Discussion
My colleague has a 2010 Golf 2.0 diesel. It's done 78,000 miles. She only uses it around Leicester city really covering approx 100 pw.
She is having constant issues with the DPF clogging up. It's just cost her £110 to have fixed again.
The VW garage is telling her to do a 50 mile run at high revs every two weeks to stop it occuring. Seems madness to me but I don't know much about diesels to be honest.
Any thought people?
She is having constant issues with the DPF clogging up. It's just cost her £110 to have fixed again.
The VW garage is telling her to do a 50 mile run at high revs every two weeks to stop it occuring. Seems madness to me but I don't know much about diesels to be honest.
Any thought people?
I seem to remember the AA recommendation for cars with DPF was that you should be doing 40mph+ consistently for 10minutes or more each week for the DPF to heat up enough to burn off the crap it catches.
More info here: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-env...
I'm sure this varies per manufacturer but it's a good baseline.
In short, as above, she should have bought a petrol.
More info here: http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-env...
I'm sure this varies per manufacturer but it's a good baseline.
In short, as above, she should have bought a petrol.
Pretty Much the classic "I bought a diesel because the (Delete as appropriate), Tax was cheap, MPG is so much better, I think they are better round town."
Tax might be cheap but not if you need to repair it more often. And you have to pay more for an older car
MPG advantage on town mileages is negated by the extra cost of the diesel.
They haven't been better in traffic since the old Escort 1.6. And they never get to run at a decent temp.
DO under 10,000 miles a year and the extra bills for diesel and maintenance mean they cost more than a Petrol up to 20,000 and it's getting nip and tuck. Do over 20,000 and you feel the benefit.
Also this is aired on these forums endlessly for the last 5 years. Despite this people keep buying these cars when it is just so expensive to do.
Tax might be cheap but not if you need to repair it more often. And you have to pay more for an older car
MPG advantage on town mileages is negated by the extra cost of the diesel.
They haven't been better in traffic since the old Escort 1.6. And they never get to run at a decent temp.
DO under 10,000 miles a year and the extra bills for diesel and maintenance mean they cost more than a Petrol up to 20,000 and it's getting nip and tuck. Do over 20,000 and you feel the benefit.
Also this is aired on these forums endlessly for the last 5 years. Despite this people keep buying these cars when it is just so expensive to do.
Smanks said:
Fastdruid said:
She should have bought a petrol. Totally unsuitable car for that kind of low use town work.
Only to be then faced with the inevitable MPG nonsense. Personally I'd swap for a 1.2TSI, £30 VED, 45mpg Urban, no DPF, no spending 18 hours of your life driving round pointlessly to save the DPF.
Low engine speeds (like those encountered in town driving) and insufficient time at full temperature (e.g. more short journeys than long) mean that the exhaust temps remain low, and so the DPF doesnt get hot enough to burn off the trapped (carbon based) particulates.
It is geenrally recommended to maintain an engine speed of greater than 2000 rpm for not less than 20 minutes on a regular basis in order for the DPF to clean out.
Engines do have a regeneration cycle, which is usually a squrt of fuel on the exhaust stroke which ignites in the exhaust and raises the exhaust temp and therefore the DPF tmp. However, certain conditions have to be met before a regeneration cycle begins.
In short, she should own a petrol vehicle for town driving / short journeys.
It is geenrally recommended to maintain an engine speed of greater than 2000 rpm for not less than 20 minutes on a regular basis in order for the DPF to clean out.
Engines do have a regeneration cycle, which is usually a squrt of fuel on the exhaust stroke which ignites in the exhaust and raises the exhaust temp and therefore the DPF tmp. However, certain conditions have to be met before a regeneration cycle begins.
In short, she should own a petrol vehicle for town driving / short journeys.
The advice is sound. 15-30 mins at a constant high load (which you will only get from 60+ mph) every couple of weeks will stop it clogging.
The aim is to reach to passive regeneration temp of the DPF which is around 400degC.
Out of interest heavy duty where diesel is the only choice even for urban duty cycles they have a non-mission regen option (the engine idles at 1500 rpm and does funny things to the fuelling to heat the DPF) if this was offered on passenger car it would save lots of these problems!
Our Skoda 1.6 TDi 105 hasn't done a regen in the 23000 miles I've owned it from new, but then it's done those miles since September!
The aim is to reach to passive regeneration temp of the DPF which is around 400degC.
Out of interest heavy duty where diesel is the only choice even for urban duty cycles they have a non-mission regen option (the engine idles at 1500 rpm and does funny things to the fuelling to heat the DPF) if this was offered on passenger car it would save lots of these problems!
Our Skoda 1.6 TDi 105 hasn't done a regen in the 23000 miles I've owned it from new, but then it's done those miles since September!
PurpleMoonlight said:
My colleague has a 2010 Golf 2.0 diesel. It's done 78,000 miles. She only uses it around Leicester city really covering approx 100 pw.
She is having constant issues with the DPF clogging up. It's just cost her £110 to have fixed again.
The VW garage is telling her to do a 50 mile run at high revs every two weeks to stop it occuring. Seems madness to me but I don't know much about diesels to be honest.
Any thought people?
The garage is very much correct. The DPF will regen by burning off the soot turning it to ash which will sit in the bottom of the can. Most cars do this passively, using exhaust heat during a decent sustained load cycle to burn the soot off.She is having constant issues with the DPF clogging up. It's just cost her £110 to have fixed again.
The VW garage is telling her to do a 50 mile run at high revs every two weeks to stop it occuring. Seems madness to me but I don't know much about diesels to be honest.
Any thought people?
5200 miles a year in a town centre is never going to get the exhaust hot enough to passively regen the DPF.
She bought the wrong car.
I do 13-14k a year and my commute is 16 miles each way, I drive a 2.5 turbo petrol, because taking into account fuel costs, tax, servicing and the initial purchase price, the petrol is cheaper to run over it's life.
thatdude said:
In short, she should own a petrol vehicle for town driving / short journeys.
^ This. So many people fall for the "diesel is better mpg" without considering the type of driving they'll be doing. Her issue will constantly rear its ugly head unless she changes her journey or car. Even old diesels without DPF's will suffer from short distance town driving. PurpleMoonlight said:
She only uses it around Leicester city really covering approx 100 pw.
The VW garage is telling her .........
By pure coincidence I have just bought a VW caddy van from the VW dealer in Leicester The VW garage is telling her .........
They made me sign a form going through the sale, conditions of warranty etc
On that form and as part of the handover they tell you all about the DPF and how to treat it.
Its there and its in black and white.
In my case its not a worry as my van will get probably one run a week down a motorway but it does beg the question that if they have to get the customer to sign a disclaimer....
Like others have said before if you dont do the miles dont buy a diesel the maths just doesnt work.
bristolracer said:
By pure coincidence I have just bought a VW caddy van from the VW dealer in Leicester
They made me sign a form going through the sale, conditions of warranty etc
On that form and as part of the handover they tell you all about the DPF and how to treat it.
Its there and its in black and white.
In my case its not a worry as my van will get probably one run a week down a motorway but it does beg the question that if they have to get the customer to sign a disclaimer....
Like others have said before if you dont do the miles dont buy a diesel the maths just doesnt work.
That's becoming more common. I've spoken to somebody recently who had been advised by a main dealer not to buy a diesel because their mileage was not high enough.They made me sign a form going through the sale, conditions of warranty etc
On that form and as part of the handover they tell you all about the DPF and how to treat it.
Its there and its in black and white.
In my case its not a worry as my van will get probably one run a week down a motorway but it does beg the question that if they have to get the customer to sign a disclaimer....
Like others have said before if you dont do the miles dont buy a diesel the maths just doesnt work.
Yes, but thinking diesel, what if you want a car that goes like s
t off a stick at urban speeds and up hills but wont eat you out of house and home fuel wise?
I'd quite like a cheapy manual Saab 9-5 aero saloon at say £1500, or I could get a Mondeo 130 tdci which to all intents and purposes for similar purchase money would give similar shove at low speeds but do nearly 80% better on fuel?
Do you balance the fact that okay, you might have to drop the sump on the Saab to de sludge but its unlikely you'll have the inevitable flywheels and clutches and injectors that seem monotonous on the Mondy.
Only do 5K max a year.
t off a stick at urban speeds and up hills but wont eat you out of house and home fuel wise? I'd quite like a cheapy manual Saab 9-5 aero saloon at say £1500, or I could get a Mondeo 130 tdci which to all intents and purposes for similar purchase money would give similar shove at low speeds but do nearly 80% better on fuel?
Do you balance the fact that okay, you might have to drop the sump on the Saab to de sludge but its unlikely you'll have the inevitable flywheels and clutches and injectors that seem monotonous on the Mondy.
Only do 5K max a year.
I have a Mondeo 2.5T, I had for a short while as a hire car a Galaxy TDCI140. Both the same torque, galaxy is slightly heavier but not by much.
I got all of an equivalent 3mpg better out of the Galaxy (with the same usage, 29mpg avg against 24mpg) *and* it's far slower everywhere, has less torque (same peak, less either side) and I was forever cold as it would just about start to warm up as I got home.
Now if I was doing 20k a year I might put up with that but not for 5k. Turbocharged petrol all the way.
I got all of an equivalent 3mpg better out of the Galaxy (with the same usage, 29mpg avg against 24mpg) *and* it's far slower everywhere, has less torque (same peak, less either side) and I was forever cold as it would just about start to warm up as I got home.
Now if I was doing 20k a year I might put up with that but not for 5k. Turbocharged petrol all the way.
The MK6 Golf has got the Common Rail diesel which does have the regen feature - but even that's not going to help if she's driving about at 20 in traffic and stopping before it's even warm.
Can't blame her, I don't know of any manufacturers who display warnings about diesels on being suitable for continued city driving - which begs the question - what's the point of Diesel City Cars?
Can't blame her, I don't know of any manufacturers who display warnings about diesels on being suitable for continued city driving - which begs the question - what's the point of Diesel City Cars?
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