CaptainDun

Thanks again for your engagement guys. @SurreyJohn yes I am ruing the choice of an oil-burner, but who knew in March 2019 what would transpire in the next 3 years? At the time I was doing 20k+ miles a year on commuting & leisure so it seemed like a good idea.... @varooom your points are good ones (except that @SurreyJohn got it right, I cruise at less than 2,000rpm) that I'll take into account going forward; yes I'd like to know the name of that cleanser product please. I'm in East Dorset and would be interested in VCDS - my only knowledge of that thing at the moment is how to spell it - I assume there are pointers to VCDS descriptions in this forum somewhere.... Anyway, here is the feedback from dealer. When I came in the first time it showed there were two failed attempts at DPF regen. They did a forced regen which went through OK and hoped would work but then the emissions light came on again a month later. They found a fault code relating to the DPF and the technician followed a technical bulletin that involved visually checking the EGR cooler and the DPF. The EGR looked fine but the DPF showed soot on a part where it should be clean (the soot should pass through and be clean by the time it gets to the part of the unit that they found it still present.) This demonstrates a failed DPF, maybe a crack or break but being a sealed unit they can't know for sure. The master technician advised that unfortunately this is the only way to fix this fault. Even after removal of the DPF there are no further inspections/repairs they can do to resolve this other than a new part. Regardless, I've raised the issue with Skoda UK myself (they had previously declined to make a goodwill contribution when dealer approached them) expressing my surprise and dissatisfaction. Surely they'd want to know what went wrong with their part? We'lll see where that goes. Two further kicks in the teeth: (1) the parts are on backorder and may take up to 2 weeks to arrive; maybe they haven't had to replace enough yet to keep a stock in?! And (2) my car is in bits so I'd incur more costs if I asked them to put it back together for me to use until the parts arrive and/or take elsewhere. Reluctantly I'm gritting my teeth and sticking with them.

Thanks for the responses guys. @ApertureS I'll try to get more details. In a few days I've learned a lot about DPF, EGR etc. from a standing start so I'd like to know exactly what's going on. @SurreyJohn I've had this car since new (March 2019.) I always have the transmission in Eco mode and cruise smoothly at 70mph (75 before Putin's war) at <2,000 rpm. Until March 2020 I was commuting 94 miles a day along mostly motorway. During lockdown and since it's been local journeys plus fairly frequent leisure trips, again mostly motorway plus cities at the end.

As per title; dealer says that my Superb Mk III needs a new diesel particulate filter, but the car was new in March 2019 and has done only 52,390 miles. Is this normal? Here is the recent timeline: 03 Aug: Check Engine light came on and stayed on. 15 Aug: dealer said DPF regen had failed 3(?) times so I guess they just forced one and reset everything. 06 Sep: DPF regenned. I made sure it completed. 16 Sep: Check Engine light came on and stayed on again. 24 & 29 Sep: 2 more regens that completed. 03 Oct: dealer thinks the EGR cooler might need replacing, but they keep the car overnight for more diagnostics. 04 Oct: dealer says the DPF needs replacing! When she estimated the price, I stopped listening after "3 thousand." FYI I'm just a guy with no DIY skills and no car diagnostic gear (yet.) Dealer hasn't said what the error codes were. What would you do in my situation? Thanks in advance.

TBH I was so sure it was trolling that I didn’t even follow the links.

I and my passengers are Covid-free, but are driving through a virus hotspot, and the windows will remain shut. How should we set the heating/ ventilation/aircon to minimise risk from the viruses outside? Recirculation? Fresh air? Air con on or off? Air Care (which I’ve never understood) on or off? Thanks in advance.