Low mileage usage, compatibility with diesel dpf
Due to a serious accident, I need to change my car & caravan. Previously towed with a Petrol Octavia with a lightweight van.
To have more options on a caravan, considering a diesel, possibly a 2L Octavia Hatchback.
My normal mileage is quite low, and not always a decent run. Am I going to have problems with the DPF. I have contacted various main dealers with conflicting advice
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You will still get the same conflicting advice on here, but here's one to keep you going
I have had three new diesels each after its warranty expired and absolutely no DPF problem. My last one was after early retirement where my daily drive extended to a couple of miles to take the dog for a walk, obviously during touring season my mileage was more but the daily mileage between mid October to mid April you could count on your fingers.
Early DPF's and their software was a little crude but later years saw a great improvement. I have never had the need to bomb down the motorway or do an Italian tuneup just to regenerate a DPF.
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IMO it is not the low mileage that will be an issue but the shortness of the runs.
DPFs need both a nice hot engine then a quite sustained moderate power run to be passively regenerating.
The towing will be IMO good news, in that it is almost certain the run will be some 10s of miles and by necessity lugging the van the engine exhaust will run hot, probably with the turbo providing an excess of air to help the DPF burn.
When you are not going away IMO you will need to put in some sustained runs at circa 50 mph for 15 or more minutes, ideally every 200 to 300 miles.
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+1, 6yrs with DPF’s, no issues👍🏻😊
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My Octavia Estate 2.0TDi 4x4 is 6 years old, lots of short runs and towing, never had any problem, it does a programmed regen about every 400-600miles. The DPF is on the end of the turbo, so lots of hot gas to keep it clear. You also know when it does a regen, if in slow moving traffic or if stationary, engine revs go up to 1,000 the fans kick in for about 10mins to clear the heat build up, then back to normal. Main thing is to make sure it finishes the regen before you switch the engine off, it often happens just when I put the car in the garage!
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Chris, I have had diesels for the past 40 years, starting with Citroen BX's and Xantia's and since 2001, 4 Toyota Land Cruisers and two Merc ML's, but although the current one is Euro 6 compliant I've never heard of any of them doing a regen! What on earth is that, and how would I know if I'm having one?
TF
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Older DPF cars would often go into limp mode. It is apparent on my current car because the stop-start is bypassed, you can usually hear the engine fan running when stationary to cool the engine and you may notice the constant read MPG is showing poor mpg for the conditions whilst fuel is burnt to create the regen. I once had a 2006 SAAB 9-3 Tid which shared its engine with Vauxhall’s and Fiats. That was a pain for going into limp mode when regenerating. However apart from a short lived Freelander 2 my current Passat EU5 is the first car owned with a DPF for any length of time as it approaches 90k miles. I drive 20k miles annually so regeneration isn’t an issue BUT build up of soot will be - eventually requiring a new DPF at thick end of £1000. So, to keep your car engine internals clean and in tip-top order it is strongly recommended to use premium super fuels (VPower, Ultimate etc) and give the engine some serious welly every few weeks. Apart from anything else it will ensure the engine is eventually properly run-in. And given I have driven/owned around 30 diesels in 31 years averaging 20k miles a year I can reasonably claim to have a bit of experience ........
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