DPF regeneration

[Gregamir]

Hey guys, just a quick question here.. So today my TDI scirocco ran a fan for a minute after i shut down the engine, i kinda got worried a little :S + because in one year of ownership that never happened before. I used to hear a lot about people saying bad stuff about Diesel engines because of "some stupid filter getting clogged up" if you are doing short trips.. I have a 2010 Scirocco TDI 140hp with 220000+km on it aaand honestly, with all this information on youtube and from what ive read in the past few hours, i dont rly want TDI anymore :/ and as much as i love this car it brakes my heart to say this.. or am I just making a big deal out of this? o.O

In spring last year, when i bought the car i did quite a mileage, because after all, diesels were meant to be driven long distances, but for the last few weeks ive only been driving it short distances, mostly because its winter and i dont have winter tires, but also because of road salt and all that other stuff that causes rust.. but i do take it for a spin from time to time, just so that the engine gets warmed up, untill today. From today on, I dont even want to drive it because i am kinda clueless what would be the smart thing to do?

My question is, if I go on motorway and "let the engine breathe" for a few miles, would that somehow help DPF to regenerate? and is there anything I can do to get this thing sorted/tested or anything at all without DPF delete, because ive hear that this DPF can be a real problem to the engine if the regeneration is somehow "skipped"(?)

Excuse my knowledge about this kind of stuff, the DPF was the last thing on my mind when i was buying a car.

Thank you so much for your time guys!

[Cuprabob]

If the fan stays on for a few minutes after switching off it just means that you switched off the car before the regeneration was completed. When this happens just give the car a good run the next time you use it to allow it to complete a regeneration. The car tries to do a regeneration every 700 or so miles so the fact it's regenerating is not a sign that the DPF is getting clogged.

If the soot gets above a certain level the DPF light will come on and that's when you want to do an active regeneration as described on the manual, which is basically drive at a steady ~2,5k revs for a period until the light goes out.

Just drive your car as normal and don't worry too much about it and try to watch out out for the signs that a regeneration is taking place and drive it until it's stopped regenerating. Signs are that the engine sounds a little rough, there is a sense of heat and tickler is raised by a few hundred rpm over normal.

[Gregamir]

If the fan stays on for a few minutes after switching off it just means that you switched off the car before the regeneration was completed. When this happens just give the car a good run the next time you use it to allow it to complete a regeneration. The car tries to do a regeneration every 700 or so miles so the fact it's regenerating is not a sign that the DPF is getting clogged.

If the soot gets above a certain level the DPF light will come on and that's when you want to do an active regeneration as described on the manual, which is basically drive at a steady ~2,5k revs for a period until the light goes out.

Just drive your car as normal and don't worry too much about it and try to watch out out for the signs that a regeneration is taking place and drive it until it's stopped regenerating. Signs are that the engine sounds a little rough, there is a sense of heat and tickler is raised by a few hundred rpm over normal.

Thank you so much! Maybe I was just overreacting yesterday, watching all those youtube videos and reading all sorts of things about DPF.. never owned a diesel before and that kinda got me by surprise haha. Anyway, Thank you again mate! Cheers!

[Cuprabob]

You're welcome and if you want to know how much soot has accumulated in your DPF, it can be measured using VCDS.

Sadly, the Internet and forums tend to focus on the negatives therefore it can be difficult to gauge how much of an issue something really is. Research is good but sometimes it can make you a little bit paranoid.

[Gregamir]

You're welcome and if you want to know how much soot has accumulated in your DPF, it can be measured using VCDS.

Sadly, the Internet and forums tend to focus on the negatives therefore it can be difficult to gauge how much of an issue something really is. Research is good but sometimes it can make you a little bit paranoid.

To be honest yea, it did made me a little paranoid, had a rly bad night haha, also I read all about how much new DPF costs and I was like " dude thats like half of what the car is worth" (around 4-5k €). Come spring I will take it to a mechanic for an oil change anyway and Ill ask about the DPF test aswell.

Thank you so much for your time! I appreciate it! And also Ill give it a good run next time around

[Deft]

Worth noting you can sometimes tell if it is in regen mode whilst driving as it will tell you to shift down a gear earlier than usual to keep the revs higher. If I see this happen, I just keep driving for another ten minutes or until it stops telling me to shift down.

[Gregamir]

Worth noting you can sometimes tell if it is in regen mode whilst driving as it will tell you to shift down a gear earlier than usual to keep the revs higher. If I see this happen, I just keep driving for another ten minutes or until it stops telling me to shift down.

Does it realy tell you when to shift? ive never seen that before, but i did take the car for a good spin last week and the fans turned off normaly when i shut down the engine. Thank you for advice tho!

[Cuprabob]

Worth noting you can sometimes tell if it is in regen mode whilst driving as it will tell you to shift down a gear earlier than usual to keep the revs higher. If I see this happen, I just keep driving for another ten minutes or until it stops telling me to shift down.

Does it realy tell you when to shift?

Yes but I believe the gear change indicator was introduced after your car was built. To be honest you're not missing much