Particulate filter, management and glow plug lights on.

[scimitarjohn]

  The wife has a 2011 Elegance 1.6 Tdi, we're pensioners so what with lockdown and all the cars just had short journeys for yonks. The PDF light came up first (the cars done a regen) but wouldn't go, then the management lights came up. Cars been into a local garage for MOT (300 quid just to replace a brake cable) but still failed on the PDF, mechanic said he'd done several forced regens on a road test but still not clearing. So now I'm told a new PDF will cost me £1500 for a car that's worth £1500. My question is - has anyone had experience of PDF cleaning chemicals you run through with the fuel, or experience of using one of the companies that use these forced pressure cleaning machines. Otherwise it means scrapping an otherwise perfectly good little estate car with just 70k on the clock.  So, any thought please.

[joedemp]

I use wynns DPF cleaner once a month one bottle with a full thank of fuel, I get it in my local halfords costs €12 here in Ireland 

my car is 2010 1.6tdi remapped to 126bhp with 268k kms 

Edited 21 January, 2021 by joedemp

[scimitarjohn]

  Yes, I think that's what I should have been doing, would probably stopped me getting into this trouble, many thanks.

[chimaera]

Looking at the service manual, the labour doesn't look to be ridiculously bad on these to drop the DPF. If you're thinking of getting the DPF cleaned, check with the company whether they need the DPF removed or not, and whether they are quoting just for cleaning, or for removal, cleaning and refitting. If they are removing the DPF to clean it, your comparison at that point is the cost of a new DPF vs the cost of the cleaning process as the labour is otherwise the same.

 

If you can find someone who is known to be good at cleaning the DPF it may be the better option, even if it doesn't last as long as a brand new DPF, given the age of the car and your annual mileage.

 

I have my doubts about fuel additives, there's only so much they can do. It would be worth your while getting a bluetooth OBD adapter and installing the VAG DPF app on your phone: it allows you monitor the DPF condition in real time and can alert you when a regen cycle is coming up. Most of the trouble with DPFs comes from regen cycles not getting sufficient time to complete, especially on low mileage cars, leading to a buildup of soot in the filter that exceeds the engine's ability to clear it during regen. When I see a regen coming up on my Superb, I make sure to take the long way on my journey so it has time to complete the regen.

[PipH]

I would find someone with VCDS to do a code read first.

 

DPF's can get blocked up due to other items on the engine failing, the DPF is then unable to regen itself.

 

A stuck EGR or Throttle Valve can stop the DPF regen.

 

Have a look at the VCDS Owners map to see if anyone local to you.

List of VCDS Owners (Previously known as VAG-COM) & VCP Owners - Diagnostics & VCDS - BRISKODA

[sepulchrave]

I'm afraid your garage is gouging you brutally, if you take it to a terraclean centre they'll get it sorted for a fraction of the cost.

Moral of the story is that modern diesels make REALLY bad shopping trolleys, they need a good fast run regularly to stay clean.

[scimitarjohn]

1 hour ago, sepulchrave said:

I'm afraid your garage is gouging you brutally, if you take it to a terraclean centre they'll get it sorted for a fraction of the cost.

Moral of the story is that modern diesels make REALLY bad shopping trolleys, they need a good fast run regularly to stay clean.

Thanks for that, been doing a bit of research and came across Terraclean, have you used them?

[sepulchrave]

31 minutes ago, scimitarjohn said:

Thanks for that, been doing a bit of research and came across Terraclean, have you used them?

 

No, but they're reputable and this is what they do. There's bound to be a franchise near you.

[SuperbTWM]

10 hours ago, PipH said:

I would find someone with VCDS to do a code read first.

 

DPF's can get blocked up due to other items on the engine failing, the DPF is then unable to regen itself.

 

A stuck EGR or Throttle Valve can stop the DPF regen.

 

Have a look at the VCDS Owners map to see if anyone local to you.

List of VCDS Owners (Previously known as VAG-COM) & VCP Owners - Diagnostics & VCDS - BRISKODA

 

I would get a second opinion, Its not beyond the realms of possibility that your local garage isn't very good. I would confirm with somebody else that there is are no underlying issues with the car that would stop a regen.

 

If you have had this issue a while though and have continued driving the car you could have essentially filled up the DPF too much to the point it needs replacing rather than just taking on a long run. Most people that specialise in cleaning DPFs out also usually have a good knowledge on how they work so could probably diagnose any other issues with the system at the same time so that could be worth a try.

[scimitarjohn]

On 21/01/2021 at 22:18, SuperbTWM said:

 

I would get a second opinion, Its not beyond the realms of possibility that your local garage isn't very good. I would confirm with somebody else that there is are no underlying issues with the car that would stop a regen.

 

If you have had this issue a while though and have continued driving the car you could have essentially filled up the DPF too much to the point it needs replacing rather than just taking on a long run. Most people that specialise in cleaning DPFs out also usually have a good knowledge on how they work so could probably diagnose any other issues with the system at the same time so that could be worth a try.

  Yes, I've arranged for just that on Monday at a Skoda garage, depending on what they say I'll see then. I was just hoping someone might have experience in having a DPF cleaned. If it's a new one the cars scrap, if cleaning works that's just a few hundred and it's worth saving

[scimitarjohn]

On 21/01/2021 at 16:43, sepulchrave said:

 

No, but they're reputable and this is what they do. There's bound to be a franchise near you.

  Just checked out the Terraclean process and it seems to have some negative comments. Watched the video of it being done and nowhere can you see any soot or ash coming out with the foam?

[Fanty111]

I had this exact same issue 18 months ago. I drove in 4th gear to Liverpool from Preston and the light wouldn't clear. 

 

Got the garage to look at it. He said there wasn't a problem, cleared the faults and charged me nothing. To this day I've had no issue since.

 

Second opinion is the way forward 

[mrgf]

There are companies out there, who remove the internals of the DPF, clear the software, etc and charge around the price of a forced regen... I am NOT suggesting you do this but if done properly, it is almost impossible to detect and as long as the car is serviced well and you use a good quality product such as Cataclean just prior to a fresh MOT, it won't cause an MOT fail. 

I am in NO WAY suggesting you do this, just giving you some information!

[scimitarjohn]

2 hours ago, mrgf said:

There are companies out there, who remove the internals of the DPF, clear the software, etc and charge around the price of a forced regen... I am NOT suggesting you do this but if done properly, it is almost impossible to detect and as long as the car is serviced well and you use a good quality product such as Cataclean just prior to a fresh MOT, it won't cause an MOT fail. 

I am in NO WAY suggesting you do this, just giving you some information!

That was the route I was about to go down but thought it might be a good idea to give the main dealer a ring.  Bit of a shock really, all very helpful and knowledgeable, offered a diagnostics and opinion free of charge, they got back to me saying a forced regen would clear problem? (so what had the MOT station been doing?) so in for a penny and all that. Phone call next day to collect car, everything cleared and ready for retest, cost £120, bit better than £!500, the car was even cleaned inside and out!  So now all OK, MOT in hand and thinking I'm gonna use the main dealer for future MOTs