Hi guys, 

As stated on another thread, I’ve just bought a 1.6TDI. Despite having owned 5 diesels before this, this is my first with a DPF so I’m looking to educate myself. 
 

I’m sorry if the following seem like stupid questions, I’ve had a bit of a look through recent threads but can’t see the answers… 

 

1. How often will the DPF regen, and what will trigger this or allow it to start? I do know they should take about 15-20 minutes. 
 

2. How do I know if it is doing a regen, so as not to interrupt it? And do I need to keep driving whilst it’s doing this or just make sure I don’t switch the engine off? 
 

3. How would I know if my DPF needs some major work, treatment or even replacing? Car is on 81k but I’ve no idea about the previous owner’s driving style. Ages ago I read that the recommended interval was 80k but I think that was when they were first  introduced in around 2008 so assuming guidance has changed?

 

Thanks in advance. 

Edited 21 November, 20223 yr by alessio92

If you look @ the top of the page there is a sticky thread titled my new diesel smells of burning rubber. You will need to get comfy.

 

do you have a DSG gearbox ?.

 

To partly answer some of your questions 

1. the DPF will regen as & when needed. It is triggered by the soot levels and will normally happen when the DPF is hot enough.

2. you won't know when it's doing a regen unless you have diagnostic software. If when you park up & switch the engine off & hear the radiator fan running unexpectedly you will know that you've interrupted a regen.

There are 2 types of regen passive & active, A passive regen happens as you're driving & the DPF is hot enough.

 

PS if you don't know the answer but want to then it's not a stupid question.

Edited 21 November, 20223 yr by daftbugga
Added a PS

2. When you have the car in neutral, the revs will be higher than normal idle, somewhere around 1,000rpm (or you can hear/feel the fans spinning.)

Ideally you would want to complete the regen cycle, but not everyone wants to drive to nearest long dual carriageway (or could be during rush hour coming home from work)

 

If you get home, then you should make a mental note to give the car a little blast next time you go out ideally (once warmed)

If not a weekend drive to clear it out.

 

 

3. If the car is using a lot of oil, this will shorten the life, if your oil is overfilling then your DPF regens are probably failing and diesel is overfilling your oil, ideally you want a car where the dipstick stays in the goldilocks zone.

 

You will need a diagnostic readout to measure (the estimated) life of the DPF, I am happy to help if you want to travel for a plug in read (and I can do a static regen if needed)

Edited 21 November, 20223 yr by varooom
Spellink

18 minutes ago, daftbugga said:

If you look @ the top of the page there is a sticky thread titled my new diesel smells of burning rubber. You will need to get comfy.

 

do you have a DSG gearbox ?.

 

To partly answer some of your questions 

1. the DPF will regen as & when needed. It is triggered by the soot levels and will normally happen when the DPF is hot enough.

2. you won't know when it's doing a regen unless you have diagnostic software. If when you park up & switch the engine off & hear the radiator fan running unexpectedly you will know that you've interrupted a regen.

There are 2 types of regen passive & active, A passive regen happens as you're driving & the DPF is hot enough.

 

PS if you don't know the answer but want to then it's not a stupid question.

This is of interest to me, why are you asking if it's DSG?

42 minutes ago, ords said:

This is of interest to me, why are you asking if it's DSG?

With a diesel fitted with a DSG gear box if the DPF is doing a regen you may find that in auto mode 1 gear lower than usual is being selected.

This is my first DSG & going down the road @ 30 the gearbox will change up to 3rd instead of the usual 4th . I used to manually change to 4th only to then put it back to auto & it changed back down.  

A 1.6TDI with a DSG would have a DQ200 7 speed twin dry clutch one.

That behaviour would and should not happen as far as the gears. 

1 hour ago, toot said:

A 1.6TDI with a DSG would have a DQ200 7 speed twin dry clutch one.

That behaviour would and should not happen as far as the gears. 

You're right, I've never had that happen. 

If you are in tune with your engine (pun intended) sometimes you can hear & feel the engine note being a bit raspy, idle will go up from 800rpm to 1K rpm but it often does that at other times as well.

 

You may see the dashboard gear indicator telling you to change down where it would not normally do so and in circumstances where you basically disagree.

 

You may hear the cooling fans running but only at a standstill & if you have the windows open or have better hearing than me.

 

You will not fail to notice the fans running when you stop if you have interrupted a regen.