Hi 

first of all I’m new here so I do apologise if this has been answered before.. I drive a Skoda Octavia VRs 245 estate (2018) 50k miles ..really love the car but I only do local miles to my local college where I work as a lecturer,I know the car needs long blasts on the motorway but these are few and far between for me  

the particulate filter light came on on my dash board accompanied by the yellow triangle ..checked the owners manual told me to drive the car around for 30 mins at set engine revs and gears and that it should switch off, unfortunately it didn’t ….car is regenning as it’s raving at 1100 rpm when in idle rather than the lower usual figure 

 

Should I get it forced regen at Garrage ?

can the particulate filter be cleaned like disel dpfs ?

wgat are my options ? 
 

car is not in limp mode but I dint want any damage to occur so want a quick fix 

 

I’m in Brum if anyone knows any places I can take it 

 

thank you friendly Skoda fellow brothers and sisters 😃

Hi, welcome.

 

Should I give you a lecture. 😁  I'll keep it short.  Modern diesel or petrol cars aren't good for short journey, round town use, and a waste having a VRS and 245.  I'd not expect 30 minutes of driving to be of much use to clear things particularly if it's not a solid 30 minutes of high revs and higher speed as possible/allowed.  You would need to take your car out late at night when the roads and motorways have a lot less traffic and many miles of motorway higher revs driving or A-roads higher revs in lower gears.

 

Changing the oil more often than once a year (and using better quality engine oil) would might help.  Changing the engine air filter more often and cleaning the intake box and tubing (depends on your environment air quality.   Using (the oxymoron) "cleaner" diesel fuel, at all or more often will help.  Longer and more frequent blow-out runs.  Changing your car.

 

First thing you could try is after fully warming the engine, engine oil temperature at 90c, go for a much longer run, at high speeds at higher revs on a fill up with something like Shell V-Power diesel.  If that does no better then you need an appropriate scan tool that had its program(s) fully updated for your model and year of VW car and see exactly what the situation is preferably from live data.

 

A Briskoda member may be able to help you with a suitable appropriate scan tool, some for beer tokens some other may be full professional services (at appropriate rates), see here. - 

 

 

If you're doing lots of short journeys you may be starting to upset the car's computer programs by letting the battery get into a too lower state of charge for them even the rest of the car can cope with the lower state of charge, at some point they will make you suffer for it.  To prevent this if you're not driving the car enough to recharge the battery then the use of an appropriate battery charger and maintainer to fully recharge the battery may well be required.  Obviously, when required, preventative rechargers are better than getting the battery into a similar position as the PDF.  Fully recharge the battery with an appropriate charger maintainer after reading the Owner's Manual for your car and the charger instructions.  Lower (amps), slower charging is best, which takes longer, but can be done in more than one session if required.

 

Just one example, other makes and suppliers are available. - 4A SmartCharge 904 - https://shop.ringautomotive.com/rsc904-4a-smart-battery-charger-maintainer.html

 

From VWŠkoda free downloadable pdf copies of Owner's manuals. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models

 

Skoda Octavia Mk III (2013 - 2020) forum section of this site for detailed advice and information on your model. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/235-skoda-octavia-mk-iii-2013-2020/

 

HTH.

 

16 hours ago, Loqman said:

Hi 

first of all I’m new here so I do apologise if this has been answered before.. I drive a Skoda Octavia VRs 245 estate (2018) 50k miles ..really love the car but I only do local miles to my local college where I work as a lecturer,I know the car needs long blasts on the motorway but these are few and far between for me  

the particulate filter light came on on my dash board accompanied by the yellow triangle ..checked the owners manual told me to drive the car around for 30 mins at set engine revs and gears and that it should switch off, unfortunately it didn’t ….car is regenning as it’s raving at 1100 rpm when in idle rather than the lower usual figure 

 

Should I get it forced regen at Garrage ?

can the particulate filter be cleaned like disel dpfs ?

wgat are my options ? 
 

car is not in limp mode but I dint want any damage to occur so want a quick fix 

 

I’m in Brum if anyone knows any places I can take it 

 

thank you friendly Skoda fellow brothers and sisters 😃

Hello, welcome to the forum.

I assume this is a TSI - the regen process for a PPF is different to that for a DPF - PPF does a regen on throttle-off overrun.

Apologies for some reason I thought diesel, I've not seen what works well with clearing the PPF but good start is to follow the instructions in the Owner's Manual for the car which looks like the good old "Italian tune-up" with a bit of fully off accelerator which you might do on a twisty road before pushing the brake pedal, or perhaps accelerator again, to set the car up for a bend, rather than totally always relying on VRs electronics and driver "aids" and "assist", little point having a VRs if the driver isn't actually going to drive the car sometimes rather than the other way round.

 

Other points about getting the engine oil temperature to 90c (and more), better quality fuel (more choice with petrol), better engine oil and more frequent changes, and cleanliness of engine air filter and intake still stand plus timely check and changes of spark plugs.

 

I've no idea if the following is still up to date, just petrols with more cleaning additives packages to the petrol (and higher octane ratings).

 

petrol.pdf

 

Edited 14 October, 20241 yr by nta16

Thank you so much for your replies really appreciate it …bought some fuel system cleaner going to whack it in at half fill also had the car booked in to Skoda for a forced regen and engine oil change 

I think I’m gonna start doing what VRs are meant for and thrashing it about on country lanes a little bit more 

hopefully nothing more costly than a forced regen ..mines a manual so I’m actually gonna enjoy it …drive it less in eco more in VRs mode and up shift at 2000 rpm rather than at 1600 😄

 

quoted 168 pounds for the regents Pluss complimentary vax and clean if that helps 

1 minute ago, Loqman said:

drive it less in eco more in VRs mode and up shift at 2000 rpm rather than at 1600 😄

So it is a diesel. 😆

 

 

 

 

I think you were joking, so was I.

 

Problem with modern more powerful vehicles is that you can't really push them that much on our roads and at legal speeds, smaller, less powerful engines make it so much easier (and to me much more fun).  How about load the car up to its maximum carrying weight (after adjusting tyre pressures) and take the car to the many steep climbs not too far from the motor city to make the car work harder at legal speeds, making use of the steering wheel, gear lever, gears and brake when required.  Or do the same after a drive up the motorways to Scotland.  I'd sooner burn £168 on petrol and food (and sensible amount of ale with driving) than give it to the Dealers/garages/mechanics.

 

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

I know I only bought it a few months ago and I used to work in another college which meant I’d do a lot more motorway Milage now it’s just an8 mile inner city commute rarely ever gives me the chance to put it in any higher revs than what I mentioned …pluss I have a littleun in the back (2yrs) so when he is in it I’m always on my best behaviour 😇 

 

but promises to all you I’ll be be placing that foot down … thank you all for welcoming me here 👍👍👍 …I’ll let you all know what happend after I pick it up 

I would get E5 Super Unleaded in & run the car.

Do not put Cleaners into your tank.

 

Getting a Forced Regen on a GPF is an error i think. 

Did you speak to a Technician or just a Service Desk Person? 

 

Has the car had new Spark Plugs fitted yet? 

I only ever use super unleaded (Costco ) never anything less  …the owners manual suggested taking it to Skoda which is what I did …the technician said they will do it and suggested I change engine oil after as it runs it very warm 

 

I think I’ll change theirs plugs after the deep cleanse 

 

why not add the engine cleaner?

 

You are running Long Life oil with cleaning additives, Super Unleaded with detergents, how much cleaning does the engine need.  Rhetoric.

?

Is there no record of the Spark Plugs being changed.  (40,000 miles)

 

PS.

The thing about 'Seek the help of a specialist garage'.  Well they might think that includes Main Dealerships in the UK, they specialise in taking your money.

Lets hope that Forced Regens can do it for GPF,s.   Still waiting to hear how much Main Dealers want to replace a GPF. 

Edited 14 October, 20241 yr by Ootohere

The Dealership won't be using a better quality oil, they if they're honest(?) they will be using what meets the standards, being at a college you might know about what passes standards and how it can be bettered for higher requirements, better oils work better and offer better and wider protection margins at hotter running and very cold starts, they don't need marketing labels like Long Life but they might have it.  If you're only using the car as mainly a commuting shopping trolley with occasional runs near like a VRs was designed for then standard Dealership standards will be hopefully meeting the minimum requirements (subject perhaps to more frequent oil changes if you intend keeping the engine a long time).

 

As you've only had the car a few months you probably don't know that much about its servicing and maintenance history other than perhaps the sparse content of "servicing" Dealer "stamps" work which hopefully is up to the sparse VW "servicing and maintenance" schedule, let alone know how previous owner(s) have driven and treated the car.  Now you've driven it a little while you should have a feel for any priority requirements on the car (filter light as one example). Engine oil (and oil filter) change, engine oil oil filter, spark plugs are just relatively unimportant engine stuff.  Much more important is brakes, steering and suspension - all three include tyres one of the most important components on a vehicle - after of course brakes (discs, pads, fluid), then it's lights (reflective number plates) and windows, mirrors - see and be seen in day and night light.  Engine is after all of those.

 

For lights, wipers, air-con, horn, starting the engine, keeping the computers happy a 12v battery in good state of charge (and health) is very useful, especially as we approach the colder days and longer nights when the recovery services get even more call out for "battery" problems (rarely the battery's fault) and batteries are in lower stocks on the shelves at the first and second cold snaps of winter (same time you can't get anyone to look at boilers and plumbing work because they're too busy).  If you're old enough you'll know about using a battery charger maintainer to give you more choice about when you want to, or need to, change the car's 12v battery or extend it's life to save the expense and hassle so soon or frequently.  Asking the Dealership to test the battery usually gives two results, "it's fine" or "it needs changing, £250-£300(?)", the answer might depend on who you get and/or the Dealerships work and battery stock levels, I doubt they'd suggest you using a battery charger maintainer to pick the battery back up and get as much life as practical out of it.  Or you might want to find out for yourself if those that say short journeys don't matter on modern cars with their clever alternators doing all the necessary work (despite all the numerous threads on here showing otherwise.

 

Wot's it they used to say, something like proper preparation prevents ****-poor performance, depends on the learning establishment I expect, American marketing speak b*ll*ck used to be such a good source of humour (quite frightening when you still hear it from certain quarter now but that's another subject of pain altogether.

 

BTW - by spirited driving none of the posters here now including me would mean anything that is even slightly out of place on public roads whether, no passenger(s), 20 year old passenger, 2 year old passenger, to do anything very slightly silly you should keep it to closed-track driving  where only you pay for any mistakes or accidents of any sort.

 

So update went to the dealership and that was a clown show …told them my car was a petrol 245 vrs gave them my registration number and after leaving the car for a day with them got a call to say that they couldn’t do the regen as it was a petrol and that they thought the engine oil could get too warm as they originally thought it was a diesel..and so advised me to blast it down the motorway which I already told them I had done.

wanted to charge me 168 for the privilege of having their technician figure  out in an hr for me that it  was a petrol car that I owned and not even carry out any diagnostics

 

after some threatening to take the matter to trading standards car was released to me with no charge but at least I got a free clean and vacuume on my car 

 

then tock the car to an Independent vw Garrage whose main diagnostic technician was an ex Skoda employee told me these things have a common issue sometimes they get stuck in regen mode even after regen was completed 

 

hocked the car to diagnostic machine laptop driove  it around for 1/2 he looked at the particulate levels graph and engine out put graph  which were below what should trigger a regen and deactivated it 

 

then ran it fir another 2 hrs to ensure  light would not come on again and said on your way 

 

told me no charge as he didn’t do much and enjoyed the drive in the car told me nout yo worry about 

 

not bad I think 😃👌

 

 

12 hours ago, Loqman said:

So update went to the dealership and that was a clown show …told them my car was a petrol 245 vrs gave them my registration number and after leaving the car for a day with them got a call to say that they couldn’t do the regen as it was a petrol and that they thought the engine oil could get too warm as they originally thought it was a diesel..and so advised me to blast it down the motorway which I already told them I had done.

wanted to charge me 168 for the privilege of having their technician figure  out in an hr for me that it  was a petrol car that I owned and not even carry out any diagnostics

 

after some threatening to take the matter to trading standards car was released to me with no charge but at least I got a free clean and vacuume on my car 

 

then tock the car to an Independent vw Garrage whose main diagnostic technician was an ex Skoda employee told me these things have a common issue sometimes they get stuck in regen mode even after regen was completed 

 

hocked the car to diagnostic machine laptop driove  it around for 1/2 he looked at the particulate levels graph and engine out put graph  which were below what should trigger a regen and deactivated it 

 

then ran it fir another 2 hrs to ensure  light would not come on again and said on your way 

 

told me no charge as he didn’t do much and enjoyed the drive in the car told me nout yo worry about 

 

not bad I think 😃👌

 

 

Quite appalling, yet somehow not surprising that your Stealer did not realise a 245 vRS is a petrol!

I guess I know where you will be taking your car for future servicing. 

On 16/10/2024 at 21:10, Loqman said:

So update went to the dealership and that was a clown show …told them my car was a petrol 245 vrs gave them my registration number and after leaving the car for a day with them got a call to say that they couldn’t do the regen as it was a petrol and that they thought the engine oil could get too warm as they originally thought it was a diesel..and so advised me to blast it down the motorway which I already told them I had done.

wanted to charge me 168 for the privilege of having their technician figure  out in an hr for me that it  was a petrol car that I owned and not even carry out any diagnostics

 

after some threatening to take the matter to trading standards car was released to me with no charge but at least I got a free clean and vacuume on my car 

 

then tock the car to an Independent vw Garrage whose main diagnostic technician was an ex Skoda employee told me these things have a common issue sometimes they get stuck in regen mode even after regen was completed 

 

hocked the car to diagnostic machine laptop driove  it around for 1/2 he looked at the particulate levels graph and engine out put graph  which were below what should trigger a regen and deactivated it 

 

then ran it fir another 2 hrs to ensure  light would not come on again and said on your way 

 

told me no charge as he didn’t do much and enjoyed the drive in the car told me nout yo worry about 

 

not bad I think 😃👌

 

 

Where did you go, I mean which garage did you use?

 

Edited 3 December, 20241 yr by EnterName

On 14/10/2024 at 14:10, nta16 said:

Should I give you a lecture. 😁  I'll keep it short.

 

 

Was that and the following postings your idea of short?

 

I see you managed to go off on your usual lengthy diatribe about battery charging in most of them, that and all your other obsessions were totally irrelevant to the OP's questions about forced or active particulate filter regeneration.

 

Once again any useful responses to a new posters query become swamped by irrelevant guff, it's noticeable that you frequently choose new members to subject to this.