Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter

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Mon 22 Aug 2011 08:00
Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter - lairdy74

My mother in law purchased a 1.7 diesel astra brand new in January 2011. The DPF warning light came on last week and she followed the instructions in the manual to give it a run. This did not improve matters and a further warning light came on to inform her to contact a dealer. She duly did this and was told the car required a service and oil change due to her having not driven enough miles. It has over 6000 miles on the clock and was not actually driven at all for a month due to the bad weather. This means that it has averaged around 1000 miles a month with regular journeys (around once a week) on the motorway of approx 30 miles, and then back again. Is this usual and should the salesman not have checked her annual milage before selling her a diesel if more miles are required?

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Mon 22 Aug 2011 12:14
Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter - daveyjp

If the Astra with a DPF has variable servicing it is quite likely it may require frequent oil changes if the car isn't doing very regular long distance trips.

Despite me doing around 18,000 a year my DPF equipped X type never did more than 8,000 miles between oil changes (the shortest being 6,000!) and it was suffering other problems due to too many short hops in urban areas. This was the main reason I got rid of it.

As regards the sales staff, they sell cars and from my experience know very little about how they actually work. It is up to the buyer to ensure a car is fit for purpose and IMHO 12,000 a year with a short weekly motorway trip is not enough miles to justify a DPF diesel.

DPF diesels should be the preserve of the 30-50,000 miles a year sales rep.

Edited by daveyjp on 22/08/2011 at 12:14

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Tue 23 Aug 2011 21:55
Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter - Railroad.

As regards the sales staff, they sell cars and from my experience know very little about how they actually work.

If indeed anything at all.....

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 08:12
Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter - Victorbox

Doing only 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year probably doesn't justify the extra purchase cost and then running cost of a diesel over a petrol - not just in servicing costs but tyres etc. Your mother-in-law also probably doesn't light the engine up enough with a good thrash on the motorway to clean it out.

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Wed 24 Aug 2011 10:40
Vauxhall Astra J - dpf filter - lairdy74

Ha, I recon she could outbreak Button. Thanks for the replies. It would appear that regardless of how many long runs it gets the short journeys (less than 10 miles) kill it. The car was being sold on a good offer (obviously being pushed by Vauxhall) by a large national dealership beginning with Evan and ending with shaw. It was sold on the basis of good economy and low tax, bummer that 2 services a year blow the savings away. Missold if you ask me as no mention of the length of journeys required to avoid this.

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