Hi lads,

Just a question regarding my vrs.

My dpf light comes on approx once a week, and I am getting sick of diving it out the road for 20 minutes in a low gear at high revs to clear it.

There is only 87k miles (genuine) on my car, I spoke to a guy who does dpf work and he said my mileage is too low for it to be blocked up and wouldn't recommend it.

What are my options?

(I'm based in Ireland by the way)

its not the amount of mileage its the kind of driving and kind of roads.

My VRS (2006 derv) does per day 3 miles. Anything on top is trips to friends houses, days out etc etc. The normal driving is in town so no more than 30mph but when we go out we will always use A roads, motorways or fun B roads so I can get to the needed speed etc. my light came on friday for the first time in a couple of months as we hadn't been out anyware that week.

Hi lads,

Just a question regarding my vrs.

My dpf light comes on approx once a week, and I am getting sick of diving it out the road for 20 minutes in a low gear at high revs to clear it.

There is only 87k miles (genuine) on my car, I spoke to a guy who does dpf work and he said my mileage is too low for it to be blocked up and wouldn't recommend it.

What are my options?

(I'm based in Ireland by the way)

I had same prob on my previous 08 vrs and got a local mechanic to take d whole exaust off amd took to a welder who cut the dpf out n resealed it again. he charged £25 and mechanic charged £100 for his labour. then I got a chap to come round and remap and delete the dpf out of my system for 175. after that she was flying lile a dream

If you are seeing the light once a week then it's time for a DPF removal.

To confirm this you can scan the car and check for the Ash MAFF level. This is the level of ash in the filter that is the by-product of burning off the soot.

As the ash level increases it covers the filter therefore reducing it's ability to regenerate.

There will come a point wherby the DPF won't be able to regenerate by itself. Then you get limp-home mode etc. which isn't nice.

There a couple of guys on here from Ireland that have had their DPF's removed, see here...

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/242865-dpf-removal-remap-ireland/

Just to add if you hit the magic 45 grams then game over. No regen is possible from that point

According to my dealer 80 to 100k is a normal range on a PD derv...I managed to get to 123k odd.

I was quoted between £500 to £750 for the dpf removal and a whopping £1700 to get it replaced.

Would also recommend you get a second opinion as it is not always clear cut if it is the dpf or a faulty sensor?

Mine was fooked at 80k...

it could just be the exhaust gas pressure sensor, a very common failure. Both My dads 2009 Fabia and my old 2008 Superb needed the sensor replacing. The sensor tells the ECU how much soot is in the DPF by measuring the difference in air flow across the DPF. As it starts to fail, it thinks the DPF is more clogged than it really is. The symptoms you describe suggest thats all it maybe. Cost is about £60 for the sensor, but it must have an adaption run after installing the new sensor, BEFORE even starting the engine.

Cheers lads, I have it booked in for Dpf removal & re-map nxt thurs. €300 not bad

A wise move

One thing to check is that if the ECU gets updated, say at the dealers when it is serviced, the new non-DPF map will have to be re-applied.

The companies I looked at would do this for free for the life of the car but thought it was worth a mention

Cheers

Just tell the dealer it's been mapped and not to add any ECU updates.

Fitz

Update: disaster. Light was on since yday, so I went out today to force regen....

Unfortunately while out doing it car went into limp mode and I now have 3 lights on on the dash; Dpf light, engine management light and glow plug light.

I spoke to an auto electrician who said it could be a differential pressure sensor....

I dont know, if I could get it out of limp mode I'd be able to force regen & I could drive to Dublin (100 miles) and get Dpf removed and have it re-mapped....

Any advice would be massively appreciated before I reach for the can of petrol & the matches :(

Now the car is in limp-home mode it will be impossible for you to regenerate the DPF yourself.

It now requires either a trip to the dealer or someone with VCDS to perform a forced regen.

If it is indeed the gas pressure sensor this will need replacing, even if you have the DPF removed. The sensors still have to work, even if they are coded out during the removal of the DPF.

I'm guessing you don't fancy driving to Dublin in limp-home mode? This is the cheapest option as if you get a forced regen done locally it's still going to cost you. The sensor is around £70 plus an hours labour from a Skoda main dealer.

Being able to scan the car would be beneficial as you'll be able to determine if it is a failed sensor causing the DPF issues or whether in fact the DPF has actually expired.

W

Edited 7 February, 201313 yr by jasonhibernian

Cheers for reply, is it safe to drive it to Dublin with them lights on, limp mode and possible blocked Dpf?

Also the missus has an Audi a3 2009, if I swapped the sensors and tried that could I possibly get it out of limp mode....?

A completely blocked DPF will prevent the engine from being able to exhaust and cause the engine to cut out with possible damage.

However in limp-home mode / 100 miles I doubt this will happen.

I don't think the sensors can be swapped as when a new one is fitted they have to be programmed to the car.

There are warnings about possible fire issues etc when driving about with a fully blocked DPF but my missus drove the car over a week in this condition before we got it into JabbaSport so you should be ok.

If you do manage to sort you problems out without getting rid of the DPF you coud try adding millers to your tank or running it on premium diesel to see if that makes any difference, though you might have to do it for a while to see any difference?

had it plugged into VCDS came back 008194- Particulate Trap Blank1: Efficiency Below Threshold.

"Efficiency Below Threshold"

Sounds to me like the DPF is done. The ash levels are too high.

Not sure if it helps but managed 1000 odd miles between mine being condemned and then chucking it in.

It was at something 60 grams before I did the extra 1k without to much hassle.

Not waiting to see if it appears on eBay lol

Who's doing your dpf? I'm based in Ireland and had joe power do mine...

Sportchip.ie in Dublin.

I saw before on here someone posted step by step pics on dpf removal... does anyone have a link to this by any chance?

Had problem with my DPF light on all the time octy vrs everybody said i needed new dpf 121,000 miles took it to garage in Stockport Cheshire did a forced regen with cleaner. £300. All ok now so do some searching

£300 for a forced regen!?

A forced regen is initiated using the diagnostics so no materials / parts are required and takes less than an hour to complete.

Was the cleaner one of those that you add to the fuel or has this guy actually removed the DPF and cleaned it another way?