Bearing in mind that there are a fair few drivers who will keep on driving with a RED oil can symbol lit up on the dash until the engine self-destructs, I'd question the value of giving even more information to a lot of people.

Thanks for that RT.

There really should be some way of putting more information for drivers of these vehicles up on the dash, such as the cuurent state of play of the DPF and some info about impending/current regen requirements, OK so some people won't have the foggiest idea what's going on, but there are many owners/drivers who would welcome having the opportunity to complete a regen without having to drive aimlessly up and down the open road whilst the car does its thing...let alone how invaluable such a possibility would be to urban dwellers who don't have the option to continue an open road jaunt to nowhere.

When Royal Mail started getting regular DPF issues from their new fleet of Doblos (because their useage pattern is unsuitable for diesel DPF!) I guess Fiat had no choice but to give the information and for Royal Mail to issue it to their drivers.

Some diagnostic computers can show the DPF % blocked and carry out a regen from the electronics - that should be made available to users.

Thanks for that RT.

There really should be some way of putting more information for drivers of these vehicles up on the dash, such as the current state of play of the DPF and some info about impending/current regen requirements, OK so some people won't have the foggiest idea what's going on, but there are many owners/drivers who would welcome having the opportunity to complete a regen without having to drive aimlessly up and down the open road whilst the car does its thing...let alone how invaluable such a possibility would be to urban dwellers who don't have the option to continue an open road jaunt to nowhere.

I agree Gb that information and understanding is key to DPF problems, if drivers new what their cars needed and what to do about it problems would be minimal. Another issue is that there is a vast difference between makes and model years in terms of how they work and how best to use them. A 2009 DPF is a different animal from a 2015 and uses a different system. Cars with a SCR work differently from cars using a LNT and car makers will not give out information.

I can only speak for my car but since I got a little program that connects to an OBD reader and can see what is going on while I drive I have had to unlearn a big chunk of what I thought I knew. There is no passive regen ever, even at 70+ going up hill. On motorways soot stops building, its cleared as fast as its produced but never reduced. During an active regen fuel is injected in three phases into the exhaust gas heating up the DPF and burning off the soot. This process hardly seems speed related at all, it works faster a higher speeds but still works down to 30mph and likley lower still.If you stop at a junction the ECU keeps the heat up and it carries on when you start moving again. No Italian tune up required.

So my worries about driving for hours on minor roads at 30 to 40mph were unfounded, the DPF is well up to looking after itself. Why the hell could'nt VAG have told me that.

Edited by Stanb Sevento on 05/08/2017 at 17:22