Diesel Particulate Filter - Wish List

[catch22]

Originally Posted by fenton_jd

STOP BLAMING VOLVO FOR DPF ISSUES

Go to any forum... VW, FIAT, Audi, Vauxhall, Ford. DPF Issues are all over the place.

I don't see how you interpret the discussions surrounding the issues with DPF's as being a direct attack on Volvo ? Where do you get that from? I couldn't be @rsed to use capitals [wink]

We see thread after thread throughout the motoring forums, highlighting the fact many people were clueless [including myself] prior to buying and at the point of buying about the possible pitfalls with DPF's dependent on your driving needs.

Its as if the motor industry "at the point of sale" have agreed to keep DPF's a big secret as far as the uninitiated driving public are concerned. Come on be honest now, were you aware of DPF's and how they worked, when you bought your diesel ?

They are serving up to the likes of "Volvomum" [see her thread] a plate of cold "fate accompli" DPF issues soup. When it was obvious a diesel was not compatible with her driving requirements.

You want a big safe car, you want it with a bit of umph, you want 50 + MPG, you want a 2.0 diesel madam. All these people opening threads about £1000+ DPF replacement costs, totally dumbfounded that they had one in the first place.

Here you go, from the Ford forum, a guy buys a second hand diesel. Then learns about possible DPF' issues and is desperate to know if he has one, AFTER THE EVENT. So I advised him to contact his ford dealer, he got the answer back, it hadn't. So I replied as below.

(catch @ Jan 18 2010, 05:27 PM) *
Well that's great news, as servicing the renewable DPF filter over a 6 year cycle would have added at least a £100 annually to your service bill. [2 x Elloys oil top up and a filter replacement]

You jammy sod tongue.gif

i know, i was so pleased

[fenton_jd]

Originally Posted by catch22

They are serving up to the likes of "Volvomum" [see her thread] a plate of cold "fate accompli" DPF issues soup. When it was obvious a diesel was not compatible with her driving requirements.

You want a big safe car, you want it with a bit of umph, you want 50 + MPG, you want a 2.0 diesel madam.

It's a shame that this is the attiude taken by sales people etc. Fortunately, petrol engines are catching up. Look at this example from Renault:

Renault Clio TCE petrol
1149cc | 98bhp | 145NM | 60mph - 10.6s | top speed 114mph | 48MPG

Volvo need to jump onto this boat. If you compare the above with the 1.6d S40/V50 etc...a slightly bigger modern turbo petrol would easily get nice MPG like that.
.

[catch22]

Originally Posted by fenton_jd

Renault Clio TCE petrol
1149cc | 98bhp | 145NM | 60mph - 10.6s | top speed 114mph | 48MPG

Jeez that's bloody good, pity I'm not into French cars. Not saying they don't make some stylish cars. I just think French cars need to be bought new. If I took a French car into my mechanic with a fault. He would just shake his head and say, serves you right.

[Gazdok]

I had the message Soot filter... see manual and was crawling along with no acceleration and the car could not regenerate because my thermostat was broken at the same time. I went to Volvo because quite a few error messages were thrown up. They had the car sitting in their back yard idling until it was regenerated and also did some "recall" work at the same costing me £50, but they did not find out about the thermostat.
After I put a new thermostat in, the car gets up to normal op. temperatures again and hopefully "regenerates" itself.
Volvomum,
How can a Volvo dealer charge £150 for having the car idling in the back doing all the "hard work" it self?

[ITServe]

I drive a BMW 320d M Sport on a daily commute of 25 minutes (16 miles) each way on country lanes and the odd B or A road. I do 14,000 miles per year and I have had no issues whatsoever with the DPF on that. I am really surprised to hear of these problems on Volvo cars and not a little concerned as I have just ordered a new XC90!

My wife and I will share the two cars, and whoever is doing the most miles with the least load will take the BM, and the other the XC90. (We also go to Europe 2 or three times a year when the XC90 is really going to be needed).

Does anyone out there have similar driving patterns to us and have anything GOOD to say about the DPF? Has everyone had these problems?

[ITServe]

Re: Renault Clio TCE petrol
1149cc | 98bhp | 145NM | 60mph - 10.6s | top speed 114mph | 48MPG

145NM torque! Muhahahahahah! (Sorry)

I know it's a small car but it must be a dog to drive!

[catch22]

Originally Posted by ITServe

I am really surprised to hear of these problems on Volvo cars and not a little concerned as I have just ordered a new XC90!

I don't see it as a Volvo issue, in that it is any worse then with other marques, so no need to panic. It's just that some people have had issues with them, but as a percentage of the DPF's out there its tiny.

My own experience is, I bought a 54 plate S40 last January, it had 57,965miles on the clock, so still on the original DPF. I then put another 5,368 miles on it over 9 months. 2600 miles of that was undertaken over a 17 day period split between three holiday trips using the motorways to get there and back. Based in North Yorks, went to Dorset once Devon once and Lanarkshire in Scotland once.

The other 2,768 miles spread over the other 8.5 months. Split mostly between 2 mile town journeys, and the odd 19 mile round trip using bypasses and A roads to the next town.The on board computer had the average speed for the car over that 9 month period as 31mph [ I'd do 75mph in cruise on the motorways]

Never once did I have an issue with the DPF, no service messages, no limp home modes, nothing. Only thing I will say is on the town bypass, and dual carriage trunk road to the next town, I would give it a bit of wellie. Nothing silly, no wild driving, I drive on my gears not my brakes. Hell I'm 63 so hardly a boy racer.

[ITServe]

That is reassuring, the mix of miles is not too different from my own, although I probably do twice the total in a year or a bit more. So probably nothing to worry about then.

[Robbijay]

Originally Posted by ITServe

I drive a BMW 320d M Sport on a daily commute of 25 minutes (16 miles) each way on country lanes and the odd B or A road. I do 14,000 miles per year and I have had no issues whatsoever with the DPF on that. I am really surprised to hear of these problems on Volvo cars and not a little concerned as I have just ordered a new XC90!

My wife and I will share the two cars, and whoever is doing the most miles with the least load will take the BM, and the other the XC90. (We also go to Europe 2 or three times a year when the XC90 is really going to be needed).

Does anyone out there have similar driving patterns to us and have anything GOOD to say about the DPF? Has everyone had these problems?

I do almost exactly the same daily mileage as you except mine is about 9 miles A road, 5 in the twisties and the rest driving through a small town (with no congestion tho) from the A to the B road.
My S60 hasn't had any DPF issues since I bought it in Oct 08 (06 Reg with 26k), and it's now done about 51k. I do put a shot of Millers in at every fill up and use Shell Diesel Extra. My MPG has dropped by about 5 this winter which could be because there's more soot build up as it doesn't warm up as quickly but I'm not sure, it could also be because I've put some sticky tyres on (instead of the fuel saver crap that it came with) and use the heated seat 'liberally'!

Either way, no issues with the DPF so far!


*As a side note, I don't really know why anyone would buy a diesel to only do urban trips? surely it would be cheaper to buy the petrol equivalent for less money to start with as you'd never do enough miles to start saving money with the diesel?

**As another side note how many people buy cars without researching them to find out about issues such as this!

[catch22]

Originally Posted by catch22

I don't see it as a Volvo issue, in that it is any worse then with other marques, so no need to panic. It's just that some people have had issues with them, but as a percentage of the DPF's out there its tiny.

My own experience is, I bought a 54 plate S40 last January, it had 57,965miles on the clock, so still on the original DPF. I then put another 5,368 miles on it over 9 months. 2600 miles of that was undertaken over a 17 day period split between three holiday trips using the motorways to get there and back. Based in North Yorks, went to Dorset once Devon once and Lanarkshire in Scotland once.

The other 2,768 miles spread over the other 8.5 months. Split mostly between 2 mile town journeys, and the odd 19 mile round trip using bypasses and A roads to the next town.The on board computer had the average speed for the car over that 9 month period as 31mph [ I'd do 75mph in cruise on the motorways]

Never once did I have an issue with the DPF, no service messages, no limp home modes, nothing. Only thing I will say is on the town bypass, and dual carriage trunk road to the next town, I would give it a bit of wellie. Nothing silly, no wild driving, I drive on my gears not my brakes. Hell I'm 63 so hardly a boy racer.

For what its worth, all on Morrisons supermarket fuel with no additives.