Viscosity of oil

[ChrisUK]

Over the past 3 months we have done a couple of long trips towing the caravan so assumed that this would have cleaned the DPF. I am not a mechanic so unknown territory to me.

My Xtrail would never do a DPF clean when towing, but often did one a day or so after arriving at our destination, often with a DPF warning light. The thoughts were on the forum that if the engine was hot, the DPF clean was inhibited to prevent getting too hot. My Outlander did a big tow to Scotland this year, plus lots of slow driving around when there, then a big tow back. A week or so when home I was aware the the oil level had gone up to the X level (overfull) and had to go to the dealer for a forced re-gen and oil change (£240). It had clocked up a number of failed passive re-gens but no DPF warning light. My conclusion is when towing they don't re-gen.
Top of my diesel wish list is a dashboard light saying "DPF nearly full, give it a blast!"

 

[JTQ]

Top of my diesel wish list is a dashboard light saying "DPF nearly full, give it a blast!"

I would settle happily for just an indicator telling me it was doing a DPF clean; after all, it very clearly knows it is.
The times we have stopped the wife's Golf to twig from the cooling fan it was part into a clean, something we far rather we knew so did not stop it.

The Disco 4 we never have had a clue, but clearly it has happened.
Still I would like to know. With that towing hardly stresses it, the towing speed limit and real life speeds trundling on the flat motorway from miles is a doddle, therefore, I can't see towing being a cause for inhibiting it doing a DPF clean.

 

[JezzerB]

It's very annoying . Must be easy for manufacturers to do. A friend has an obd reader Bluetooth to phone and so knows when his is going a regen(too often!)

 

[JTQ]

Run an LED indicator back from the cooling fan's feed?

If not a direct indication of a PDF clean, more than a hint and not going to screw any data bus up.

 

[otherclive]

The generation 3 Volvo XC70 had oil dilution problems on the D5 engine. My 2010 went in for a recall. I. Never experienced the issue anyway but the recall consisted of tweaking the electronic oil level sensor so it read full when the actual sump level had been reduced. Then if you got dilution and an increasing sump level a warning came on. The car had no regular dipstick only a “technician “ dipstick mounted low down at the front of the engine and requiring asbestos gloves and silicon fingers to access it if the engine had been run. The problem affected the D5 engine in V70 and XC60 of those years too.

 

[Bluetonic]

I knew when my Tiguan was doing a regen as the auto start/stop function was disabled and the idle rpm went up. If you stopped the car the cooling fans sounded like they were doing an impression of a Harrier Jump Jet
This usually happened when arriving home at night after collecting the kids from one of their many activities. Just dropped them off and went for a blat down one junction of the M1 and back.
Like ChrisUK I found that it would not do a dpf clean when towing but would do one the next day. That thing drank addBlue when towing too!
No idea if my Santa Fe has/is/needs a dpf regen. I guess I need to have a look what the signs are or plug in the OBD2 reader

 

[Beachball]

So far not heard the cooling fan on my Tiguan and hoping it does not drink add blue to quickly so far been very happy with this car

 

[otherclive]

So far not heard the cooling fan on my Tiguan and hoping it does not drink add blue to quickly so far been very happy with this car

Don’t you have a reservoir to assess Adblue consumption, or a level sensor like on screenwash and coolant.

 

[Bluetonic]

So far not heard the cooling fan on my Tiguan and hoping it does not drink add blue to quickly so far been very happy with this car

I was happy with mine, other than the boot being too small for a family of 4 and it not being heavy enough to tow our T/A , I was really sad to see it go.

Don’t you have a reservoir to assess Adblue consumption, or a level sensor like on screen wash and coolant.

No, you fill it via a hole in the boot floor next to the spare wheel, it's a real faff as it was added as an afterthought to meet legislation for 1 year until the new shape came out. Later ones are much easier to fill with the receptical next to the fuel filler.
You get a warning on the dash when you get to 1500 miles of adblue left in the tank, but this is only a guestimate it seems. You can plug in an OBD scanner and check but that's just one more thing to do. They are supposed to manage a full service interval without topping up, but I always found I had to fill it at least 2 times.

 

[RogerL]

So far not heard the cooling fan on my Tiguan and hoping it does not drink add blue to quickly so far been very happy with this car

I normally get about 500 miles per litre from the Adblue on my VWTouareg - when we towed home from our last trip, the 1500 mile warning came on after 3 miles but by the time we got home the warning was 1200 miles after towing just 134 miles - so my rough calculation is that towing duty consumes Adblue at 4x the rate of solo.

Your Tiguan will use less Adblue than my Touareg, both solo and towing, but best to make sure it's topped up before a long towing trip.

 

[RogerL]

Don’t you have a reservoir to assess Adblue consumption, or a level sensor like on screenwash and coolant.

Nothing so simple on a VW - through the OBD port, a portable diagnostic system can read the electronic level of Adblue - I don't even get dipsticks for engine oil or transmission fluid.

 

[Hutch]

Like, Bluetronic, never noticed my Santa Fe doing a regen, but not a Adblue job. Nothing in the handbook about it.

 

[otherclive]

Like Bluetonic my Superb would invariably be partway through a regeneration as I arrived on the drive. When the engine was switched off you could hear its fans running at high speed. So I would start it up and take it for a run. But otherwise I never noticed my Volvo D5 or Superb regenerating during driving, although it must have done.

 

[Jcloughie]

Over time I think my Citroen C5 would have been the first to have a DPF. Then a Nissan XTrail, a Peogeot 4007, a Ssangyong Korando now a Volvo V70. The only realisation that regen was taking place was the occasional time that the fans ran on when I stopped. I worry a bit about my V70 now as I am doing so few journeys which give regen a chance.

All have run trouble free in that respect. Except the C5 when the DPF became blocked. I claimed under the warrantee but it was refused at the dealer. So I took it up with Citroen UK direct who accepted the claim without a problem. (I hate main dealers).

John

 

[ChrisUK]

I knew when my Tiguan was doing a regen as the auto start/stop function was disabled and the idle rpm went up. If you stopped the car the cooling fans sounded like they were doing an impression of a Harrier Jump Jet
This usually happened when arriving home at night after collecting the kids from one of their many activities. Just dropped them off and went for a blat down one junction of the M1 and back.
Like ChrisUK I found that it would not do a dpf clean when towing but would do one the next day. That thing drank addBlue when towing too!
No idea if my Santa Fe has/is/needs a dpf regen. I guess I need to have a look what the signs are or plug in the OBD2 reader

Maybe the high torque output when towing inhibits the re-gen.

 

[JTQ]

Maybe the high torque output when towing inhibits the re-gen.

Or possibly negates it as the DPF entry temperature then, could be hot enough for a self burn?

 

[RogerL]

Or possibly negates it as the DPF entry temperature then, could be hot enough for a self burn?

This is more likely as the engine is working harder while towing.

Solo or towing, I never noticed any clues that my 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe was doing a regeneration - but my 2016 VW Touareg does have the fan running at high speed occasionally when stopping which I assume is a regeneration.

 

[Hutch]

This is more likely as the engine is working harder while towing.

Solo or towing, I never noticed any clues that my 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe was doing a regeneration - but my 2016 VW Touareg does have the fan running at high speed occasionally when stopping which I assume is a regeneration.

It can also point to the situation of your cooling fluid temperature is getting high, maybe towing slowly on a hot day, stuck in traffic, etc.

 

[RogerL]

It can also point to the situation of your cooling fluid temperature is getting high, maybe towing slowly on a hot day, stuck in traffic, etc.

"towing slowly" and "stuck in traffic" - not me (hope I haven't jinxed my next trip out).

Unlike my previous cars, I can't hear the fan running when inside the Touareg - only when I get out and walk past the front - the fan probably runs on every time the engine is switched off but at low speed unless an interrupted regeneration has occurred.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I've solved my Diesel DPF problem. I've sold the car.

I've gone for PHEV Passat with about 25mile electric only range which suits my driving needs far better. Probably 65% of my journeys are less than 5 miles 20% are between 5 and 20 miles 15% exceed 20 miles, so for about 85% of the time I'll be running on Economy 7 electric power. Even in ICE engine only it is capable of 45mpg and more in Hybrid mode. It's not my towcar, but it can pull a 1600kg trailer if needed.

 

[RogerL]

I've solved my Diesel DPF problem. I've sold the car.

I've gone for PHEV Passat with about 25mile electric only range which suits my driving needs far better. Probably 65% of my journeys are less than 5 miles 20% are between 5 and 20 miles 15% exceed 20 miles, so for about 85% of the time I'll be running on Economy 7 electric power. Even in ICE engine only it is capable of 45mpg and more in Hybrid mode. It's not my towcar, but it can pull a 1600kg trailer if needed.

I've never had a problem with my DPF - but to avoid potential issues I've solved it by buying a 10-year old Citroen C1 and use that for short journeys - which also means I'm emitting half the CO2 and virtually zero NOx in urban areas.

My depreciation rate on my Touareg is so low now, having lost a fortune already, that the monthly cost of any replacement would be much higher even if the fuel/energy was free!

 

[otherclive]

I've solved my Diesel DPF problem. I've sold the car.

I've gone for PHEV Passat with about 25mile electric only range which suits my driving needs far better. Probably 65% of my journeys are less than 5 miles 20% are between 5 and 20 miles 15% exceed 20 miles, so for about 85% of the time I'll be running on Economy 7 electric power. Even in ICE engine only it is capable of 45mpg and more in Hybrid mode. It's not my towcar, but it can pull a 1600kg trailer if needed.

Good choice. I recently looked at a PHEV when the Subaru franchise I use decided to cease Subaru. With a 45 mile trip to the nearest franchise I though “ I can’t be doing with that” The PHEVs gave up to 60-65 mile usable range but my wife wanted to hang on to her Rio which is a great little car and does up to 55 mpg with ease. So the PHEV wouldn’t have been used much just like the Subaru which can sit there for two weeks or so, then does a longer run. So the PHEV idea came to nought. So it’s back to plan A a full EV in 2025 when the Rio warranty expires.