Broken down (DPF fault)

[Richf]

Our 2 year old 170 CR Superb broke down on Saturday , well went into limp home mode the DPF, glowplug heater and engine management light on. Called Skoda Assist and the very very nice man came out , diagnostics revealed DPF sensor fault (had this numerous times on our PD engined VRS Octy) and full DPF . Car spends all its time on the motorway does very little short trips

New sensor fitted and forced regen carried out , seems the sensor faults are still happening VAG still havent sorted it, the mechanic said they are very common and of the two types of sensor he usually carries one type is on backorder till mid August, luckily we had his last one of the other type

[dev1lo]

Our 2 year old 170 CR Superb broke down on Saturday , well went into limp home mode the DPF, glowplug heater and engine management light on. Called Skoda Assist and the very very nice man came out , diagnostics revealed DPF sensor fault (had this numerous times on our PD engined VRS Octy) and full DPF . Car spends all its time on the motorway does very little short trips

New sensor fitted and forced regen carried out , seems the sensor faults are still happening VAG still havent sorted it, the mechanic said they are very common and of the two types of sensor he usually carries one type is on backorder till mid August, luckily we had his last one of the other type

I believe this should be considered as a recall, a lot of stories about this issue:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/207611-dpf-exhaust-system-bulb-lights-are-lit/page__p__2455469__hl__dpf__fromsearch__1#entry2455469

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/210097-dpf-regeneration/page__gopid__2488344#entry2488344

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/208472-broken-down-dpf-fault/page__p__2464031__hl__dpf__fromsearch__1#entry2464031

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/138489-part-number-please-anyone/page__p__1736446__hl__03g906051a+__fromsearch__1#entry1736446

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/196807-diesel-particulate-engine-fault/page__p__2339018__hl__03g906051a+__fromsearch__1#entry2339018

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/172798-dpf-forced-regen-no-warning-light/page__p__2482271__hl__dpf__fromsearch__1#entry2482271

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/132859-help-my-epc-emissions-or-cel-check-engine-lamp-is-on/page__p__2477081__hl__dpf__fromsearch__1#entry2477081

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/210200-dpf-issue-octavia-20-tdi-vrs-33k-2009/page__gopid__2488386#entry2488386

[Richf]

As i posted we had this problem with the Octy , 3 or 4 times , not good when its still happening 5 years on

[mellyboy]

When DPF isuees are brought up I am so relieved my 2010 Octavia 2.0 tdi pd 140 hp does not have a DPF, sensors should have been a recall.

[Howardian1]

Our 2 year old 170 CR Superb broke down on Saturday , well went into limp home mode the DPF, glowplug heater and engine management light on. Called Skoda Assist and the very very nice man came out , diagnostics revealed DPF sensor fault (had this numerous times on our PD engined VRS Octy) and full DPF . Car spends all its time on the motorway does very little short trips

New sensor fitted and forced regen carried out , seems the sensor faults are still happening VAG still havent sorted it, the mechanic said they are very common and of the two types of sensor he usually carries one type is on backorder till mid August, luckily we had his last one of the other type

Have had glow plug/EML issues on my 3 yr old 38k Scout over the last 2-3 months. Glow plug and EML intermittently, with lumpy running, then DPF light, coughing and electronic limp. Been to dealers, as everyone else seems to have, with same results - replace exhaust sensor, manual regen of DPF. According to them (Chapmans, Pickering, and I trust them pretty well having been Subaru customer there for 15-odd years) the failed sensor means that the DPF won't regenerate automatically. So I suppose you can have a knackered sensor without knowing it, drive lots on motorways, then have DPF problem for no apparent reason. Service manager advice (and, as said, known him for many years) was get a petrol version or drive the diesel like a rally car (I used to do some rallying)! If DPF is supposed to be environmentally-friendly, some contradiction there methinks.

Even after replaced sensor and DPF regen I still had glow plug light and annoying ping on startup. Four pings and you get the EML; 4 clear trips and it goes off again. Pings getting fewer and further between and currently ping-free at the minute and car is running fine. I have however changed driving style on my 4 mile rural roads trip to work - run car to higher revs before changing gear, drive in higher gear (3rd in 30mph limit makes it much easier to stick to the limit; also 4th in 40mph limit).

Finally to my question: I always used to drive a cold engine gently until it warmed up. Driving harder now (with c. 3mpg penalty) but how high would anyone say is the 'rev limit' for a cold engine?

EGR is probably also bound-up in DPF issue, in that sooty DPF will also mean sooty EGR, so does anyone know if that self-cleans in any way?

[Jigger72]

I never drive my TDI above 2.5k revs when cold. I have no idea whether this is good or bad but it seems like a sensible marker to me

Sorry I can't be more technical :(

[Richf]

To be fair we also have a VRS Octy with dpf and I only ever do short trips so the opposite of the Superb , I do drive the car fairly hard once its warm , same as Jigger i keep the revs down when cold , its better for the turbo as well

[kgreenhough]

Even after replaced sensor and DPF regen I still had glow plug light and annoying ping on startup. Four pings and you get the EML; 4 clear trips and it goes off again. Pings getting fewer and further between and currently ping-free at the minute and car is running fine. I have however changed driving style on my 4 mile rural roads trip to work - run car to higher revs before changing gear, drive in higher gear (3rd in 30mph limit makes it much easier to stick to the limit; also 4th in 40mph limit).

Now I finally know what the ping is!! I had noticed that I was getting it sometimes and not others. As seems to be fairly common, I had this sensor fail on mine (2.0CR about 2.5 years old) three months or so ago. I think I was getting pings before the new sensor, I definitely have had them since. So, my question - is pinging something that I should go back to the garage about? Is it an early warning that the new sensor is also no good, or is it simply part of the DPF getting sooted up and naturally being regenerated cycle? I tend to do a lot of short trips (8-10 miles each way to work) interspersed with longer trips to see family once or twice a month.

Also. On a related topic, does anyone know how much a new sensor and forced regeneration costs if the car's not under warranty? My three years warranty is up soon and I'm trying to work out whether it might be a good idea to extend it...???

[dan123]

Now I finally know what the ping is!! I had noticed that I was getting it sometimes and not others. As seems to be fairly common, I had this sensor fail on mine (2.0CR about 2.5 years old) three months or so ago. I think I was getting pings before the new sensor, I definitely have had them since. So, my question - is pinging something that I should go back to the garage about? Is it an early warning that the new sensor is also no good, or is it simply part of the DPF getting sooted up and naturally being regenerated cycle? I tend to do a lot of short trips (8-10 miles each way to work) interspersed with longer trips to see family once or twice a month.

Also. On a related topic, does anyone know how much a new sensor and forced regeneration costs if the car's not under warranty? My three years warranty is up soon and I'm trying to work out whether it might be a good idea to extend it...???

I have also had many problems with the DPF/warning lights/limp mode etc (2.5 years old 170CR, loads of motorway miles)

Would be very interested to learn more about what the startup ping means (no warning lights), doesn't happen on every start up.

Dan

[Richf]

Now I finally know what the ping is!! I had noticed that I was getting it sometimes and not others. As seems to be fairly common, I had this sensor fail on mine (2.0CR about 2.5 years old) three months or so ago. I think I was getting pings before the new sensor, I definitely have had them since. So, my question - is pinging something that I should go back to the garage about? Is it an early warning that the new sensor is also no good, or is it simply part of the DPF getting sooted up and naturally being regenerated cycle? I tend to do a lot of short trips (8-10 miles each way to work) interspersed with longer trips to see family once or twice a month.

Also. On a related topic, does anyone know how much a new sensor and forced regeneration costs if the car's not under warranty? My three years warranty is up soon and I'm trying to work out whether it might be a good idea to extend it...???

The sensor is £50-£60 and i guess you are looking at 1 hours labour

I'll be extending our warranty come Feb put it that way

[Richf]

I have also had many problems with the DPF/warning lights/limp mode etc (2.5 years old 170CR, loads of motorway miles)

Would be very interested to learn more about what the startup ping means (no warning lights), doesn't happen on every start up.

Dan

I thought the ping happened whenever a fault code was logged on the ecu

[Howardian1]

Rich is about spot-on with the costs - when I took mine in to the dealer it was £145 (though that was with 10% off) for diagnostics, new sensor, manual DPF regen and 1.5 hrs labour.

As far as I'm aware the ping is just the audible warning to alert you to something. I've never had it without any warning lights coming on, but it's the same as the one that tells you the sidelights are on if you open the driver's door without turning them off. Can't remember if it comes on for low fuel and as service reminder as well, but I think it's just a generic warning ping. Does get bloody annoying at times though - I once reversed into a tree because of all the pings and reversing sensor beeps getting so confusing.

My car was due to go in yesterday to investigate the on-going warning lights, which as I said I've now got rid of by driving the car harder, but after a long chat with the service manager we decided that there wasn't much point. All the fault codes will be logged and they'll check those when it has its next service in 2-3 months time. Cacked-up EGR, which I reckon must be another symptom of short journeys/running at low revs, would show up as another warning light, so he reckoned no point in getting that checked or cleaned.

Two useful bits of info further to my original question on 'rev limit' when cold. My previous habit of running very low revs when cold, and changing gear at about 1.5k, he reckoned had definitely contributed to the problem. Although he wouldn't commit to a 'limit' he did say 1.5k was too low, and after experiments I reckon 2.5k is about right. The other thing he said was that modern oils protect the engine right from start-up, so less need to warm the engine up. I reckon that with the cooler nights now I'll run the engine whilst clearing the windows of dew first thing in the morning, which should give a bit of time for the oil to circulate.

If you're hacked-off with the DPF/warning lights issue then email Skoda Customer Services. They spoke to the dealer, asked me to tell them when car was next booked in, and did contact the dealer yesterday. When it was explained that I was driving the car harder, all warning lights were off and so I hadn't taken it in, I had a message on my answerphone hoping the car was OK and to get in touch if any other problems. Either they're on a damage limitation exercise or they're genuinely concerned. Either way, it's free technical support from the manufacturer, so you might as well take it.

[Richf]

I'm not sure I buy the dealers argument for running the car harder , its hard to argue against warming the engine up thoroughly before treating it too hard not that I would call 2.5k hard use but i dont rev mine much harder than that when cold, I would suggest that part of the issue here is than cold diesel engines use a lot more fuel than warm ones, short trips + cold engines = increased fuel and increased particulates. A good thrash when warm certainly wont do any harm

It might be worthwhile adding a diesel treatment , I think they these really do make a difference and using a good quality fuel occasionally can help as well

Truth be told both are cars get driven fairly hard , we live very close to a dual carriageway so more or less wherever we go requires 70mph runs (or more) and our Superb has a commute of 30 miles of motorway and dual carriageway each way and my wife really doesnt hang around.

[Howardian1]

Just to clarify - Rich's first paragraph is in essence exactly what the service manager said (and somewhere in this thread I mentioned that I've been going to that garage for some 20 years so have had plenty of time to decide whether they know what they're talking about or not).

To re-cap - I used to drive the car at about 1.5k to 2k, when cold and when pottering about on rural roads, keeping revs as low as possible to give good fuel economy, with the inevitable consequences for my DPF. Couldn't have put Rich's point about short trips and cold engines any better myself.

Now I change gear at 2.5k when engine cold, a bit higher when engine hot, give it a good thrash every so often, but still generally potter about. Use supermarket fuel about every other or 3rd tankful, when I'm anywhere near any cheap fuel, but otherwise use local Jet garage to get some good clean fuel through it. That revised regime reduced the incidence of my warning lights and has now got rid of them altogether, in the month since manual DPF regen and replaced exhaust sensor. All a question of balance I think.

Another point I forgot to mention. Dealers is also a Fiat franchise and Fiat have issued a DPF unblocking kit to all their dealers. Chapmans have just unblocked a Sedici with a 99% clogged DPF filter. They unscrew the DPF sensor, connect pipe for first part of a 2-pack solvent, leave for 10 mins, attach pipe for second part of treatment, then go for road test to burn it all out and do manual DPF regen. Got it down to 62% in one go, and were that day going to repeat it again and reduce the level even further. As they said, it's Fiat issue kit, but they don't see why it wouldn't work on any DPF. So if your Skoda dealer tells you the DPF is too clogged up and needs replacing...

[Richf]

As the DPF collects soot the pressure sensor senses the back pressure in the exhaust indicating when regeneration is needed, if the sensor fails then regeneration cant start and eventually the dpf blocks with soot, replacing the sensor and forcing a manual regeneration should put you back to square one BUT the problem is after every regeneration the soot is converted into small amounts of ash this ash stays in DPF and eventually will clog the DPF up so there will come a point where most DPF's will need replacing , we can only hope that like catalytic converters the price will drop over time

Cant understand how the Fiat system works but perhaps they have a different design dpf or maybe the solvent flushes out the ash, which would be nice