Apologies in advance for the rather idiotic question, but I'm hoping to learn from the vast experience here.

 

I bought a 2.0 diesel (150bhp, so no adblue) Superb, knowing that I probably shouldn't as my driving style and pretty low annual mileage would be better suited to a petrol.

 

Anyway, I did and I'm very happy with it. 

 

I'm a bit worried that my shorter journeys could cause a problem with the DPF - how will I know if it's regenerating and I should leave the engine running? Is there a notification light or similar?

 

It's on PCH, so after three years it won't be my problem (poor attitude, I know) but is there anything I can do other than making sure I do a decent run every couple of weeks to avoid potential problems in the meantime?

Edited 10 February, 20179 yr by CheshireBumpkin
To note that as it's on PCH I didn't really 'buy' it... :-)

There's no notification that it's running a cycle. Only if a fault occurs with the DPF will you see a warning.

If the cycle hasn't completed when you end your journey it will stop the regeneration. You may hear the fan running full pelt, that's normal as it tries to cool things down.

When you get up to speed and the engine generates enough heat on your next journey it will resume the regeneration cycle.

Short journeys won't cause a significant problem but you'll want to give it a good run regularly.

 

My Mk.II 170 diesel survived four years without a hiccup on mostly short journeys with a good run of at least an hour at least twice a month.

No there's no warning light to notify you a passive or active regen is in progress.

 

You can normally tell a regen is in place if the revs are circa 200rpm higher than at idle, when the car is stationary.  The stop start system will also be disabled. MPG *may* drop too.

 

Under normal, continuous driving conditions the car is running at a high enough temperature to perform passive regens whilst you're on the move.  They will vary in frequency, dependent on driving style/routes.  You will probably not notice unless you're at a stop (as signs above).

 

If your driving style/journey don't allow the exhaust temperature to get hot enough to perform a passive regen then the ECU will force an active regen.  This is when extra fuel is injected into the engine to try and raise the exhaust temperature, in order to burn soot particles. 

 

If you arrive at your destination, switch the engine off and notice a burning smell (similar to stuck brakes) and hear the fans spinning away, your car is carrying out an active regen. This produces a lot of heat, hence the smell and fans. 

Edited 10 February, 20179 yr by penguin17

Thanks for the info chaps - I'll think it'll be OK. Alongside daily short trips, I usually do a mixed journey of A-road and motorway of an hour each way a couple of times a month as a minimum. Hopefully this'll cover it...

Don't give it another thought, the car will always be under warranty whilst you own it.

 

Assuming the mileage is set as part of the PCH Skoda can hardly blame you for the low mileage!

Don't worry about it and don't keep the engine running if you stop and its doing a regen. For one its a waste of fuel and secondly, I think it probably gives up on the regen rather than actually completing it.

24 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Don't give it another thought, the car will always be under warranty whilst you own it.

 

Assuming the mileage is set as part of the PCH Skoda can hardly blame you for the low mileage!

 

Yeah - I seem to lose sight of the fact it will be covered throughout. I suppose there's always a hint of paranoia that they could try and wriggle out of something they could accuse me of contributing to!

 

6 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

Don't worry about it and don't keep the engine running if you stop and its doing a regen. For one its a waste of fuel and secondly, I think it probably gives up on the regen rather than actually completing it.

 

That's good to know - thanks.

Nothing to worry about, only the next owner will have to worry why the previous owner bought a diesel for short journeys

DPF problems due to manufacturing defect  (eg sensor) are covered by the warranty

 

DPF problems due to driving style are not (as far as I know)

 

However DPF implementations are much better these days as the DPF itself is close coupled to the engine rather than being an add on further down the exhaust - you shouldn't have a problem

 

I bought the petrol model due to it's purchase price - at the time it was £5k cheaper than the nearest diesel  (used car 14 months old for £10k). I calculated that on my mileage it would take 15 years fuel savings to "pay back" this amount. Since then used petrol/diesel prices seem to have converged somewhat - possibly because of VAG dieselgate

 

Edited 11 February, 20179 yr by bigjohn

4 hours ago, toni8b said:

Nothing to worry about, only the next owner will have to worry why the previous owner bought a diesel for short journeys

 

Haha! In my defence the problem I had is that whilst I know that I currently mainly do short journeys, in a year or two's time (depending on work, where I'm living etc) I could well be doing many long motorway journeys. On balance I decided I'd rather risk having a diesel in inappropriate circumstances than a petrol. Plus, I like the low down torque that a diesel provides.

 

I think it's really difficult when you're considering a PCH or PCP deal to be confident as to your fuel choice and mileage when a lot can happen in three years.

If your interested in how the DPF works and finding out whats going on I can recommend an app from the google store called VAG DPF.  I have recently got a 2009 fl 1.6 tdi and its compatible with my engine, has loads of useful info.

Check compatibility with your engine first though.  Its not available on IOS, just android only, and you will need an bluetooth obd port module thing.

I have used this app on a MY 2017 190. Needs an OBD II reader to work as well as the app itself. Have a look in the general maintenance section.

 

 

On 10/02/2017 at 12:02, penguin17 said:

No there's no warning light to notify you a passive or active regen is in progress.

 

You can normally tell a regen is in place if the revs are circa 200rpm higher than at idle, when the car is stationary.  The stop start system will also be disabled. MPG *may* drop too.

 

Under normal, continuous driving conditions the car is running at a high enough temperature to perform passive regens whilst you're on the move.  They will vary in frequency, dependent on driving style/routes.  You will probably not notice unless you're at a stop (as signs above).

 

If your driving style/journey don't allow the exhaust temperature to get hot enough to perform a passive regen then the ECU will force an active regen.  This is when extra fuel is injected into the engine to try and raise the exhaust temperature, in order to burn soot particles. 

 

If you arrive at your destination, switch the engine off and notice a burning smell (similar to stuck brakes) and hear the fans spinning away, your car is carrying out an active regen. This produces a lot of heat, hence the smell and fans. 

I know this post was some time ago, but its the best I've read on the subject. I had a MkII so knew about regen and the running fan. In my Mk III I had been wondering why the revs at idle were high sometimes and the stop/start deactivated. Couldn't find anything on this in the manual. The fans in my Mk III are way louder than the MK II and it seems to regen a lot more often. I'm doing the same mix of shorter journeys intersperced with longer runs.

 

A couple of days after getting my car I had the dual issue of the P7 19" wheel spin when turning right from a standing start in sport mode, coupled with burning smell when I got back home, leading me to think I'd a binding brake and went back to the dealer for a check on the ramp. Either they thought I was a complete dummy showed some respect for my age or didn't make the connection with the symptoms above, but all was fine.

Now after a canter round the forum and the benefit of more savvy people than me, I realise what is/was going on.

And also here when I was a diesel greenhorn