DPF issues, car going into limp mode.

[moonigan]

We've had our Macan SD for nearly 5 months and in that time the car has gone into limp home mode 4 times. This is immediately preceded by a DPF message to regenerate the filter. The first two times I managed to sort it by taking thr car out for 30 min drive above 2k RPM. However last week the same thing happened and the car lost power and was undrivable. I got the car recovered and Porsche said the DPF was severely clogged but should be ok for now but it would most likely happen again as my wife only does short journeys.

Yesterday the same thing happened. Glow plug light flashing, engine management light on, car undrivable. Took the car first thing and asked them not to return it until its sorted. Had a call today to say they were replacing a sensor but again said it would probably happen again as my wife's day to day is short journeys.

In my eyes any car that can't be driven for a few weeks without visiting the dealer is not fit for purpose. Am I being unreasonable and has anyone else had similar issues.

[moonigan]

kilarney said:

Unlikely its going to be a fix until replaced. Is the sensor the reason it clogged ie wasnt initiating a regen. When you take it in they probably manually initiate it. New DPF is likely. Short journeys kill them so theyre right about that.

New sensor fitted. Lets see how long it lasts. Chaps on the sales team agreed that its ridiculous that a car needs to go in for work because it only gets driven on short journeys. Imagine the uproar and rage if a customer had a GT3 that went into limp home mode every time it went on track.

[moonigan]

chriscoates81 said:

But there's nothing wrong with the car, you pick the wrong engine for short journeys. How many miles does your wife do?

20-50 miles per day. My wife has done the same job for over 15 years and during that time has had numerous diesels and has never once had issues. If the car isn't suitable for small journeys then this should have been pointed out when the sale was qualified. I'm guessing they were not fully aware of the issue then because if they had been the upsell to the GTS would have been easy.

[moonigan]

88racing said:

Wouldn't call that a short journey. My commute is only 11 miles - that's short but even then, the Boxster has reached operating temperature in that time. To say that a car isn't suitable for 20-50 mile daily drives would be grounds for rejection as unfit for purpose, I'd say.

Its 20-50 miles spread over 6-9 trips. She's a mobile Hairdresser.

gottans said:

Could it be crap fuel? Is it fed on supermarket fuel, might be worth changing fuel brand to see if this impacts the issue.

Also is the mpg okay.

I have considered this and I'll certainly try using Shell. MPG is what I would expect for the type of driving. Late 20s.

chriscoates81 said:

I'm not convinced your wife does the miles to warrant a diesel over a petrol however what sort of roads is it she drives on? If it's inner city roads then I bet that's the problem.
You might also find that the previous cars you've had didn't have a dpf.

Its all urban driving. Stop/Start. I'd agree with you to a point and it was a close run thing when I ordered the car and ultimatley what swung it was the convenience of not having to fill up twice a week. Having come from a full electric car and not seeing the inside of a petrol station for two years to feeling like she was never out of the damn things it would have been me who got it in the neck.

That said if the car isnt suitable for our needs then this should have been pointed out when we ordered.

[moonigan]

eybic said:

Were you one of those customers that insists you want a diesel or did you go in knowing just what model and got led to an engine? If the former then you have yourself to blame IMHO, DPF issues have been well known for at least 5 years now.

Edited by eybic on Tuesday 15th August 13:33

Knew the car I wanted but was on the fence regarding engine, hence the upsell to GTS would have been an easy one. Regarding DPF issues in the last 5 years my wife has had an Evoque Diesel and an E-Class Diesel neither of which went anywhere near the dealers yet they were both driven the same as the Macan. Until very recently there had been very few reports of DPF issues with the Macan but they appear to have almost exploded in the last 6-8 months. Spoke to OPC this morning and they have had lots of customers in with the same problem on late model cars so there is some suggestion that there has been a tweak/update that is making the problem more prevalent. This is been raised with Porsche and the sales team are now actively discouraging customers with driving profiles like my wife from buying a diesel.

[moonigan]

rkwm1 said:

My Macan is starting to play up now. Its 10 weeks old and now covered 2600 miles.

A couple of weeks ago the DPF warning came on, so it was dropped off to OPC and a forced regeneration carried out. Again today less than 250 miles since the last regeneration the warning light came on again. The AA turned up and carried out another forced regeneration on the drive.

On the first occasion it did approximately 1300 miles in the 14 days prior to the fault. It was driven 250 miles to destination, parked up for 24 hours and then driven back 250 miles, twice. Both drives were on motorway and A roads in generally light traffic.

Yesterday day i did a 80 mile round trip on motorway and today the warning came up again.

This is my 3rd Macan and the first i have had issue with. The other 2 covered around 30K miles between them. Seems to me the new software/update is causing the problems.

Regardless of driving style and distances covered this should not be happening!

We'll see what happens over the coming weeks, but if it happens again it will be going back and a GTS will be ordered instead.

wait for someone to come along and tell you that you have bought the wrong car for your needs I've considered swapping to the petrol but I don't see why I should take a bath on the diesel if there is a fundamental problem with the car.

[moonigan]

Slippydiff said:

You my friend are experiencing what's known as a double whammy. Firstly you bought a diesel engined vehicle not ideally suited for your modus operandi, but you also did so from a manufacturing group currently having to pay out millions of pounds for cheating emissions tests.....

When VAG rolled out the modified software for the affected vehicles, many owners complained of issues. I suspect that the DPF problems you and others are experiencing, will be one of those issues (and my guess is a further fix will required yet)

But the fact is, you didn't stop to think, instead you waltzed into your local OPC, eagerly brandishing your chequebook, wanting to buy into a lifestyle/brand that you thought would suit your wife's needs. More fool you.

What you didn't do is the required due diligence prior to buying, as if you had considered the situation more carefully and in the process made yourself better informed, you'd have most likely not bought the vehicle you did, and I imagine that fact is beginning to smart a tad.

Firstly I'm not your friend and for that I'm thankful because I'd hate to have to endure your condescending holier than thou attitude face to face. I've read quite a few of your posts and you seem to know your cheddar so its a shame you have to resort to personal digs.

[moonigan]

Slippydiff said:

Well as others have said, it was harsh, but fair. If it offended, I apologise

Apology accepted thanks. When buying the car I wasn't attempting to buy into the "Brand" I'd done that 10 years prior and it left a bitter taste. I'd spent quite a bit of time narrowing down my search. My criteria was:

- Car to replace my RS4 for family duties so I could then look to buy something else for myself
- Premium brand
- SUV\Estate
- Had to carry bikes on roof
- Strong residual values

As I was buying/borrowing money rather than contract leasing I'd discounted the estates from Merc, Audi, BMW, etc and ended up with a shortlist of:

RRS
Macan
XC90
F-Pace

The XC90 was way too big and the F-Pace didn't live upto its premium aspirations and with discounts already being offered I didn't think it a safe place to put my own money. That left the RRS and the Macan. My wife didn't like perceived image of the RRS and I thought the Macan was a far superior drive and easier to put my bikes on the roof.

When I bought my 997 I spent a lot more time doing my homework and had been looking for 18 months before the right car came up. So while it may look from the outside that I have suddenly bought into the whole Porsche brand thing that isn't the case. I wanted two cars to fill two distinct roles and the Macan could have been a RRS and the 997 could have easily been a Mini Challenge JCW/BMW 1M/Lotus Elise.

P

[moonigan]

Just thought I would add some closure to this thread.

My car went into limp home mode again Weds evening without warning so I took the car back to Bolton on Thursday morning and after a long chat with the DP and Sales Manager they have agreed to take the car back and are issuing a full refund. I was offered a build slot on a 2.0 for delivery in December but I'm either going to opt for a GTS or probably the new Cayenne neither of which can be delivered any time soon. As an interim solution and because they don't have any suitable vehicles they can loan me long term I have agreed to purchase the next Macan 2.0 that arrives in group and when the car I order (Macan or Cayenne) arrives Porsche will purchase the Macan 2.0 at the price I paid for it which seems like a good deal to me.

I have say Bolton have been absolutely superb throughout. They have done everything they could to rectify the issue and say Porsche are working on a solution. I'm not convinced there is one, this is a big problem that it isn't going away. I consider myself fortunate that the problem surfaced within the first 6 months so Sale of Goods Act was still applicable. Not sure what Porsche's stance would be if I had had the issue outside of this window.

Edited by moonigan on Sunday 22 October 16:01

[moonigan]

bertie said:

Just picked up on this thread as I am having the same issues with my wifes Macan.

I bloody hate diesel and would have much preferred a petrol but at the time I couldn't get a petrol Macan due to demand, and nobody said to me "do you do short journeys" when I bought it, nor does it say anywhere "only suitable for long trips."

Yes her driving tends to be short local trips, however this never happened with the XC90, Discovery, X5 or RR Sport that have come before it.

They clearly have an issue and it's f%&£ing annoying and utterly ste.

It's like going back to the 1940s...oh have you greased the trunnions this week...grrrrr

If its less than 6 months old and the OPC haven't been able to fix it, which they cant, take it back and quote sale of goods act. They will have to give you a refund.

[moonigan]

bertie said:

That's what it's had, but I varied between 65 and higher all in 4th gear so it was revving......well as much as a crappy diesel will rev.

I'll see what it says next time I get in at lunch, if not I'm swapping the bloody thing for something petrol!!

You are fighting a losing battle with this I'm afraid. I went through the same rigmarole. I'd tell my wife to take the long way home down the dual carriageway or I'd take it out for 20 mins. All it does is delay the inevitable. The 2.0 Petrol Macan is excellent btw. More George Best than Oliver Reed when it comes to fuel.

[moonigan]

DJMC said:

Moonigan - I can't see a post where you say whether you tried "proper" diesel rather than supermarket?

This was 100% the reason my wife's 2016 X1 had a blocked EGR valve after 9 months of mostly supermarket fuel, and went into limp home mode.

I did have a spell of putting non supermarket diesel in but I don't think it made much difference. I think the problem was it would never fully regenerate without having the dealer clean it out. I also suspect the 3.0D engine that's been around in some shape or form since 2004 isn't the cleanest and VW Group have been papering over the cracks to get it through emissions for years.