Technical Qubo 1.3 Multijet 95k engine trouble

[QuoreSportivo]

I have several problems with my Fiat Qubo 1.3 Multijet 2012. I have owned the car for 1 year. I bought it with a relatively low mileage (142,000 kilometers). I don't know if the mileage is real. Immediately after buying it, I replaced the timing belts (they were skipped by one tooth) and changed the oil. Then I replaced all the washers under the injectors because diesel was leaking from under the injectors on two cylinders and the engine was running too rough and had high corrections. Then I flushed the engine with BG EPR because the new oil was immediately black. And new oil went into the engine again. The engine's performance improved but the injectors still had a bad sound even though the corrections on the injectors were better. I bought all 4 new ones and we also sealed all the leaks on the injectors. I had the original engine control unit software uploaded because we found that it was modified in various ways. So I currently have the distribution replaced, the engine flushed, new oil now with about 2000km of mileage, all 4 new injectors and no diesel leaks, EGR turned off, DPF active (regenerations work).

However, after starting the engine, I can still hear a relatively rough sound until the engine warms up. We looked at the injector corrections today. On cylinder number 1, the corrections were about 0.70, on cylinder number 2 0.40, on cylinder number 3 1.20, on cylinder number 4 0.04. Gradually, as the engine warms up, especially on cylinder number 3, the corrections noticeably improve to somewhere around 0.70 and the engine still hasn't warmed up to full temperature. When the engine is warmed up to operating temperature, it runs clean and quiet. What could be causing this?

The second problem is the DPF regeneration process itself. Regeneration is quite frequent and always accompanied by a lot of smoke from the exhaust. The smoke is slightly blue. It doesn't smell like coolant, I'm not losing it. It doesn't smell like diesel either. It's more like it's burning a certain amount of oil. I'm not losing oil, but I suspect that my oil volume is increasing. Which is also not right. Have you ever encountered an increase in the amount of oil, or such strong smoke during DPF regeneration?

The new oil applied after flushing the engine was immediately completely black again and it also seems to me that there was quite a lot of pressure coming from the PCV hose connected to the airbox after disconnecting it. I want to find another car with a 1.3 Multijet to find out how strong the pressure is from the PCV hose.

I plan to flush the engine again with BG EPR, then use new oil (some cheap 10w40) and then, after driving some distance, drain the oil again and pour back in Selenia 5W30.

I am attaching a photo of the smoke from the exhaust during DPF regeneration and the color of the oil after flushing the engine and driving about 20km.

I will be grateful for all advice and any help.

 

[bugsymike]

I have several problems with my Fiat Qubo 1.3 Multijet 2012. I have owned the car for 1 year. I bought it with a relatively low mileage (142,000 kilometers). I don't know if the mileage is real. Immediately after buying it, I replaced the timing belts (they were skipped by one tooth) and changed the oil. Then I replaced all the washers under the injectors because diesel was leaking from under the injectors on two cylinders and the engine was running too rough and had high corrections. Then I flushed the engine with BG EPR because the new oil was immediately black. And new oil went into the engine again. The engine's performance improved but the injectors still had a bad sound even though the corrections on the injectors were better. I bought all 4 new ones and we also sealed all the leaks on the injectors. I had the original engine control unit software uploaded because we found that it was modified in various ways. So I currently have the distribution replaced, the engine flushed, new oil now with about 2000km of mileage, all 4 new injectors and no diesel leaks, EGR turned off, DPF active (regenerations work).

However, after starting the engine, I can still hear a relatively rough sound until the engine warms up. We looked at the injector corrections today. On cylinder number 1, the corrections were about 0.70, on cylinder number 2 0.40, on cylinder number 3 1.20, on cylinder number 4 0.04. Gradually, as the engine warms up, especially on cylinder number 3, the corrections noticeably improve to somewhere around 0.70 and the engine still hasn't warmed up to full temperature. When the engine is warmed up to operating temperature, it runs clean and quiet. What could be causing this?

The second problem is the DPF regeneration process itself. Regeneration is quite frequent and always accompanied by a lot of smoke from the exhaust. The smoke is slightly blue. It doesn't smell like coolant, I'm not losing it. It doesn't smell like diesel either. It's more like it's burning a certain amount of oil. I'm not losing oil, but I suspect that my oil volume is increasing. Which is also not right. Have you ever encountered an increase in the amount of oil, or such strong smoke during DPF regeneration?

The new oil applied after flushing the engine was immediately completely black again and it also seems to me that there was quite a lot of pressure coming from the PCV hose connected to the airbox after disconnecting it. I want to find another car with a 1.3 Multijet to find out how strong the pressure is from the PCV hose.

I plan to flush the engine again with BG EPR, then use new oil (some cheap 10w40) and then, after driving some distance, drain the oil again and pour back in Selenia 5W30.

I am attaching a photo of the smoke from the exhaust during DPF regeneration and the color of the oil after flushing the engine and driving about 20km.

I will be grateful for all advice and any help.

Are you mainly doing short journeys, I am finding on many small diesels that they cannot carry out a full DPF Regen before journey is stopped resulting in oil quickly contaminated, error codes on dash and poor performance along with the white smoke.
Making sure engine quickly gets to 90 degrees Centigrade (centre of temp gauge), using DPF cleaner additive with every tank of fuel plus a good 30 mile journey at 2-3000 rpm once a month helps, but the real issue is small diesels with emission controls do not like driving in town on short journeys as unsuited to it and car salesmen if they had any integrity would tell the customers the truth!

 

[QuoreSportivo]

Are you mainly doing short journeys, I am finding on many small diesels that they cannot carry out a full DPF Regen before journey is stopped resulting in oil quickly contaminated, error codes on dash and poor performance along with the white smoke.
Making sure engine quickly gets to 90 degrees Centigrade (centre of temp gauge), using DPF cleaner additive with every tank of fuel plus a good 30 mile journey at 2-3000 rpm once a month helps, but the real issue is small diesels with emission controls do not like driving in town on short journeys as unsuited to it and car salesmen if they had any integrity would tell the customers the truth!

Yes, I drive my car mostly on short routes up to about 3km. I need to carry goods for my shop with me every day and walking is not possible. I use a scooter on warm days, but during cold days and bad weather I have to drive a car. I didn't want to buy a petrol Qubo because of the Peugeot engine used in those years, which has low power and high consumption. All newer models with a petrol Fire engine from Fiat are already the same price as a Doblo... and the small Qubo suits me better in the city. In addition, I planned to drive the car on longer routes and I was looking forward to the fact that I would have lower consumption on these routes with a diesel. However, so far I have only had problems with the engine. The previous owner destroyed the original DPF, banned regeneration and installed the cheapest aftermarket DPF from Kamoka in the car before selling it. I drove for half a year without knowing about the deactivated DPF regeneration. That's why I thought that after all the service that was done, when the engine is at its original setting and I have new oil, new injectors and DPF regenerations will be activated again, it will finally work properly. However, the opposite is true. Although the diesel no longer flows through the overflows, the engine has a nicer sound, better performance, lower consumption, but the DPF smokes extremely during combustion and the corrections on the injectors are very bad after starting and only improve after the engine warms up. I always start the DPF regeneration in the city center and the smoke is very big. I live in a city where there is very little flat land and we always go up or down hills. So every time I go up the city, the engine warms up and starts the regen with a big smoke screen. If I turn around before the regen is finished and go down the city, the regen stops because it does not have enough temperature, since the engine is not in gear and not even at idle, because I have a gear engaged and I brake the engine.

 

[bugsymike]

Yes, I drive my car mostly on short routes up to about 3km. I need to carry goods for my shop with me every day and walking is not possible. I use a scooter on warm days, but during cold days and bad weather I have to drive a car. I didn't want to buy a petrol Qubo because of the Peugeot engine used in those years, which has low power and high consumption. All newer models with a petrol Fire engine from Fiat are already the same price as a Doblo... and the small Qubo suits me better in the city. In addition, I planned to drive the car on longer routes and I was looking forward to the fact that I would have lower consumption on these routes with a diesel. However, so far I have only had problems with the engine. The previous owner destroyed the original DPF, banned regeneration and installed the cheapest aftermarket DPF from Kamoka in the car before selling it. I drove for half a year without knowing about the deactivated DPF regeneration. That's why I thought that after all the service that was done, when the engine is at its original setting and I have new oil, new injectors and DPF regenerations will be activated again, it will finally work properly. However, the opposite is true. Although the diesel no longer flows through the overflows, the engine has a nicer sound, better performance, lower consumption, but the DPF smokes extremely during combustion and the corrections on the injectors are very bad after starting and only improve after the engine warms up. I always start the DPF regeneration in the city center and the smoke is very big. I live in a city where there is very little flat land and we always go up or down hills. So every time I go up the city, the engine warms up and starts the regen with a big smoke screen. If I turn around before the regen is finished and go down the city, the regen stops because it does not have enough temperature, since the engine is not in gear and not even at idle, because I have a gear engaged and I brake the engine.

All I can suggest is the things I said before and the reasons for them, it does help providing you can do all the things I suggested.
It's worth trying.
It's not just Fiat, one of my daughters has the same issue with a VW Golf 1.6 diesel and short journeys, the additive and a good fast run once a month with engine revs between 2-3000 so the Regen can work properly even if it means staying in a lower gear to achieve it and without stops as the Regen fails then.

 

[Danimurtgm]

Hi,

I have also a Fiat Qubo,1.3 D, 2014, which is making a lot of smoke especially after a few short trips mainly in town. I notice that the smoke is white and very dense and is starting after I drive 25-30 km and engine is hot. It disappear after another 10 or 15 km. But I have driven 70 km on motorway and then it started to smoke like old steam locomotive a white smoke. I drove another 60 km with 120 km/h and 2800 revs and smoke was gone. I have checked the level of oil which was at max. level on dipstick.

 

[bugsymike]

Hi,

I have also a Fiat Qubo,1.3 D, 2014, which is making a lot of smoke especially after a few short trips mainly in town. I notice that the smoke is white and very dense and is starting after I drive 25-30 km and engine is hot. It disappear after another 10 or 15 km. But I have driven 70 km on motorway and then it started to smoke like old steam locomotive a white smoke. I drove another 60 km with 120 km/h and 2800 revs and smoke was gone. I have checked the level of oil which was at max. level on dipstick.

That is another point , if it repeatedly is trying to do REGENS it allows extra fuel in which contaminates the engine oil, so often worth having a sniff/smell of the oil to see if you can detect diesel, or if when you touch the oil it feels thin and diluted, if so change the oil and filter after a good REGEN.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Do you detect any smell of diesel in the cabin or under the bonnet? If so, get the injectors checked as they may be leaking.

 

[QuoreSportivo]

Hi,

I have also a Fiat Qubo,1.3 D, 2014, which is making a lot of smoke especially after a few short trips mainly in town. I notice that the smoke is white and very dense and is starting after I drive 25-30 km and engine is hot. It disappear after another 10 or 15 km. But I have driven 70 km on motorway and then it started to smoke like old steam locomotive a white smoke. I drove another 60 km with 120 km/h and 2800 revs and smoke was gone. I have checked the level of oil which was at max. level on dipstick.

I’ll save you a lot of time and money. Visit someone who knows how to deactivate the DPF in the ECU together with the EGR. Then remove the DPF filter from the car, use an angle grinder to open it, remove the DPF section while keeping the catalytic converter, weld it back together, and reinstall it in the car. Also remove the EGR valve and use a blanking plate to completely disable it, then reinstall it.
After that, drain all the oil from the engine that’s mixed with diesel. Then pour in some cheap but suitable oil, install a new oil filter, and with a short drive warm it up to operating temperature. Add BG EPR to the oil (not the entire bottle—you need at least a 4-liter oil capacity for that; the 1.3 Multijet has 3.2 L of oil) to remove deposits inside the engine, and let the engine run stationary at increased RPM for 20–30 minutes. Drain everything from the engine again (it will be just as black as the original oil you drained). Install a new oil filter, pour in the oil you normally use, ignore the 30,000 km service interval, and change the oil regularly every 10–15,000 km depending on whether you drive mostly in the city or on longer trips—and enjoy! No more diesel in the oil, no more regenerations accompanied by massive smoke clouds.
I devoted more than two years of my life to this problem and tried to fix this process. It can’t be fixed. Currently, after these steps and a 203 km route on secondary roads at 90 km/h in hilly terrain, the average consumption is 4.4 L.
The oil is again black like the darkest paint. I’m not going to change it immediately, though. I’ll drive for some time again and at the next oil change I’ll repeat the process with cheaper oil and BG EPR to further clean the engine, since the previous owners followed 30,000 km oil change intervals.
At the moment, however, I’m dealing with a larger amount of white smoke that smells of unburned diesel immediately after startup. I found a temperature deviation on the mass air flow sensor of 6°C compared to reality (outside temperature 2-3°C, MAF shows 6–9°C), so I’m planning to replace it. The glow plugs and injectors are completely new—no remanufactured parts.

 

[skychief]

Yes, I drive my car mostly on short routes up to about 3km. I need to carry goods for my shop with me every day and walking is not possible. I use a scooter on warm days, but during cold days and bad weather I have to drive a car. I didn't want to buy a petrol Qubo because of the Peugeot engine used in those years, which has low power and high consumption. All newer models with a petrol Fire engine from Fiat are already the same price as a Doblo... and the small Qubo suits me better in the city. In addition, I planned to drive the car on longer routes and I was looking forward to the fact that I would have lower consumption on these routes with a diesel. However, so far I have only had problems with the engine. The previous owner destroyed the original DPF, banned regeneration and installed the cheapest aftermarket DPF from Kamoka in the car before selling it. I drove for half a year without knowing about the deactivated DPF regeneration. That's why I thought that after all the service that was done, when the engine is at its original setting and I have new oil, new injectors and DPF regenerations will be activated again, it will finally work properly. However, the opposite is true. Although the diesel no longer flows through the overflows, the engine has a nicer sound, better performance, lower consumption, but the DPF smokes extremely during combustion and the corrections on the injectors are very bad after starting and only improve after the engine warms up. I always start the DPF regeneration in the city center and the smoke is very big. I live in a city where there is very little flat land and we always go up or down hills. So every time I go up the city, the engine warms up and starts the regen with a big smoke screen. If I turn around before the regen is finished and go down the city, the regen stops because it does not have enough temperature, since the engine is not in gear and not even at idle, because I have a gear engaged and I brake the engine.

I've got a Diesel 1.3 and the DPF has been replaced. I has done very little work as the Ks are 130 circa. Town running is death in these cars, and owners should be able to trigger regen burn without having to pay a garage. I have a vague emissions code that I can reset, God knows what it is.OIl changes are critical and should be done a max 3000ks in my opinion.

 

[bugsymike]

I've got a Diesel 1.3 and the DPF has been replaced. I has done very little work as the Ks are 130 circa. Town running is death in these cars, and owners should be able to trigger regen burn without having to pay a garage. I have a vague emissions code that I can reset, God knows what it is.OIl changes are critical and should be done a max 3000ks in my opinion.

DPF cleaner additive in at every full tank of fuel plus a once a month motorway blast @2-3000rpm for 30 miles sadly seems to be the only answer, they should never have sold these engines for people pottering around town.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

DPF cleaner additive in at every full tank of fuel plus a once a month motorway blast @2-3000rpm for 30 miles sadly seems to be the only answer, they should never have sold these engines for people pottering around town.

Our posties use reg 12 and 13 doblo vans and they're still chugging along singing their clattery song. Unscientific observation.

 

[bugsymike]

Our posties use reg 12 and 13 doblo vans and they're still chugging along singing their clattery song. Unscientific observation.

Maybe they are being used constantly so already warmed up, also if like the posties down our way they don't potter along.
Plus maybe their mechanics when servicing to keep them on the road do a forced Regen if required.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Maybe they are being used constantly so already warmed up, also if like the posties down our way they don't potter along.
Plus maybe their mechanics when servicing to keep them on the road do a forced Regen if required.

Dunno what they do tbh - they look like absolute poo, are treated with utter contempt, yet just keep on chugging along - mind you, we haven't seen the ones that have died by the wayside, of course!

 

[bugsymike]

Dunno what they do tbh - they look like absolute poo, are treated with utter contempt, yet just keep on chugging along - mind you, we haven't seen the ones that have died by the wayside, of course!

I think they live in constant fear their jobs are being ended since business sold off abroad.
Previous Governments forced their profitable parts to be sold off and now instead of a reliable service we have Evri deliveries.

 

[irc]

I think posties used to have a procedure for regens, at least when using the Vauxhall combos with the 1.3 multijet. I vaguely remember finding a laminated card with instructions on when cutting the engine out of a damaged one to put in a Panda.
(Wasn't my choice of donor, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow!)

 

[bugsymike]

Sounds right, I have seen same on other makes to force a Regen, though usually I can use a mates Snap On to do same.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I'll ask one of our posties and find out why their Fiat vans ore so cockroachesque.

 

[bugsymike]

I'll ask one of our posties and find out why their Fiat vans ore so cockroachesque.

As in you cannot kill them?
They probably know if the van breaks they will have to carry all that stuff on their backs.

 

[skychief]

Yes, I drive my car mostly on short routes up to about 3km. I need to carry goods for my shop with me every day and walking is not possible. I use a scooter on warm days, but during cold days and bad weather I have to drive a car. I didn't want to buy a petrol Qubo because of the Peugeot engine used in those years, which has low power and high consumption. All newer models with a petrol Fire engine from Fiat are already the same price as a Doblo... and the small Qubo suits me better in the city. In addition, I planned to drive the car on longer routes and I was looking forward to the fact that I would have lower consumption on these routes with a diesel. However, so far I have only had problems with the engine. The previous owner destroyed the original DPF, banned regeneration and installed the cheapest aftermarket DPF from Kamoka in the car before selling it. I drove for half a year without knowing about the deactivated DPF regeneration. That's why I thought that after all the service that was done, when the engine is at its original setting and I have new oil, new injectors and DPF regenerations will be activated again, it will finally work properly. However, the opposite is true. Although the diesel no longer flows through the overflows, the engine has a nicer sound, better performance, lower consumption, but the DPF smokes extremely during combustion and the corrections on the injectors are very bad after starting and only improve after the engine warms up. I always start the DPF regeneration in the city center and the smoke is very big. I live in a city where there is very little flat land and we always go up or down hills. So every time I go up the city, the engine warms up and starts the regen with a bigMod smoke screen. If I turn around before the regen is finished and go down the city, the regen stops because it does not have enough temperature, since the engine is not in gear and not even at idle, because I have a gear engaged and I brake the engine.

 

[skychief]

Modern engines contain detergents that suspend the soot particles from combustion and that happens rather quickly, so black oil early after change is quite normal.