Thinking out loud really.  My new job will see me not doing the big miles so my initial thought was to change to a petrol car, but I actually really like the car so if I choose to keep it and I'm only doing short journeys, when I do do the big journey can I force a re-gen if it's not ready?  i.e. can I hold it on 3rd gear at 3k revs?

I have a Tdi MKIII Vrs, I do many short journeys and I have never had any problem with the DPF, no lights in over 2 years 

 

Let it do it's thing, don't worry leave it.

I think the dealer can, I doubt you can without vcds.

I have had loads of short runs and never had an issue that needed dealer intervention however I have had 13mpg from a tank of fuel due to regens.

Personally if you think you might be having dpf issues is say you shouldn't be considering a diesel.

And remember that its the Ash you'll need to be worried about and not the soot in the PDF.

 

Its another reason to choose a high quality low ash oil.

 

More information on DPFs here

 

http://www.hypermiler.co.uk/technical/the-diesel-particulate-filter-dpf-faq

 

Personally not had any issues at all. Do about 12 - 15 k a year. In my old Qashaqai I wasted nearly a grand on dealer regens.

I think the dealer can, I doubt you can without vcds.

I have had loads of short runs and never had an issue that needed dealer intervention however I have had 13mpg from a tank of fuel due to regens.

Personally if you think you might be having dpf issues is say you shouldn't be considering a diesel.

what?? 13 mpg average from a full tank of fuel? You think that's just down to regens? That's just crazy talk man! Ha ha!!

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I think the dealer can, I doubt you can without vcds.

I have had loads of short runs and never had an issue that needed dealer intervention however I have had 13mpg from a tank of fuel due to regens.

Personally if you think you might be having dpf issues is say you shouldn't be considering a diesel.

 

Thanks, I'm not considering a diesel I already have it, and have had for 2 years and 40k miles

There's no easy way to force a regen without using a dealer tool.

 

However, I wouldnt worry unless you start to have the DPF warning light on the dash.

There seem to be many Mk3 TDi owners only doing short distances without a warning light or reports of major problems.

 

Regeneration will be requested by the ECU before the filter is full (maybe 70% for example) so you can drive fine for a few hundred kms before it becomes important.

If you have a longer journey a couple of times a month its likely you wont notice anything & the regen will occur normally during the trip.

 

A lot dépends on how short your "short" journeys will be.

If its enough for the engine to get warm, you should be fine & might just notice a few times that the fan is running when you stop the car at home.

what?? 13 mpg average from a full tank of fuel? You think that's just down to regens? That's just crazy talk man! Ha ha!!

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It was 12.7 and confirmed by dealer due to regens

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/393268-beat-my-mpg/

A lot dépends on how short your "short" journeys will be.

If its enough for the engine to get warm, you should be fine & might just notice a few times that the fan is running when you stop the car at home.

 

My new office is about 2 miles from my house.  I would imaging it won't even warm up.  I'll try to walk / cycle when I can but winter might be a different story!

My new office is about 2 miles from my house.  I would imaging it won't even warm up.  I'll try to walk / cycle when I can but winter might be a different story!

 

This is definately "short"

However, I'm sure regeneration will take care of itself when needed when you take a longer journey.

My new office is about 2 miles from my house.  I would imaging it won't even warm up.  I'll try to walk / cycle when I can but winter might be a different story!

 

And there was me worrying about my 9 mile journey to the station!!

Speaking from my own experience, we've always had Astra diesel estates mk3 right through to the Astra j 2.0 CDti the previous 2 being a 1.7 and 1.9 CDti, the Astra j we ran exclusively on shell never had any bother with dpf's or egr's and we dd about 10k annually, the previous 1.7 and 1.9 we ran on supermarket diesel usually sainsburys as its just down the street, nothing but but trouble 2 egr's on the 1.7 in 2 years and on the 1.9 nearly £1200 to replace the inlet manifold and all the bits that go with it and that was within 18 months from new! Since that was repaired we ran it on premium diesel never had anymore troubles, the Vrs is always run on shell vpower

And remember that its the Ash you'll need to be worried about and not the soot in the PDF.

 

Its another reason to choose a high quality low ash oil.

 

More information on DPFs here

 

http://www.hypermiler.co.uk/technical/the-diesel-particulate-filter-dpf-faq

 

Personally not had any issues at all. Do about 12 - 15 k a year. In my old Qashaqai I wasted nearly a grand on dealer regens.

Soot or diesel particles are the main reason for regenerations. Solidified carbon/Soot builds up until the ecu deems it appropriate to carry out a regen. Pretty much all premature DPF failures that I've seen have been the result of excessive Soot build up.

The oil ash plays a very small part in DPF saturation, granted you should use low ash oils but the ash isn't the main contributing factor regarding blockage and is minimal compared to the Soot.

I've only come across 1 octavia needing a regeneration in the last 18 months, VW AG are pretty good with DPF technology these days.

It was 12.7 and confirmed by dealer due to regens

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/393268-beat-my-mpg/

I do remember your original post now. Still can't believe those numbers, what was the problem in the end? Did you get it sorted?

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Edited 17 June, 201610 yr by Skodev

I do remember your original post now. Still can't believe those numbers, what was the problem in the end? Did you get it sorted?

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Yeah never did the same type of short runs again as SWMBO hasn't used to car much since so never had the same issue (was over a time when I didn't go into the office but worked from home for a couple of weeks).

Certainly from what I've seen I believe should the OP only do a mile or two each trip they will have the same issues as the dealer gave the car a clean bill of health (had had an Italian tune up by then) and comfirmed it's cause was most likely short runs.

Another thought ->  Will fuel make a difference?  If so which fuels are better?  At the moment I'm running on Morrison Diesel with no problems at all, in fact when it was on the rollers at JKM last year it made 197bhp which I thought was alright!

 

Am I better off switching to V-Power or something like that.  I'm sure someone has researched it!!

Another thought ->  Will fuel make a difference?  If so which fuels are better?  At the moment I'm running on Morrison Diesel with no problems at all, in fact when it was on the rollers at JKM last year it made 197bhp which I thought was alright!

 

Am I better off switching to V-Power or something like that.  I'm sure someone has researched it!!

 

I think the best place for a impartial review if probably the WhatCar/AutoCar car mag tests where they compare premium fuel, standard branded fuels & supermarket in a reasonable scientific test.

 

From the forum I'm sure you will get answers for both sides.

Several people wouldn't feed supermarket fuel to their neighbours cat, others have always used the cheapest.

Personally I have only owned diesel cars & have never had a problem running supermarket fuel but always do a reasonable mileage each year.

Yeah never did the same type of short runs again as SWMBO hasn't used to car much since so never had the same issue (was over a time when I didn't go into the office but worked from home for a couple of weeks).

Certainly from what I've seen I believe should the OP only do a mile or two each trip they will have the same issues as the dealer gave the car a clean bill of health (had had an Italian tune up by then) and comfirmed it's cause was most likely short runs.

 

If you are only driving 1 or 2 miles, the drop in fuel economy is due to this (short journeys).

The engine wouldn't even get hot in this time so regenerations wouldn't be activated.