DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER - Problems...

[StuartH]

Many many years ago I worked in London for a week at a show. My local colleague used to drive from one side of London to Earls Court and back every day in his Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 carburettor petrol.

On the Sunday morning town was quiet, and the show opened later, so we took his car for a run up the dual carriage way to clean it out. The amount of carbon visible in the exhaust fumes was astonishing.

Its not a new phenomenon.

Cheers

SPD

I have a mate who used to run a mechanics business from home.
He would take cars to MoT for his customers and he could be seen almost every day ragging the cars down the bypass at high revs (but below the speed limit occifer) to clear them out for the emmisions test.

All cars need a run now and then, if nothing else it burns the rubbish out of them.

This goes back to my original post in this thread that stated I would never use a car purely for short/city runs - I have too much mechanical sympathy.

 

[volvo_saint]

Well - the engine warning light came on again on the Sedici. So its back to the FIAT dealer for another check up.....hope it does not spend another 3 weeks off the road....

 

[volvo_saint]

The FIAT dealer diagnosed another DPF re-generation.......

 

[Hellcat]

I'm going to go out on a limb and diagnose a different dealer.

 

[volvo_saint]

This is a case for the sales of goods act. The car is not fit for 'universal driving'. I was not advised that the car required certain driving style to maintain the DPF at point of sale.

I think there will be many cases like this.....

 

[Citizen Smith]

This is a case for the sales of goods act. The car is not fit for 'universal driving'. I was not advised that the car required certain driving style to maintain the DPF at point of sale.

I think there will be many cases like this.....

Does the owners manual not indicate the required driving style then ?

All diesels will have DPF's from now on tbh as its EU emission standards so no chance of it going away on any manufacturer - from your posts it would seem your driving requirements doesn't match the requirements of a DPF diesel car.

The solution would seem to be to get a petrol instead surely or a non DPF diesel engined vehicle.

 

[StuartH]

Sorry, but you shouldn't need to be advised that driving a car in almost nothing but city traffic is bad for it. DPF or not.
I'm also pretty sure that when you did your research to decide if it was the car for you, that it would have come up.

Surely you didn't take a salesmans word for it? Or just look at the price and mpg figures of different cars to make a decision? Cos that would be foolish.

Has the car been on any long trips since the last forced regeneration?

 

[volvo_saint]

I disagree that city driving is necessarily bad. My FIAT Uno and Land Rover Tdi do the same journey without any problems. And no I was NOT advised by anyone at FIAT that the car was not suitable for city driving.

Check out the FIAT website and tell me where it says that DPF engined cars are not suitable for city traffic !

 

[Rothy]

If DPF cars aren't meant for city driving, why do they have the 'city mode' button to make driving around town easier? like the bravo?

 

[volvo_saint]

Car has just come back from FIAT dealer with another forced regeneration.

Seems that every 700-800 miles the car needs a regeneration. The FIAT dealer admitted that the engine is not suitable for urban traffic. But did not offer me any other help apart from reporting the issue to FIAT Italy.

I had a look at the sales broschure again and it states NOWHERE that the diesel version cannot be used in city driving. They actually quote the urban and a extra-urban fuel consumption figures - one of my reasons for buying the car....

Of course having a car that needs to go into the workshop every 800 miles is not what one would consider normal maintenance. Apart from the fact that after several forced regenerations the DPF will require changing which is a major expense....

 

[D4nny8oy]

If DPF cars aren't meant for city driving, why do they have the 'city mode' button to make driving around town easier? like the bravo?

Because the 'CITY' button only affects the steering assistance.

Car has just come back from FIAT dealer with another forced regeneration.

Seems that every 700-800 miles the car needs a regeneration. The FIAT dealer admitted that the engine is not suitable for urban traffic. But did not offer me any other help apart from reporting the issue to FIAT Italy.

Find a better Dealer as they clearly do not have a clue. We've sold many DPF-equipped Sedici's and only had one with a DPF issue (which was quickly traced to a fault with the intercooler creating inaccurate air mass readings and causing normal regenerations to fail, resulting in rapid blocking of the filter).

There's no reason why a DPF vehicle "isn't suitable for town-use". It only causes a problem when the finer details of the system and what it does aren't explained to the customer. Fiat have produced a FAQ for customer's own reference, which the Dealer can provide.

Apart from the fact that after several forced regenerations the DPF will require changing which is a major expense....

Who told you that? The only difference between a normal regeneration and a forced one is that the vehicle is stationary.

 

[meooo]

I haven't read all postings on this thread, and only really know Fords systems, but could it be that the engine oil needs changing? This is critical on Fords and causes the exact fault you have.
Most vehicles with DPF need to have an extended run @ around 60 mph occasionally to clear them out/re-generate, usually indicated by white smoke from the exhaust,
We have a problem curently with a Kuga, the driver was flagged down by a following motorist because of the "smoke" from under his car, they didn't realise it was re-generating at the time ( the cat reaches around 7,000 degrees during regen)...the underside of the car caught fire due to the sudden lack of airflow!
Some DPF equipped vehicles have an additive tank underneath and this needs topping up at regular intervals (usually three years) at an additional cost to service, the DPF itself has a life expectancy of around 70,000 miles and is very costly to replace. We have replaced several faulty DPFs but the majority of problems are oil degredation (short trips!) and defective sensors/blocked vac/pressure pipes (caused by short trips)

 

[T14086]

7000 degrees.....the car would of melted (no loss as its a ford)

 

[NumanR]

700 to 900 degrees C is absolute max, the outer casing would melt at 1600 degrees C, so I think you added an extra zero, but if it keeps fords off the road then keep making the typos

 

[maddogmorg]

Car has just come back from FIAT dealer with another forced regeneration.

Seems that every 700-800 miles the car needs a regeneration. The FIAT dealer admitted that the engine is not suitable for urban traffic. But did not offer me any other help apart from reporting the issue to FIAT Italy.

I had a look at the sales broschure again and it states NOWHERE that the diesel version cannot be used in city driving. They actually quote the urban and a extra-urban fuel consumption figures - one of my reasons for buying the car....

Of course having a car that needs to go into the workshop every 800 miles is not what one would consider normal maintenance. Apart from the fact that after several forced regenerations the DPF will require changing which is a major expense....

have you contacted trading standards, BBC watchdog may also be interested. i highly suspect it's not a fault with the system but more something that's car specific. visiting a different dealer may find a fault that was overlooked. but if the car isn't fit for purpose then the dealer/fiat uk should be a lot more proactive in helping you.

 

[Ffoxy]

When I bought my diesel the Dealer (TJVickers, Telford) kindly added a note to my documentation about the DPF and the fact modern diesels dont lend themselves well to constant town / city driving, so it is a Dealer fail IMO.

I dont think I have a DPF though... if I do its not been a problem in 56,600 mixed environment driving miles....

I think the Post about the MAF on Volvo-Saints car has potential TBH...

 

[D4nny8oy]

I think the Post about the MAF on Volvo-Saints car has potential TBH...

I didn't say the MAF was faulty.

But it will probably be ignored anyway... like when I mentioned it in post #43.

 

[Ffoxy]

I didn't say the MAF was faulty.

But it will probably be ignored anyway... like when I mentioned it in post #43.

You didnt say say the MAF sensor was faulty... niether did I, but I do feel the mass air-flow should be looked at....

TBH I feel the OP just wants compo from Fiat... NFC!

 

[NumanR]

I didn't say the MAF was faulty.

But it will probably be ignored anyway... like when I mentioned it in post #43.

You an get a maf from Cuffys, down Northumberland Street, near the old Startrite factory or try Oak Street car spares, they are good, or at the Co-op or on the coach to France maybe. Can you fix a Sierra?

 

[D4nny8oy]

You an get a maf from Cuffys, down Northumberland Street, near the old Startrite factory or try Oak Street car spares, they are good, or at the Co-op or on the coach to France maybe. Can you fix a Sierra?

Get back under that steam engine, Fred.
Enjoy working tomorrow.