I have a 2010 Skoda Fabia Diesel 1.6 TDI, 90bho 5 door.

It's been into the garage twice to clear the DPF and I'm fed up (not to mention out of pocket). I do 14k miles a year and I believe I should not be getting such problems, but my local Skoda garage reckon it's because I drive too ecologically! Apparently I need to pretend I'm 17 and get the revs up occasionally....

I'd rather not sell the car because I do like it - 65 miles to the gallon is great! So I've began researching what I can do to prevent DPF problems aside from becoming a boy racer. I've seen mention of Millers EcoMax. Any thoughts? Any other suggestions?

I have a 2010 Skoda Fabia Diesel 1.6 TDI, 90bho 5 door.

It's been into the garage twice to clear the DPF and I'm fed up (not to mention out of pocket). I do 14k miles a year and I believe I should not be getting such problems, but my local Skoda garage reckon it's because I drive too ecologically! Apparently I need to pretend I'm 17 and get the revs up occasionally....

I'd rather not sell the car because I do like it - 65 miles to the gallon is great! So I've began researching what I can do to prevent DPF problems aside from becoming a boy racer. I've seen mention of Millers EcoMax. Any thoughts? Any other suggestions?

What fuel are you using in it? It may sound a bit daft, but part synthetic diesels (like Shell's V-Power) also produce less soot when burnt; a change of fuel might help a bit.

Farnz makes a valid point. But all modern diesels need to get the revs and load on the engine 'up' fairly often for a sustained period to heat everything up. Trying to get the best miles per gallon on light throttle low revs driving is commendable and good for your pocket and the environment but it does lead to small amounts of soot gathering in the DPF and this remains there in an unburned state until the light on the dash comes on or the car regenerates the DPF. Giving the car a good drive at a higher speed, load and revs for 20 minutes or so will prevent this and doesn't actually reduce your mpg's by hardly anything much, but you will notice the benefit of doing this for some while afterwards as you will get MORE miles per gallon and better performance. It will also make sure your DPF lasts the life of the car. Good luck and keep posting on this if you continue to get problems.

EDIT: Just noticed this is your first post to our site. WELCOME, and as I say keep posting and asking questions if you need to. There's some good people on here.

Edited 15 December, 201114 yr by Estate Man

Have the DPF removed.

Thanks for the welcome!

Have the DPF removed.

Interesting idea and I like the innovative thinking! But will that mean I'm throwing lots of particulates into the environment, or even breaking European regulation?

ps. the fuel I use is whatever I can get cheapest - which is currently from Asda....

Edited 15 December, 201114 yr by glowkeeper

I'm no expert, but I have owned a few diesels. They all benefit from being run hard every week or two for half an hour or so -there's lots of bits in your engine that will thank you for this (not just the DPF). Your engine will run more efficiently afterwards and will probably save you the extra fuel from burned doing it. Obviously make sure that you have properly warmed your engine through before you do it.

Edited 15 December, 201114 yr by greenstripe

I have a 2010 Skoda Fabia Diesel 1.6 TDI, 90bho 5 door.

It's been into the garage twice to clear the DPF and I'm fed up (not to mention out of pocket). I do 14k miles a year and I believe I should not be getting such problems, but my local Skoda garage reckon it's because I drive too ecologically! Apparently I need to pretend I'm 17 and get the revs up occasionally....

I'd rather not sell the car because I do like it - 65 miles to the gallon is great! So I've began researching what I can do to prevent DPF problems aside from becoming a boy racer. I've seen mention of Millers EcoMax. Any thoughts? Any other suggestions?

Millers isnt going to make any difference to clogging a DPF. From what I can gather Millers is just 2EHN (improves Cetane rating for a cleaner burn and better cold start) and Naptha which cleans your injectors and innards. Any crud you clean out is just going to end up in your DPF and get burnt off anyway. It may well be a good thing to use but its not a DPF miracle cure.

One other that could help DPF burn is Envirox. A Cerium nonoparticle catalyst. It reduces the light off point of the carbon in the DPF keeping it cleaner and easier to regenerate.Its similar to the adblue system used on cars with DPF that doesnt get hot enough to burn off normally.The cerium will collect over time in the DPF and 'may' shorten its life....jurys out on that one. Would I use it ? Nope....never had a DPF problem or ever seen the warning light in my car. A good thrash now and again will do more good than any aftermarket product. Heat...thats the key

Of course we all know Skoda frown on any additive

The only additive I might consider is BG244 ? I think thats what its called, bung a can in at each service to clean the innards out. Of all the snake oils that seems to be the one generally accepted as useful. Not till outside warranty though

To summarise, put on your hoodie and drive it like you stole it.....now and again. The car will thank you

To summarise, put on your hoodie and drive it like you stole it.....now and again. The car will thank you

Ha. Understood - thanks for the advice.

Ha. Understood - thanks for the advice.

Firstly definite change fuel to vpower diesel or similar, as it will provide a cleaner burn, I have 2 fabias one is the 1.4 tdi which gets a regular half bottle of redex but run that on the regular fuelsave diesel when I got this car it used to smoke a bit on hard acceleration but since only using fuelsave and redex never a hint of diesel fog from the rear, the 1.6crtdi only run on vpower but when out of warranty will use the additive Bg244 I think it's called seems like the stuff to use

Edited 16 December, 201114 yr by seboni121

The DPF problems I had on my Octy vRS made me go back to petrol.

I know everyone says 'give it a good blast now and again', but surely in an ideal world you shouldn't need to. It ruined my experience of owning what was otherwise a very good car. I drive to work and back in rush hour traffic which makes giving it a blast impossible, and I refuse to drive at 50mph in 3rd gear for 20 miles just to get the revs up to burn off the suit.

These Euro regulations have sent diesels back to the stone age as far as I'm concerned. What's the point of having a car and trying to take care of it and look after it if you NEED to give it a blast every so often so he engine doesn't die.

As soon as the warrantys up on the wife's diesel CR-V I'll be buying a DPF bypass kit or even removing it. I will also be interesting if the Honda engine is as delicate as the Skodas when it comes to a life of town driving.

Hi Bair,

What sort of problems did you have? If you refuse to follow the instructions in the manufacturers manual then you will get problems if a large part of your driving is in rush hours traffic. By the way, you don't actually need to do much to keep the DPF in very good shape. Driving at 50mph in third isn't really necessary if you are exercising the cars engine in normal driving (not rush hour traffic). Obviously, only you can decide what is right for you, but if most of your driving is in rush hour traffic and that's virtually all the car gets, then I would say you have bought the wrong car for your needs. An Octy Vrs needs to be driven. But diesels (and petrol cars too) have always needed to have a blast now and again, DPF or not, otherwise they just used to clog up and start using more fuel. Same with petrol cars, the cats start to block and the plugs and valves soot up and performance and economy just go out the window.

Definite the diesel needs to be driven hard every so often, I regularly take the crtdi up to the maximum revs on a private road, I've had the car 12 months now and 4k on the clock and never issues with DPF, however I use the 1.4tdi on short trips only use the crtdi when I know I will get the engine up to temp

Hi Bair,

What sort of problems did you have? If you refuse to follow the instructions in the manufacturers manual then you will get problems if a large part of your driving is in rush hours traffic. By the way, you don't actually need to do much to keep the DPF in very good shape. Driving at 50mph in third isn't really necessary if you are exercising the cars engine in normal driving (not rush hour traffic). Obviously, only you can decide what is right for you, but if most of your driving is in rush hour traffic and that's virtually all the car gets, then I would say you have bought the wrong car for your needs. An Octy Vrs needs to be driven. But diesels (and petrol cars too) have always needed to have a blast now and again, DPF or not, otherwise they just used to clog up and start using more fuel. Same with petrol cars, the cats start to block and the plugs and valves soot up and performance and economy just go out the window.

I wouldnt say its fair to blame the owner of a diesel. In the past diesel/petrol could just be a personal choice. The only problems would be not recouping the extra cost of a diesel if you didnt drive it much. Euro 5 regs have changed all that. If you buy a diesel quite innocently that now has a DPF you can come unstuck if you dont do longer runs. This is as much the fault of the manufacturer and the dealer in selling something that needs 'special attention' for it to function correctly in what historically was just normal driving. My car has a DPF and touch wood still problem free over its 40,000 miles and never had the dpf light come on. But I do 110 miles a day or more.

If I change jobs and do less miles I will never again consider a diesel.Its not worth it financially on fuel or worth risking reliability to a computer controlled ill considered Euro cork in my tailpipe.

If the dealers put the facts on the table, or to be honest knew the facts themselves then I honestly believe diesel sales would plummet. And for good reason.

Dont get me wrong, I love my diesel but thats because I use it how it works best. Common rail regen is better, but clearly it isnt perfect in all situations. Nobody should ever have to modify their driving just to own a diesel, but it seems some folks have to through no fault of their own.

Edit: sorted my punctuation !

Edited 17 December, 201114 yr by raisbeck

I agree with you raisbeck, however my dealer did explain the new diesel engine is no longer the best option for oldies, petrol is the best fuel for them and town driving, the new diesel needs a heavier right foot to get the best, I must say though in hindsight I should have had a petrol fabia as I have only done 4k in 12 months but the 4k have been driven as it should have

My first diesel car was a Fabia vRS back in 2005. I drove it hard when I was in that kind of mood, but driving to work on a busy motorway I always cruised at 60 mph, returning 70+ mpg daily. No problems at all. Traded it in for an ex demo Octy vRS in 2007, and again, had loads of fun when I wanted, and again cruised to work daily at 60mph.

The car went into limp mode 2 or 3 times over the 70k miles I had it, and I never even knew what a DPF was until the last time it happened, which was the straw that broke the camels back.

In this day and age, it is a scandal that you can't just buy a car and drive it any way you want. Why should I have to take it out every so often and thrash it just so it doesn't break down. Technology should make cars more reliable, not the other way about.

When I bought m wife's Honda CR-V I asked he salesman if the car had a DPF (knowing full well it did), and he asked 'what's a DPF?'. My friend who's been a Honda technician in the same garage for 20 years didnt know what a DPF was when I told him about he problems I had with the Octy. Now, wether this is down to the Hondas being more robust we will soon see, but I'm seriously thinking of invalidating the warranty and taking the thing out, just incase.

And just out of curiosity, I was under the impression that the soot in the DPF only burned off during regen mode, don't know if this is true or not.

I'm seriously thinking of invalidating the warranty and taking the thing out, just incase.

And just out of curiosity, I was under the impression that the soot in the DPF only burned off during regen mode, don't know if this is true or not.

Blair77 removing the DPF will not just invalidate your warranty you will invalidate your insurance and you would be breaking current motoring regulation/law.

You are correct the soot only burns off during a regen, but there are two types of regen a passive and active.

The active regen in a Skoda is when the ECU determines the amount of soot in the DPF needs to be burnt off and injects fuel in to the DPF causing the soot to be burnt off.

A passive regen is when the car is driven hard enough (at about 2000rpm+) for the DPF to heat up enough to burn the soot off without the need for extra fuel.

The AA report that they are seeing high mileage cars with DPF problems because of two factors driving style and 6th+ gear where drivers are able to cruise at high speed with lowered revs.

Blair77 removing the DPF will not just invalidate your warranty you will invalidate your insurance and you would be breaking current motoring regulation/law.

You are correct the soot only burns off during a regen, but there are two types of regen a passive and active.

The active regen in a Skoda is when the ECU determines the amount of soot in the DPF needs to be burnt off and injects fuel in to the DPF causing the soot to be burnt off.

A passive regen is when the car is driven hard enough (at about 2000rpm+) for the DPF to heat up enough to burn the soot off without the need for extra fuel.

The AA report that they are seeing high mileage cars with DPF problems because of two factors driving style and 6th+ gear where drivers are able to cruise at high speed with lowered revs.

Doesnt matter how hard I drive mine. It still must actively regen to keep the DPF clear. If I do 80 odd mph or even drive to work in fourth over 2000 rpm all you achieve is a slightly greater mileage before the regen kicks in again. The passive regen isnt something that through driving can keep it clear, all passive can achieve (on the Fabia at any rate) is a slightly reduced frequency of regen depending on driving style. Mines a PD so cant comment on the CR version

To date my DPF is no issue at all, if it ever becomes an issue the car goes and I go back to being a petrolhead

Edited 17 December, 201114 yr by raisbeck

Doesnt matter how hard I drive mine. It still must actively regen to keep the DPF clear. If I do 80 odd mph or even drive to work in fourth over 2000 rpm all you achieve is a slightly greater mileage before the regen kicks in again. The passive regen isnt something that through driving can keep it clear, all passive can achieve (on the Fabia at any rate) is a slightly reduced frequency of regen depending on driving style. Mines a PD so cant comment on the CR version

Just answering the question and not stating just driving style can fix it all, my regen's do not seem to be at regular intervals.

At this time of year where I do a lot of just town driving with no long runs mixed in I still get irregular time intervals between regens but get the regen smell when the car does regen.

What I can say is that during a regen the car becomes much more responsive and I notice an increase in power, it has made me wonder what a retune of the 1.2 could do to performance and economy- mind you the 1.6CRTDI will be here soon.

Here is the link to the AA, read AA experience.

My first diesel car was a Fabia vRS back in 2005. I drove it hard when I was in that kind of mood, but driving to work on a busy motorway I always cruised at 60 mph, returning 70+ mpg daily. No problems at all. Traded it in for an ex demo Octy vRS in 2007, and again, had loads of fun when I wanted, and again cruised to work daily at 60mph.

The car went into limp mode 2 or 3 times over the 70k miles I had it, and I never even knew what a DPF was until the last time it happened, which was the straw that broke the camels back.

In this day and age, it is a scandal that you can't just buy a car and drive it any way you want. Why should I have to take it out every so often and thrash it just so it doesn't break down. Technology should make cars more reliable, not the other way about.

When I bought m wife's Honda CR-V I asked he salesman if the car had a DPF (knowing full well it did), and he asked 'what's a DPF?'. My friend who's been a Honda technician in the same garage for 20 years didnt know what a DPF was when I told him about he problems I had with the Octy. Now, wether this is down to the Hondas being more robust we will soon see, but I'm seriously thinking of invalidating the warranty and taking the thing out, just incase.

And just out of curiosity, I was under the impression that the soot in the DPF only burned off during regen mode, don't know if this is true or not.

Note that the PD engines were prone to DPF problems - they were designed without a DPF, and had one retrofitted to the design late in its life. Because of this, the DPF is badly placed on the PD engines; it's somewhere that doesn't stay hot during normal driving.

CR engines are less prone to DPF problems, because the DPF is snuggled up close to the hot parts of the engine, keeping it nice and warm. In turn, this means that they're more likely to manage passive regens (which just need the DPF to get hot - no extra trickery required, so happens naturally when driving hard). Additionally, the CR engines are better able to manage active regens, as they're able to inject at any point in the cycle.

Currently running my second Yeti with a CR DPF deisel, however this one actively regen's twice as often as the first despite being driven on the same routes, in the same manner and refilled at the same Total filling station (even had two regens in one commute; first after 5 miles and the second a further 30 mile on, with a 3rd gear hill climb in the middle :wonder: ). Had no warning lights, just notice an increase in revs at idle (e.g. sat at traffic lights) and occasionally that burning smell. Car is mainly used to commute 36 miles each way along country A roads including some hill climbs, also follow the advice to hold lower gears for longer and 'hustle' her along every so often.

Will be asking the dealers views come service in January.

TP

Note that the PD engines were prone to DPF problems - they were designed without a DPF, and had one retrofitted to the design late in its life. Because of this, the DPF is badly placed on the PD engines; it's somewhere that doesn't stay hot during normal driving.

On my PD Fabia the DPF is bolted straight to the exhaust outlet of the turbo. Cant get much closer than that and its tucked right against the engine surrounded in heat shielding.

My Greenline has modified injection cams that allow post combustion fueling. No matter how I drive it during regen, be it slowly in town or on fast roads the regen is always successful and doesnt do it gain for about 110-130 miles.

Maybe they got it right on the PD Greenline Fabia. A tech guy on here said the DPF on the new CR engine Fabia has its DPF further back under the middle of the car.I agree that CR is always going to better at regen fuelling because the amount of post fueling isnt physically limited by cam duration as on the PD.

Note that the PD engines were prone to DPF problems - they were designed without a DPF, and had one retrofitted to the design late in its life. Because of this, the DPF is badly placed on the PD engines; it's somewhere that doesn't stay hot during normal driving.

CR engines are less prone to DPF problems, because the DPF is snuggled up close to the hot parts of the engine, keeping it nice and warm. In turn, this means that they're more likely to manage passive regens (which just need the DPF to get hot - no extra trickery required, so happens naturally when driving hard). Additionally, the CR engines are better able to manage active regens, as they're able to inject at any point in the cycle.

Hi Farnz, yeah...that was on the last PD Golfs. The Greenline PD Fabia with the DPF is much much better. Skoda learned how to do it properly then told VW! GL1's are brilliant and haven't heard of one with DPF probs yet.

Edited: due to spelling and stuff!

Edited 18 December, 201114 yr by Estate Man

I suspect the PD engines are on a fixed regen and the newer CR are sensor based.

I suspect the PD engines are on a fixed regen and the newer CR are sensor based.

My PD is sensor based.

Its not based on miles or time far as I can tell. The differential pressure sensor decides when to regen.

You can extend the regen frequency by using Vpower or BP Ultimate etc as I guess it burns cleaner. Drive it gently under minimal load it regens more often as the passive regen isnt so effective.

If the differential pressure difference gets too high I guess that then puts the light on. Never seen it yet The sensor is located just under the engine cover and through rubber hoses connects to metal tubes at the DPF inlet and outlet.

If memory serves the shortest time I ever had between regens was 80 ish miles. Longest about 150. Its obvious to me when it does it and takes 5 minutes.

Edited 18 December, 201114 yr by raisbeck