoring (within reason)... not like you buy pair of sunglasses and have to check each and every time you would want to wear them is it 22 degrees centigrade or 22.5 or perhaps 21.9. Don't get me wrong but what car manufacturers have done to diesels to meet the damn Euro emissions is simply shambles... they were better of to tell the Yanks and Chinese to start meeting Euro 3 (or equivalent thereabouts) and stop di+*ing around with embrio of motoring industry (which is in Europe). e.g. they don't give a crap about it and let's us lead the way (read: muppets that have to be first or laughing stock for other that do it 'their own way').

apologies for voicing my opinion but some things are not right with newer diesels and neither manufacturers nor governing bodies are willing to admit that...

 

[Brodster]

Theres the problem then.....the car is used in London and only once a month on a motorway........city cars and DPF's do not go as they dont get a chance to heat up properly and maintain the speeds necessary to keep the DPF filter from clogging.

 

[leegsi]

You should be able to do a forced regen or you can take then off, pour alloy wheel acid down it and leave it a few days then jet wash it backwards.

 

[c3nturi0n]

That's what I thought of... Has anyone done and would it work?

Something that I noticed is every now and then car pops over 1000rpm mark... Guess it's most likely regen related?

 

[c4a5er]

If you've identified that your problems are actually DPF related then it would probably make more sense to trade it in in favour of a petrol engined motor. What's the point of throwing money at this one if these issues are only going only reoccur later?

 

[c3nturi0n]

If you've identified that your problems are actually DPF related then it would probably make more sense to trade it in in favour of a petrol engined motor. What's the point of throwing money at this one if these issues are only going only reoccur later?

Absolutely... couldn't agree more. I was looking for 2.0T's but hard to find one i'm afraid. and in my wildest dreams an idea of acquiring 53 or 04 plate RS6 had also been thought of .

 

[leegsi]

We do what I said at the garage I work at rather than replacing them and then take it for a drive to get it to do a proper regen