20000miles on my Fr TDI, 6months old. A few days ago in the very cold weather I had driven to pick my sister up, the engine was hot etc and I was parked out side waiting. All of a sudden there is white "smoke" everywhere, like completely covering the car. So I got out to investigate, I thought something was on fire, the smell of sulphur and burning plasic was unreal. Though after about 90secs the revs dropped from 1000 back down to idle. Was this a normal process? I was shocked at the smoke and smell..
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DPF Experiences
- Thread starter sm_allen
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Yep, thats how it works, it had obviously started the process as you stopped so continued... usually, at speed, you wouldn't see this.
I am gob smacked that you are all putting up with this. Dealers blaming 'drivers error' is disgusting and dam right ludicrous! These cars would be built for a very large variety of drivers and styles.
I would be speaking to the motoring press and anyone that listened to me by now and I certainly wouldn't be paying for cleaning.
I am still looking at getting an FR but I will remove the DPF they day I get the car for the miltek pipe to remove this issue.
I would be speaking to the motoring press and anyone that listened to me by now and I certainly wouldn't be paying for cleaning.
I am still looking at getting an FR but I will remove the DPF they day I get the car for the miltek pipe to remove this issue.
DAMM
![[:@]](/forums/styles/seatcupra/oldforumsmileys/furious.gif "Furious [:@]")
the last two days my dpf light has been on, Im hoping my 40mile commute to work tomorrow will be enough to clear the system. Beacuse if the car goes into limp mode and has to go to the stealer I sure as hell won't be paying for an filters to be cleaned. Thank fully this thread has armed me well..
Don't drive it hard... drive it consitantly 3rd gear at 2500 rpm and above... should clear quickly enough but make sure its constant speed as much as possible... when light goes would advise further 5-10 minutes as I gather it just means its under ~ 40% full!! Can't wait till my new TFSI comes in to swap for this crap I'm getting with my TDI!!
It came on again yesterday. It cleared with a blast up the motorway but I really am starting to get annoyed with it now. I love the car so much but this is putting a big downer on it. With that and the shocking fuel consumption I seem to be getting I am starting to wish I went with the cupra....
I mentioned it to my farther in law who works at Seat and he said it shouldn't be coming on as much as it is with the miles and driving I do etc. I am going get it checked out when its in for its first service.
Cheers,
Si
I mentioned it to my farther in law who works at Seat and he said it shouldn't be coming on as much as it is with the miles and driving I do etc. I am going get it checked out when its in for its first service.
Cheers,
Si
There seems to be quite the variance. I live in a built up part of Manchester and see the motorway every day for about 5 minutes (and it's always slow moving). Yet I have not seen the DPF light come on. I am sure I would do to be honest but after 9 months of ownership.. nothing.
Perhaps QA is not so good and they vary hugely build wise?
Perhaps QA is not so good and they vary hugely build wise?
Regarding the emissions fault light which came on..
I visited the dealers today - they had my car for well over an hour, and they came back with 'umm an oxygen sensor or something is broken' I said - 'thanks ill be on my way', they said 'umm no wait you have to book back in to get it fixed.. So you telling me you had my car all that time, and all your fit to tell me is its not working?
Plus they gave it a 'courtesy wash' I swear there was not a mark on my car before it went in, once it had dried, it was swirls every where - I could have cried. 7months of me being tender and using mits, 2buckets etc, and some thug spends 5min around the back with it and a brush! I was so cross I rang up to complain. The girl just said sorry..
I also find it a laugh seat are charging £200+ for 20k service, when VW down the road are 'only' £140 for the exact same service (GTTDI, and have no problem doing my FR TDI) I thought it was VW who were supposed to rip customers off.. GRRR!
Sorry, rant over!
I visited the dealers today - they had my car for well over an hour, and they came back with 'umm an oxygen sensor or something is broken' I said - 'thanks ill be on my way', they said 'umm no wait you have to book back in to get it fixed.. So you telling me you had my car all that time, and all your fit to tell me is its not working?
Plus they gave it a 'courtesy wash' I swear there was not a mark on my car before it went in, once it had dried, it was swirls every where - I could have cried. 7months of me being tender and using mits, 2buckets etc, and some thug spends 5min around the back with it and a brush! I was so cross I rang up to complain. The girl just said sorry..
I also find it a laugh seat are charging £200+ for 20k service, when VW down the road are 'only' £140 for the exact same service (GTTDI, and have no problem doing my FR TDI) I thought it was VW who were supposed to rip customers off.. GRRR!
Sorry, rant over!
Just thought id post and update, had my FR a month, done 1400 mile, mostly by the mrs back and forth to work, 15 miles a day in slow traffic, never seen the light or had problems yet
willias400
Guest
What an Xmas Eve!
Hello all,
Just wanted to hi first of all and introduce myself before I start to rant! I really wish I'd found this site before buying my Leon FR TDI in May!
I'm on my 3rd Seat diesel now, the others being a Leon FR TDI 150bhp and then a Ibiza Cupra 160bhp TDI, both of which were great. Previous to that I had the VW Golf GTI 150bhp diesel. I covered several thousand miles in all of these cars and never had a single thing wrong with them. I guess they were all pretty much the same generation of engine but I loved it.
My DPF light has been on and off more times than a lady of the night's underwear to put it politely! The car is a 56 plate and had covered approx 4k when I had it in May. It now has some 17.5k on the clock varying from motorway to urban driving.
The first time I noticed it was when I'd been driving back from London to the midlands on the M40. I noticed a change in the tone of the engine, then the DPF light came on, followed shortly after by the engine management light. Not long after that, in the 3rd lane of the motorway at *ahem* above 70mph the car starts to limp along and I nearly cause a pile up! Not knowing what this was I called my dealer who just suggested I bring it in to them and did not say anything about the 'correct' way to deal with this (which I'm still unsure of!). I drove along the M40 with my foot on the floor but could not get to more than 60mph. After 30-40 miles the car just burst back into life. Within two days both lights had disappeared and when I got the car to my dealer they could not find a fault. Since then the car has been back with other problems actually caused by the dealer when they were correcting factory paintwork problems and for its first 'rip off price' 10k service. The DPF and engine management light have appeared from time to time but I've always managed to clear them with a good old boot up the motorway.
This is where things take a turn for the worse! A few days ago I saw the familiar DPF light and then the engine management light which as always I managed to clear. At the weekend it re-appeared quicker than I expected it to but I have been doing shorter trips lately (16 miles each way). This morning it started to limp along. I'd just about had enough of this and called Seat assistance. The AA arrived at work in about 30 mins or so and the guy knew exactly what is was. He proved it by hooking his laptop up and providing me with error codes to take to Seat. He then offered to take me to my local dealer and pick up a hire car for 72 hours which we are entitled to under warranty. He firstly went to a Seat dealer which has been shut down! Then he took me into Birmingham toward another Seat dealer which closed before we got there! He then told me that they couldn't get me a hire car! This meant I had to limp back to work in a car my Seat dealer told me I should not now be driving. I've brought the car back home and I'm dreading the worst post Xmas! Luckily I have a 2nd car to get around in over Xmas but it could quite easily have ruined things if I hadn't.
I love this car and have been smiling ever since I first drove a demonstrator of it but my mind is made up. Once/if this ever gets sorted I'm going back to an Ibiza Cupra/FR TDi! The first thing I will do is trade it in despite losing thousands!
Enough moaning anyway - Happy Christmas to you all!
Steve.
Hello all,
Just wanted to hi first of all and introduce myself before I start to rant! I really wish I'd found this site before buying my Leon FR TDI in May!
I'm on my 3rd Seat diesel now, the others being a Leon FR TDI 150bhp and then a Ibiza Cupra 160bhp TDI, both of which were great. Previous to that I had the VW Golf GTI 150bhp diesel. I covered several thousand miles in all of these cars and never had a single thing wrong with them. I guess they were all pretty much the same generation of engine but I loved it.
My DPF light has been on and off more times than a lady of the night's underwear to put it politely! The car is a 56 plate and had covered approx 4k when I had it in May. It now has some 17.5k on the clock varying from motorway to urban driving.
The first time I noticed it was when I'd been driving back from London to the midlands on the M40. I noticed a change in the tone of the engine, then the DPF light came on, followed shortly after by the engine management light. Not long after that, in the 3rd lane of the motorway at *ahem* above 70mph the car starts to limp along and I nearly cause a pile up! Not knowing what this was I called my dealer who just suggested I bring it in to them and did not say anything about the 'correct' way to deal with this (which I'm still unsure of!). I drove along the M40 with my foot on the floor but could not get to more than 60mph. After 30-40 miles the car just burst back into life. Within two days both lights had disappeared and when I got the car to my dealer they could not find a fault. Since then the car has been back with other problems actually caused by the dealer when they were correcting factory paintwork problems and for its first 'rip off price' 10k service. The DPF and engine management light have appeared from time to time but I've always managed to clear them with a good old boot up the motorway.
This is where things take a turn for the worse! A few days ago I saw the familiar DPF light and then the engine management light which as always I managed to clear. At the weekend it re-appeared quicker than I expected it to but I have been doing shorter trips lately (16 miles each way). This morning it started to limp along. I'd just about had enough of this and called Seat assistance. The AA arrived at work in about 30 mins or so and the guy knew exactly what is was. He proved it by hooking his laptop up and providing me with error codes to take to Seat. He then offered to take me to my local dealer and pick up a hire car for 72 hours which we are entitled to under warranty. He firstly went to a Seat dealer which has been shut down! Then he took me into Birmingham toward another Seat dealer which closed before we got there! He then told me that they couldn't get me a hire car! This meant I had to limp back to work in a car my Seat dealer told me I should not now be driving. I've brought the car back home and I'm dreading the worst post Xmas! Luckily I have a 2nd car to get around in over Xmas but it could quite easily have ruined things if I hadn't.
I love this car and have been smiling ever since I first drove a demonstrator of it but my mind is made up. Once/if this ever gets sorted I'm going back to an Ibiza Cupra/FR TDi! The first thing I will do is trade it in despite losing thousands!
Enough moaning anyway - Happy Christmas to you all!
Steve.
willias400
Guest
Quick update.....
I eventually managed to get the Leon in to Seat after Christmas although I've not been able to use her now since before Christmas Eve anyway. I spoke to them yesterday and they've spent 6 hours on her so far trying to clear the filter. Apparently they've managed to get it down to 20% but it needs to be at 10% for the light to go off! They've been in touch with Seat as they think it may be more than just the filter (sensors?) but either way they are hoping I can get all of this covered under warranty (phew!). I'm hoping to get her back later this week as I'm selling my other car at the weekend. I'll post the outcome then.
Unfortunately, due to the problems I've had with the car I've put down a deposit on an pre-reg Ibiza FR TDi that was going cheap. I know its not as nice a car but I've had one before and if it's even half as reliable then it will put the Leon to shame. I'll still be very sad to lose such a great car. I think I just got a lemon!
I eventually managed to get the Leon in to Seat after Christmas although I've not been able to use her now since before Christmas Eve anyway. I spoke to them yesterday and they've spent 6 hours on her so far trying to clear the filter. Apparently they've managed to get it down to 20% but it needs to be at 10% for the light to go off! They've been in touch with Seat as they think it may be more than just the filter (sensors?) but either way they are hoping I can get all of this covered under warranty (phew!). I'm hoping to get her back later this week as I'm selling my other car at the weekend. I'll post the outcome then.
Unfortunately, due to the problems I've had with the car I've put down a deposit on an pre-reg Ibiza FR TDi that was going cheap. I know its not as nice a car but I've had one before and if it's even half as reliable then it will put the Leon to shame. I'll still be very sad to lose such a great car. I think I just got a lemon!
I've had my car 12 months had problems with the Exhaust Emissions control valve which is related to the DPF i'm lead to believe.
I voted had the light and cleared. I'd been watching the Wales rally had the engine running to keep warm on the way home (country lanes mainly A-roads) the light came on. Ran it in 4th/5th for about 5 miles and the light went off.
I find occasionally though that the car runs rough sounds more diesel like. No lights come on and eventually it clears. The exhaust sounds more sporty and throbby if that makes sense. Reading the manual it says it will do its own procedure before the light comes on to heat the exhaust. At this time the gasses coming from the exhaust are redhot too. However what I don't get is 95% of my driving is on the motorway at 80mph or so and the revs very very rarely drop below 1400rpm so I don't understand why this happens. Completely baffled and worried that when the warranty runs out I could be left with a big bill for replacing something!!!!
I voted had the light and cleared. I'd been watching the Wales rally had the engine running to keep warm on the way home (country lanes mainly A-roads) the light came on. Ran it in 4th/5th for about 5 miles and the light went off.
I find occasionally though that the car runs rough sounds more diesel like. No lights come on and eventually it clears. The exhaust sounds more sporty and throbby if that makes sense. Reading the manual it says it will do its own procedure before the light comes on to heat the exhaust. At this time the gasses coming from the exhaust are redhot too. However what I don't get is 95% of my driving is on the motorway at 80mph or so and the revs very very rarely drop below 1400rpm so I don't understand why this happens. Completely baffled and worried that when the warranty runs out I could be left with a big bill for replacing something!!!!
fredbassett
Guest
I drive a mix of motorway and town, can occasionally go a week or so doing 20 or so 10mile or less journey, other times I can be doing 1k miles in a week. I have now done 10K in 6 months and have had the DPF light on 6/7 times. Second time it went on I got it onto the motorway, 10 mins later the coil light went on and it went into limp mode. Got it to the dealer, they managed to clear it and did something to the ECU. Ever since it has been better. If the DPF light comes on now it soon goes out again. Thankfully I wasn't charged for the fix. I suspect that the problem was with the software or sensor and whatever they did to the ECU has fixed it.
I drive 40 miles a day, with a mix of dual carriageways and B roads. The car's done 12.5k miles now, and I've only seen the DPF light twice... neither of these times have been on my work run - they've been when I've been driving around town with a lot of starting / stopping.
Both times the problem has been cleared with a few minutes of "Brisk" driving, legally, down a dual carriageway.
If you think about it, all the smoke that usually comes out the back of a diesel is being caught by the DPF..... so things like pulling away and putting a lot of pressure on the engine are producing soot which is being caught... and since the engine's not turning fast and for long enough to heat the exhaust sufficiently, the DPF isnt getting cleared.
I must admit, it's a major area that the VW group neglected to tell anyone, but it seems that the 170TDI is not meant for extensive urban driving
My advice is if you drive in a lot of stop / start traffic, take it for a 5 min journey down a dual carriageway at 50mph+ once a week - should keep it cleaned out.
Strangely I had the same problem as Fred (above), when the coil light came on and it went into limp mode... It needed the exhaust temperature sensor changing about a week after I bought it.... maybe a new sensor minimizes the problems....maybe not tho...
Both times the problem has been cleared with a few minutes of "Brisk" driving, legally, down a dual carriageway.
If you think about it, all the smoke that usually comes out the back of a diesel is being caught by the DPF..... so things like pulling away and putting a lot of pressure on the engine are producing soot which is being caught... and since the engine's not turning fast and for long enough to heat the exhaust sufficiently, the DPF isnt getting cleared.
I must admit, it's a major area that the VW group neglected to tell anyone, but it seems that the 170TDI is not meant for extensive urban driving
My advice is if you drive in a lot of stop / start traffic, take it for a 5 min journey down a dual carriageway at 50mph+ once a week - should keep it cleaned out.
Strangely I had the same problem as Fred (above), when the coil light came on and it went into limp mode... It needed the exhaust temperature sensor changing about a week after I bought it.... maybe a new sensor minimizes the problems....maybe not tho...
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willias400
Guest
Me again!
Just thought I would post my outcome.
I got the car back on Saturday morning after two weeks of Seat having it. Admittedly it was over Xmas so I have to give them a break there. They'd tried regenerating the DPF several times (and used most of my full tank of diesel!) but still didn't get anywhere. In the end they replaced a couple of sensors and that seemed to do the trick. I was relieved when I was told that Seat were covering all of the cost.
Despite losing all of my diesel and the car being filthy inside and out when I got it back, it still brought a grin to my face when I drove it away from the dealers. I did miss it.
I was told by the dealership that they now issue leaflets to all owners of cars with a DPF and they have to advise people how to drive them at the point of sale. I wish I had been 'advised'! I would have kept my Ibiza Cupra TDi!
Like a previous post on here, with the trouble I've had with the DPF and various electrical issues I still don't trust the car and don't want to own it out of warranty so it's going whilst it still fetches a good price. This week will be my last week in it before I go back to an Ibiza. I will be making the most of it!
Good luck with all of your cars guys. I hope you fair better than me.
Steve.
Just thought I would post my outcome.
I got the car back on Saturday morning after two weeks of Seat having it. Admittedly it was over Xmas so I have to give them a break there. They'd tried regenerating the DPF several times (and used most of my full tank of diesel!) but still didn't get anywhere. In the end they replaced a couple of sensors and that seemed to do the trick. I was relieved when I was told that Seat were covering all of the cost.
Despite losing all of my diesel and the car being filthy inside and out when I got it back, it still brought a grin to my face when I drove it away from the dealers. I did miss it.
I was told by the dealership that they now issue leaflets to all owners of cars with a DPF and they have to advise people how to drive them at the point of sale. I wish I had been 'advised'! I would have kept my Ibiza Cupra TDi!
Like a previous post on here, with the trouble I've had with the DPF and various electrical issues I still don't trust the car and don't want to own it out of warranty so it's going whilst it still fetches a good price. This week will be my last week in it before I go back to an Ibiza. I will be making the most of it!
Good luck with all of your cars guys. I hope you fair better than me.
Steve.
By point of sale I take it you mean when you pay for the car?
They should tell you before you pay the deposit, it's a bit late when your paying for it, as you have probably been waiting for it for a month or two.
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