Ok, as a TDI own of 25 years I know full well it's really bad to do short journeys for any length of time, so please don't tell me what I already know. 

 

However ... I live 1 mile from work, I then use the 'job' car all day, and drive 1 mile home, and here's no change in sight for this arrangement. I don't want to sell the Yeti, and I don't really want to buy a small petrol shed to commute as I'll need a bigish car and that'll just get expensive. I'm what used to be described as 'no8' shape and don't fit in small cars.

 

I've tried a diet of super diesel for a few months but all this does is cause regens every 100 miles. 

 

What do I use as an additive? Dipethane, Archoil? ... any sensible suggestions welcomed. 

 

I tend not to get involved in debates on forums about additives because it gets a bit ridiculous, based on previous Subaru and Audi, Vw discussions over the years. It gets all a bit polarised.

 

'However' at 14 years old and short trips ahead, I would consider a pro clean of the system. Then, if you use additives I have found Miller ECO power max diesel good on lots of diesels and I still use it. Never had a DPF or EGR issue. Bye, out of here now...

I rather fear that you will have to resign yourself to early DPF issues. As far as I'm aware, there is no snake oil additive that will help.

The Premium Diesel with more additives / cleaners is not causing the 100 miles a time regens.

Likely just the same with standard DERV.

 

The state of the EGR and DPF is what they are.   Maybe getting away on some longer runs will help. 

Instead of the cost of buying additives use a gallon of diesel and take a 50 mile jaunt.

Edited 24 November, 20241 yr by Ootohere

If you are only a mile from work why not walk or buy a bike.
From experience I can tell you that your journeys are going to kill your car.

I know I'm killing the car, that's point of the post ... but those are the cards that have been dealt and for the moment I've got to suck it up - I'm looking to keep the old girl alive long enough to come up with a Plan B.

 

I can't be the only TDI owner in this situation hence the request for experiences. 

 

There's no chance of walking, I have wellies, fluorescent jacket, hard hat, laptop, paperwork to carry daily down narrow roads with no pavements, not forgetting dark wet nights and a knackered heart to boot!

Why don't you ask  (as it is only 1 mile) if you can use the company car?

Regardless of fuel type, consistent short runs of only a mile or so as you propose are pretty much the worst thing you can do - the engine will always be running cold.

I sympathise, ours ( a 2.0TDI 150 DSG) does the extremes, when my wife was working she used it twice daily on runs of about 1.2 miles, one a month it would do a motorway drive of approx 30miles, if it was used on the summer trips to Germany and Italy 4000 miles in 20 days mostly flat out esp in Germany, all our cars have or have had a very similar usage pattern.

 

The upshot was we never had any issues with DPF, SCR, brakes etc, brakes are always used hard/properly and not tickled to save on wear and tear which IMO means everything just rusts up and instead of replacing the pads you usually need discs etc.... hardly a saving in my book.

 

Everyone will do things differently, but we have used diesels for 35 years including models from Ford, BMW, Volvo, Renault, VW Group Opel/Vauxhall and MB with DPF, and SCR systems, never once have we ever had a problem and the usage pattern has never changed from described above.

 

If it were me, I would not worry, just take your car for a blast every couple of weeks and in my experience that will keep the "alleged diesel issues" at bay.

 

Just my opinion for what its worth. 🙂

 

Should have said no clever fuel additives, but on the tank before the mot or on a european run I put a dose (1ltr) of Moly Diesel Purge in the tank to clean up the injectors, otherwise just Shell V-Power Diesel.

Edited 24 November, 20241 yr by TruckbusUK
extra bit

@gumdrop It's not that kind of company, and is sometimes used by others during evening and weekends.

1 hour ago, gumdrop said:

Why don't you ask  (as it is only 1 mile) if you can use the company car?

 

This would seem common sense but I personally have been there, done that, and suffered financially as a consequence.  According to the Tax Office at the time, the provision of a vehicle for that single mile between home and permanent place of occupation constituted provision of a company vehicle, which it considered a benefit in kind and taxed as such.

Take the Citigo if you still have it ?

Edited 24 November, 20241 yr by Prezafab

A regen every 100 miles is not very frequent considering its daily use. If you must keep the car, as a minimum, make sure to drive it until regen completion every time it tries to do one, probably on your way home, this lessens the damaged caused by constant active regeneration and will allow the car to reach operating temperature.

 

I would use premium fuel regardless with your usage, the difference is a drop in the ocean.

 

 

....E bike / e scooter with panniers???

Edited 25 November, 20241 yr by Stubod

2 hours ago, Stubod said:

....E bike / e scooter with panniers???

 Nice idea and I'll admit I discussed it with colleagues, but seriously, that wouldn't end well  !

On 24/11/2024 at 19:02, Prezafab said:

Take the Citigo if you still have it ?

 

I love the Citigo, but if someone parks next to me I can't get in or out

 

Oh, then there's the small matter of prising the Citigo's keys from SWMBO's hands 

Like Stubod my first thought was e-Bike. That would recognise the heart issue and also deal with any hills on the commute. But we aren't talking the cheap Chinese imports that abound on eBay and its likes, you would need something that is fit for purpose as a load carrier (or to pull a small trailer) and that suggests a Dutch or German manufacturer which also brings better electronics, mechanicals and batteries as well as mudguards, lights etc. (I don't have an e-bike but have read a lot about them over the years from reliable sources that know what they are talking about). But be prepared for a hefty price tag although to a degree that's offset by higher residual values and who knows if you had it you might start using it rather than the car for more than the commute. I hope I'm not coming across as evengelical for the bike solution but for a good few years as a middle aged sport-phobic bloke I cycled 10 miles each way to work two or three times a week and for me the benefits greatly outweighted the effort.

So You have the Citigo solution already. Or she could drop you at work. Or get another job.

 

Ta ta !

16 minutes ago, Paul52 said:

I don't have an e-bike but have read a lot about them over the years from reliable sources that know what they are talking about. 

Pedalecs Forum?    I used to read that a lot.  Member flecc always talks sense.   

 

If you haven't ever ridden a quality e-bike B1ackb1rd you should consider it.  I wouldn't ride in poor weather or bad light but you will always have a smile on your face on nice days!  I had a heart attack out of the blue in 2019 and we still cycle miles on our e bikes since we tried our first ever ebikes in the Lake District more than 25 years ago.    We take them with us to France/Spain every year.   I worked as mechanic from leaving school aged 15 for 46 years until retirement and I can confirm what you already know.  I have seen the results of a few cold engine miles a day many times.   No additive will be good enough to offset the engine wear.  

1 hour ago, Stubod said:

....E bike / e scooter with panniers???

Unlikely to keep you warm and dry if the weather is poor!

 

 

Hi Rheumy. Used to be Velocity before it ceased publication but mainly The Folder that is now A2B. But my professional career included a substantial chunk of sustainable transport work and that brought me into contact with a lot of cyclists and later e-cyclists. (My team introduced early lead-acid batteries e-bikes as pool bikes into Portsmouth City Council over 20 years ago). A close neighbour operated his business successfully with a cargo bike and there was the Tesco experiment with bike hods (trailers customers could borrow) at its Chichester store which was well received as a high quality cycle route passes close by the store entrance. 

As regards "Unlikely to keep you warm and dry if the weather is poor!" the OP says "I have wellies, fluorescent jacket, hard hat, laptop, paperwork to carry daily" which to me is someone that's not going to be too worried about a bit of weather. And wearing the flourescent jacket means one less thing to carry and would make the OP very visible and keep the wind and wet out, which is why you see a lot of utility cyclists wearing them. Cycle lights are so good these days that riding at night isn't the problem it used to be.

A load carrying e-bike isn't going to be for everyone, probably not most people, but as solution to the problem being posed it was worth considering and, in the context of possibly having to replace or buy another car, probably cost effective.

 

One journey of 12 miles a week will be enough to keep the DPF healthy is my experience after moving to a place where most journeys are 4km, if that does not suit then follow the advice to always allow the regens to complete but they wont actually start with  cold engine unless the soot gets close to the service regen limit.

 

My journeys now are the same 4km but with at least one 20km + 20km return journey per week, I have not noticed a regen happening or being interrupted for over a year, I did a VCDS scan today and it showed the soot at 15g (regen point is 22.5g) and the vehicle has covered 880 kms since the last regen, however I did do an 800km journey last Wednesday.

 

My friends have just bought a pair of E-bikes, those and the trailer to carry them (they are 2m long!!!!) came to €14k and they got the trailer really cheap.

 

I'm still using the bike I paid £25 for 34 years ago!

I think J.R's suggestion of a weekly blast is the most practical for my situation.

I note those with a history of MI's suggesting exercise is good, sadly I have heart failure rather than blocked arteries so I can be really short of breath sat watching tv therefore any sustained physical stuff like cycling is off the cards for me.

And whilst I like the idea of a Pure Electric stand on scooter until the issue with lithium batteries catching fire, and the insurance farce, are sorted who would buy one?

Not me, they are the reason that I stopped renting to students at the Airbus factory who but for their total dependence on and love for their 70km/h unrestricted trottinettes were the best tenants that I had ever had.

 

I had made covered and secure bike parking for them in the past but only one youth in the last decade was willing to and capable of riding the 2km into town, I made covered secure storage for their trottinettes with charging points plus EV charging points but they would all smuggle them into the building, up the stairs and into their appartements doing untold damage in the process.

 

My concern above all was for the safety of all the occupants if a fire broke out, they didn't get it neither did their parents who paid the rent and who had indulged the children (the Lycée pro age was 16 -22) with dangerous, unsafe illegal E-scooters costing more than my car that they rode at 70kmh on the footpath/cycle path dressed in black hoodies pulled up restricting their vision using both hands on a mobile phone with speakers in their ears.

Edited 27 November, 20241 yr by J.R.

@b1ackb1rd

 

Searching Google for DPF pressure info I came across a posting from you several years ago about the DPF cleaning you did, it seems you have been doing very short journeys for a very long time so you have done very well so far.

 

It looks like my DPF has deteriorated a lot from not using a low SAPS oil (long story) can you share some of your wisdom and experience of your home DPF cleaning please?