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Sounds like british car sellers. Nearly all diesel cars i’ve seen here have DPF issues and nearly all get blamed on customers. Happened to mine but was clever e

Sounds like british car sellers. Nearly all diesel cars i’ve seen here have DPF issues and nearly all get blamed on customers. Happened to mine but was clever enough to get expert investigation prior to making my dealer do their own. They tried to blame it on me but changed tune once the word “lawyer” was mentioned.

supermatt 3y ago
The problem with DPF is that people buy diesel vehicles with big engines and then use them for the school run. Short journeys dont allow the DPF to come up to regeneration temperatures. This is all mentioned in the owners manual, and it says what to do when the warning light comes on. The problem is people dont read the manual, neglect to maintain the DPF as per the instructions, and then end up blaming the DPF. Sure, there are other reasons for a clogged DPF, but they are generally caused by a failure elsewhere, like in the turbo or fuel injectors. BY FAR the biggest cause is short journeys, and then not maintaining via a forced regeneration accordingly. The ONLY purpose of the DPF is to capture particulates in urban environments and then release them when up to temperature on the highway. If your vehicle is nearly always in an urban environment the DPF is effectively pointless, and you shouldnt be driving a diesel. If anything, the dealer should make you sign a waiver to that effect as part of the purchase. Maybe then urbanites would stop driving diesel vehicles to look cool.
- gumballindie 3y ago
  That is correct, however, none of the people i know with that issue - including myself - have had that driving pattern. Mainly driven on motorways.
  - supermatt 3y ago
    What was the reason they gave you for the DPF failure? The DPF has no moving parts. Aside from impact damage, it can only really get clogged, which shouldn't happen when regularly meeting regeneration temperatures. Some vehicles will have an additional heating matrix, but if regeneration occurs normally they should never be required anyway (they shouldnt really exist at all IMHO - they are effectively "cheating" the purpose of the DPF).
    - gumballindie 3y ago
      That i wasnt driving it “properly”. Instead the dpf was not working at all (either a vaporiser or fuel pump issue), and ash built up to the point where it couldnt be cleaned with forced regeneration. Soot reached >180% levels. The vaporiser “splashes” diesel inside the filter to “burn” soot - at least that’s my understanding. The pump pushes said fuel. If either of the two are not working at full capacity then the filter needs frequent cleaning or wont clean at all leading to ash building up. The seller still wont admit fault, and instead they phrased it as a “goodwill repair”, probably to prevent other people from claiming repairs and to be able to gaslight them into thinking it’s an issue of their own doing. Nonetheless i am raising awareness with whoever i can, including how to use an obd to read their dpf status, frequency of cleanups, and failures to do so. I wish class action suits were a thing in the uk because i feel like a lot of people are taken for fools. Even if people drove short distances there is no clause signed when purchasing a car that you cant drive it short distances. I bought the vehicle to drive it as i see fit. If i cant then its not fit for purpose, end of story.
      - supermatt 3y ago
        > Even if people drove short distances there is no clause signed when purchasing a car that you cant drive it short distances. I bought the vehicle to drive it as i see fit. If i cant then its not fit for purpose, end of story. I totally agree. From your explanation, you have an active regen DPF, which IMHO shouldn't even exist. If your exhaust gasses arent hot enough to passively regenerate then you shouldn't have a diesel, and its something you should have been made aware of. These active regen DPFs exist to burn off (i.e. release the particulates) that were previously collected in the event that the DPF starts to get blocked due to not enough high temp for passive regeneration. For urban diesel drivers, this basically means that the DPF collects the particulates, and then just actively regen and releases them - defeating the point of a DPF. They are indiscriminate, and are just as likely to release particulates in the same environment in which they would otherwise trap them (short journeys in a city). These things basically result in the vehicle passing emission tests by saving the particulates, and then releasing them later in the same environment. It amazes me they are allowed. Anyway - thats not your fault - just me ranting about how pointless an active regen DPF is :) I hope that one day regulation realises that and clamps down on them.
- ed_balls 3y ago
  The UX is screw up. My gf's Volvo C30 was show a combination of glow plug light and cabin circulation to indicate that DPF is hot. She only knew because her dad had a lot of Volvo equipment and knew this quirk. People shouldn't dig the manual for this info.

supermatt 3y ago

The problem with DPF is that people buy diesel vehicles with big engines and then use them for the school run. Short journeys dont allow the DPF to come up to regeneration temperatures. This is all mentioned in the owners manual, and it says what to do when the warning light comes on. The problem is people dont read the manual, neglect to maintain the DPF as per the instructions, and then end up blaming the DPF. Sure, there are other reasons for a clogged DPF, but they are generally caused by a failure elsewhere, like in the turbo or fuel injectors. BY FAR the biggest cause is short journeys, and then not maintaining via a forced regeneration accordingly. The ONLY purpose of the DPF is to capture particulates in urban environments and then release them when up to temperature on the highway. If your vehicle is nearly always in an urban environment the DPF is effectively pointless, and you shouldnt be driving a diesel. If anything, the dealer should make you sign a waiver to that effect as part of the purchase. Maybe then urbanites would stop driving diesel vehicles to look cool.

gumballindie 3y ago
That is correct, however, none of the people i know with that issue - including myself - have had that driving pattern. Mainly driven on motorways.
- supermatt 3y ago
  What was the reason they gave you for the DPF failure? The DPF has no moving parts. Aside from impact damage, it can only really get clogged, which shouldn't happen when regularly meeting regeneration temperatures. Some vehicles will have an additional heating matrix, but if regeneration occurs normally they should never be required anyway (they shouldnt really exist at all IMHO - they are effectively "cheating" the purpose of the DPF).
  - gumballindie 3y ago
    That i wasnt driving it “properly”. Instead the dpf was not working at all (either a vaporiser or fuel pump issue), and ash built up to the point where it couldnt be cleaned with forced regeneration. Soot reached >180% levels. The vaporiser “splashes” diesel inside the filter to “burn” soot - at least that’s my understanding. The pump pushes said fuel. If either of the two are not working at full capacity then the filter needs frequent cleaning or wont clean at all leading to ash building up. The seller still wont admit fault, and instead they phrased it as a “goodwill repair”, probably to prevent other people from claiming repairs and to be able to gaslight them into thinking it’s an issue of their own doing. Nonetheless i am raising awareness with whoever i can, including how to use an obd to read their dpf status, frequency of cleanups, and failures to do so. I wish class action suits were a thing in the uk because i feel like a lot of people are taken for fools. Even if people drove short distances there is no clause signed when purchasing a car that you cant drive it short distances. I bought the vehicle to drive it as i see fit. If i cant then its not fit for purpose, end of story.
    - supermatt 3y ago
      > Even if people drove short distances there is no clause signed when purchasing a car that you cant drive it short distances. I bought the vehicle to drive it as i see fit. If i cant then its not fit for purpose, end of story. I totally agree. From your explanation, you have an active regen DPF, which IMHO shouldn't even exist. If your exhaust gasses arent hot enough to passively regenerate then you shouldn't have a diesel, and its something you should have been made aware of. These active regen DPFs exist to burn off (i.e. release the particulates) that were previously collected in the event that the DPF starts to get blocked due to not enough high temp for passive regeneration. For urban diesel drivers, this basically means that the DPF collects the particulates, and then just actively regen and releases them - defeating the point of a DPF. They are indiscriminate, and are just as likely to release particulates in the same environment in which they would otherwise trap them (short journeys in a city). These things basically result in the vehicle passing emission tests by saving the particulates, and then releasing them later in the same environment. It amazes me they are allowed. Anyway - thats not your fault - just me ranting about how pointless an active regen DPF is :) I hope that one day regulation realises that and clamps down on them.
ed_balls 3y ago
The UX is screw up. My gf's Volvo C30 was show a combination of glow plug light and cabin circulation to indicate that DPF is hot. She only knew because her dad had a lot of Volvo equipment and knew this quirk. People shouldn't dig the manual for this info.