Hi all,
Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I'd really appreciate hearing your opinions.
I have a 2012 Peugeot 5008, 1.6HDI engine. Currently I'm at 203.000 km.
My daily commute is basically twice a 40-minute drive, half highway/half city.
The Problem
About 10.000km ago, I started to get intermittent DPF regen warnings. This continued to the point that no any "regen drive" would actually clear the warning anymore.
I brought it to a mechanic, they dried forced regen, but this proved ineffective, after which they took the DPF out, "cleaned it" (there's no quantitative measure of before/after, so I guess "something" happened), and replaced also the differential pressure sensor.
After the cleaning, it was OK for a short while, but then the warnings came back. Maybe within a week.
In the mean time, I also got a check engine light, and one day, the engine simply didn't want to start anymore.
I brought it to my usual garage, and they determined that the injectors were basically junk, this was at 197.000km. (They had already been worked on at 140.000km, when I experienced limp mode suddenly while overtaking).
So, I got new injectors. The garage told they couldn't find anything off regarding the DPF, but hypothesized that my old injectors could produce excessive smoke and overload the DPF.
After that, I did an hour-long regen drive, highway mostly in fifth. The warning cleared, and for about 5000km there was no dpf warning and I was happy.
However, since, the warnings have returned with a vengeance. Basically, the patterns is as follows: During my morning drive, I manage to clear the warning. Then, during my afternoon drive I have to climb a steep hill on the highway, which I do in 4th at 90km/hr (that's 2800rpm), and without a exception this will trigger the warning. Which I'll then proceed to clear the next morning. In other words: calm/typical driving doesn't trigger it, but high load and acceleration do.
The Question
Today I came across this post: viewtopic.php?t=73050
This was basically the first time that I read that my DPF may actually have a lifetime of 125.000km. And that maybe you can add another 80.000, but that's basically where I'm at with my car... I also know that cleaning a DPF can only do so much, and that you cannot bring it back to new.
I do wish to keep the car. The engine is for the rest in perfect condition, and I enjoy driving it, there's no noticeable oil consumption.
So, I wonder: Perhaps I should actually just replace the DPF since it's beyond its lifetime?
And what would be the diagnostic process leading up to drawing that conclusion? For instance, what about
- bad injector coding,
- boost leak,
- EGR stuck open,
- MAF error,
- turbo control issue,
- thermostat too cold,
- excessive oil burning,
- compression problem.
Can this all be handled/checked off by a simple diagnostic pass over the engine?
I'd really be thankful for your thoughts.
Regards,
Willem