dont buy any car fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

[bobian81]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

These days were all supposed to help the enviroment though.

but thats my point t, how is it better if the dpf converts the soot to a greenhouse gas ?

 

[bobian81]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

When I read a thread like this I regret parting company with my Tempra TD. That car would last for ever if properly looked after, and no electonics, no engine management software no catalyst...

Yea know what you mean in 1990 I bought a maestro with a 2 litre perkins turbo in it, the engine went on forever with no bother, but.....
the body work rotted to bits in about 8 years, so much for british build quality !

 

[Renegade_8]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

Yea know what you mean in 1990 I bought a maestro with a 2 litre perkins turbo in it, the engine went on forever with no bother, but.....
!

That is a bit creepy, when I wrote that post I did think about that Perkins direct injection engine, a bit noisy but otherwise brilliant, simple tough and excellent economy. As to helping the environment, running one economical car for 20 years is the best thing you can do for the planet, other than giving up driving. On that theme I ride the mountain bike locally now and we use the bus if we are not in a hurry, replenishing the wine cellar or going to a lot of places in one trip, or somewhere out of the way.

 

[maddogmorg]

i actually agree with the OPs initial comment. don't buy any car with a DPF! my reasoning behind this statement is pretty simple, it means you're buying a diesel, just don't do it:devil:

modern cars are all pretty much ticking timebombs though, new cars costing ridiculous amounts for each tyre due to stupid size or "special feature" older cars are generally more robust in their simplicity. a car might break down more often but it's generally fixable by the DIY'er with basic tools as opposed to a more sophisticated code readers etc.

 

[T14086]

but thats my point t, how is it better if the dpf converts the soot to a greenhouse gas ?

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_particulate_filter[/ame]

i actually agree with the OPs initial comment. don't buy any car with a DPF! my reasoning behind this statement is pretty simple, it means you're buying a diesel, just don't do it:devil:

modern cars are all pretty much ticking timebombs though, new cars costing ridiculous amounts for each tyre due to stupid size or "special feature" older cars are generally more robust in their simplicity. a car might break down more often but it's generally fixable by the DIY'er with basic tools as opposed to a more sophisticated code readers etc.

But is this not the fault of the general public?....we wanted to go faster, more economical, safety systems, comfort systems etc so the manufactuers gave us this & now were complaining

 

[maddogmorg]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_particulate_filter



But is this not the fault of the general public?....we wanted to go faster, more economical, safety systems, comfort systems etc so the manufactuers gave us this & now were complaining

it's just a fact tbh. on the whole it's good tbh anyone who buys a new car want's a safe, quick, economical car. it's just 10 years later when they finally drop into the range of those who can't afford newer cars will they then be unable to run them? i imagine what's expensive today will drop in price as it becomes older technology though so shouldn't right them off just yet.

 

[Andy Monty]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

no because theres usually a nasty ol speed camera hiding in the bushes !

you seen the one they hide on Airmyn road the sly feckers park on that side street which runs past the vikings old beer garden run the cables across the grass and hide it among the undergrowth...

and near Hygina/MFI/Howden kitchens (or what ever its called now) and those straits up towards Mkt Weighton there was the van there the other week and 1/2 a mile further on they had the motorbike with the camera on the back...



Going to book my car in for a service at Jack Pettys this week they quoted £60-£70 all in (need to ring this week to get a firm price once they have got the costings) :slayer: and talking to Pete in there they have just invested in some rather flashy snap on diagnostic machine which is handy to know..

 

[bobian81]

tell me about it andy, I've just been flashed in hosm, where they've dropped the speed limit down to 30 from 40.
Now since we were both driving today, if you say "not sure whos driving" how can they prove it ?
My friend did that with a road work camera, but it gave a clear picy of the drive.
Ps i was doing 36 on that long stretch through hosm, from the roundabout, hardly crime of century is it ?
You can understand the need in accident blackspots but why there ?

 

[bobian81]

fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

Since, my doblo dpf system buggered up on the new owner I sold it to, and it cost 1780 euros to put right on a 27k miles 2 year old car what use is the turd year warranty ?
Apart from maybe wiping your backside on, if you happen to get caught short out in the country !
My new skoda by contrast has 3 years proper warranty.

 

[custard]

Re: fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

why the new thread?

 

[bobian81]

Re: fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

why not ?
I've been on fiats official forum, slagging em off, sent em four emails since last friday and no contact at all from em.
As I've stated before I've actually bought 8 brand new fiats and a brand new fiat based motorhome since 2002, and I'm actually quite p.....d off for the new owner of my dobbie, when hes had to shell out for such a huge bill

 

[NumanR]

Re: fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

Well its actually a very good warranty Bob, as a dealership we claim three or four claims a day and we only have a few rejections a week. Sometimes the vehicle has to be inspected by a third party assessor which can delay things a few days but generally it is very good.

 

[Ffoxy]

Re: fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

Since, my doblo dpf system buggered up on the new owner I sold it to, and it cost 1780 euros to put right on a 27k miles 2 year old car what use is the turd year warranty ?
Apart from maybe wiping your backside on, if you happen to get caught short out in the country !
My new skoda by contrast has 3 years proper warranty.

:spam:

 

[jug]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

fiat are walking away from a problem that is only 2 weeks out of warranty.

in cases like this they will usually give you a large discount (50%) if you appeal your case to fiat (rather than the dealer), because it is fiat uk who actually pay for warranty work and the decision lies with them. a dealer can only say "no" because it isnt their call, so there is no point asking them.

alternatively a new DPF wont cost £1300 elsewhere, no where near.

 

[bobian81]

Fiat uk are looking at the case, and will give a decision tommorow, I take your point on board jug, if I still had the car and the the warranty didnt cover it I would take to an exhaust place and get it replaced far cheaper, i will let you know what fiat say

 

[Stuart J]

Re: fiat 3rd year dealer warranty is it a worthless piece of used bog paper ?

Since, my doblo dpf system buggered up on the new owner I sold it to, and it cost 1780 euros to put right on a 27k miles 2 year old car what use is the turd year warranty ?
Apart from maybe wiping your backside on, if you happen to get caught short out in the country !
My new skoda by contrast has 3 years proper warranty.

You my friend are in for a shock !! your warrantly probably has a max mileage on it, I guess 60,000 miles

Re the DPF. Skoda class the DPF as a service item, its a filter & is NOT COVERED by the warranty. I had a massive row with them after we bought a Superb with a DPF & they wont budge. The first couple of times it fails the dealer will regenerate it if he can & give you a lecture on how to drive the car. If however its past regeneration then you pay !!! I also understand they will only regen a couple of times then you pay the labour charge of the regeneration.

Biggest disadvantage we found was the terrible fuel consumption, about 10 mpg worse than its predesessor without a dpf.

Personally I would never buy a car with a dpf until the technology has developed for a few years.

They are definately not suited to short journeys or long journeys at low revs. We managed to end up with no problems but only by letting the motor spin in all gears, we had a rule of thumb on keeping the engine above 2000 rpm.

 

[amidcars]

I dont think that DPF problems i have heard in recent time in new cars. In case if you do not use them in right manner then the DPF'swill get blocked....

 

[Stuart J]

I dont think that DPF problems i have heard in recent time in new cars. In case if you do not use them in right manner then the DPF'swill get blocked....

Problem is owners are not warned of the limitations before they buy. If you drive in a certain manner of predominantly in certain conditions the dpf will fail.

There are quite a few cars available in the UK that are not sold in the channel Islands & thats because due to the low speeds they will keep blocking yet they sell the same cars for central london.

On some cars replacement is part of the higher mileage service & with costs at 6-800 squids people are in for a shock. I know of one well known after market exhaust supplier looking at "by-pass" pipes & another after market mapping company who are looking at "work around" options

 

[gazboy]

I'm with bob , dont buy any car fitted with DPF . We bought a new fiat 500 and after 3000 miles the oil light came on , then took it in to fiat they told us of the problem and told us not to turn engine off when its going though a regen . How do i know its going though a regen? Well they said it smokes a bit and revs a bit higher. Wot goods that , it needs to tell ya when its doing it. Its done it again at 6000 miles . The dealer should let you know if that particular vehicle is suited to your needs.

 

[sludgeguts]

Re: dont buy any fiat fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter)

The thing is, most people are not 'motorists', they drive the cars they do because they 'look nice' and often never feel really at ease anyway. How many of them judder long in the wrong gear all the time completely unaware of how a transmission works - I know a couple like this and I want to scream change down all the time! Diesels are sold as being economical and so they tend to get driven 'economically', resulting in problems.
Perhaps salespeople should emphasise that these new cars need to be driven enthusiastically to give their best.

That's not strictly true. I drive my doblo 'economically' - to the point where other road users sometimes get p1$$ed with me. But then again, I'm only driving to the posted speed limit - whereas most round here want to teararse around at 40+. I accelerate normally, changing gear at around 2k rpm & am happy to sit at 30 with the rev counter showing 1200.
As my car has aged, the economy seems to have improved and I now get 45mpg around town.
Coming up on 27k miles, I have yet to experience a problem with the dpf - but that said, I always allow my car to idle from cold, giving the oil chance to warm up & circulate before driving off at a steady pace.
As for the 'enthusiastic' driving, it is possible that the wind chill factor of enthusiastic driving might actually cool the exhaust too much?
Diesel engines don't really get anywhere near as hot as petrol engines & a mate of mine didn't even bother repairing the leak in his rad as despite the rad being empty, the engine never overheated - possibly due to air flowing over it as he drove?


As to the OP's statement, my OH has a vauxhall with a diesel engine, go to their forums & you'll see no end of comments about dpf problems - but the answer is the same as has been given here - allow the exhaust to get hot enough for the dpf to regenerate.


Maybe the answer is to have a dpf switch & have the light come on with the words 'refer to manual'. With instructions to let the engine get to normal operating temp before pressing the switch marked 'dpf' followed by 'the whole process usually take 30-40 minutes depending upon air temp.