DPF and traffic jams, I wonder ....

[Richard_C]

I was reading about the sudden snowfall in the Alps that left some people in traffic jams for 11 hours or more, and thinking that it could well have been me on one of my trips.

Then I thought, well at least I always make sure I have a full tank of diesel before I go into the mountain bits so I could keep the engine running to keep warm.

Then I thought, what about the DPF, would I end up getting a bing bong warning after a while, followed by a bing bong I'm stopping message and days waiting for a tow truck. Then I thought maybe everyone with a DPF ends up freezing to death of they get stuck in a big jam in the Alps. Surely not.

So, those of you who understand the workings of the things, what happens in that sort of situation, and what is the best strategy, starting and stopping the motor regularly, just leave ticking over ..... or?

[citronut]

just sit there red lining/static regen'ing it

this would also melt the snow

[bobins]

Use a rental car, then the problem goes away

[evilally]

Rental cars handle better too

[Stickyfinger]

Naaa.....Company cars....they do not even need oil or water, my old company Calibra 4x4 was great at carrying logs as well !, the Dealer was convinced the rear struts were a weak point of the car !

Talking about jams in the cold.....after a relatively short time a HDI engine will over cool its oil and drag it into the cylinders damaging the DPF.....

[lexi]

These diesels are awesome! What was the reason for these engines again? That's it........to save money on fuel and spend it on problems

[Stickyfinger]

These diesels are awesome! What was the reason for these engines again? That's it........to save money on fuel and spend it on problems

Disagree, like ANY complicated piece of machinery a Diesel needs maintaining. Petrol Chip controlled lightweight engines have leaped forward in reliability (remember twin carbs ?, my "other car" is on 4x Webers balanced to twin mixer inlets !...run that for ten years LOL) because the tolerances are a lot tighter, a Diesel is no different.

Modern cars are precision engineering, we forget that it needs precision, skill across many disciplines and a developed level of problem solving to keep them working for 10 years plus !....these are skills that many "customers" also lack massively when choosing a "professional" to work on their £5-10 K investment !

I have seen no increase or decrease in my maintenance cost across petrol or diesel, its a myth !

[Northern_Mike]

These diesels are awesome! What was the reason for these engines again? That's it........to save money on fuel and spend it on problems

Disagree, like ANY complicated piece of machinery a Diesel needs maintaining. Petrol Chip controlled lightweight engines have leaped forward in reliability (remember twin carbs ?, my "other car" is on 4x Webers balanced to twin mixer inlets !...run that for ten years LOL) because the tolerances are a lot tighter, a Diesel is no different.

I agree completely with all that. Some people would perhaps like a return to the golden olden days, where their A-series needed a rebore after 30,000 miles, or the big ends had gone. At least you could change the engine in a couple of hours yourself eh?...

DPFs and all the pollution gear, is, in my view essential. We've forgotten the amount of soot and crud engines used to chuck out 20 or 30 years ago. I spent some time abroad recently where they have a lot of old-tech diesel and petrol stuff, and the pollution they cause is visible and shocking. Changed my mind about it all, that's for sure.

[Stickyfinger]

Yep, there was a very good reason for 20/50 motor oil other than for lawn mowers !

I miss soft iron valve seats, non starters when below +3 (or slightly moist), Lucky Lucas electrics, BL King Pins, leaking leaver shocks

and

lead in petrol.

[bobins]

How long before garages start pushing a 'DPF Cleanup' as part of your annual or two yearly service for a 'small additional payment' with the selling point is that it's done to improve the health of your filter and if you don't have it done, you could be stranded miles from home with a blocked filter. This 'service' will consist of a forced regen and/or a damn good thrashing up and down the dual carriageway. Or do they already try and sell this service ?....... You can tell how long it's been since I used a garage to service my car !

[Mandrake]

I was reading about the sudden snowfall in the Alps that left some people in traffic jams for 11 hours or more, and thinking that it could well have been me on one of my trips.

Then I thought, well at least I always make sure I have a full tank of diesel before I go into the mountain bits so I could keep the engine running to keep warm.

Then I thought, what about the DPF, would I end up getting a bing bong warning after a while, followed by a bing bong I'm stopping message and days waiting for a tow truck. Then I thought maybe everyone with a DPF ends up freezing to death of they get stuck in a big jam in the Alps. Surely not.

So, those of you who understand the workings of the things, what happens in that sort of situation, and what is the best strategy, starting and stopping the motor regularly, just leave ticking over ..... or?

I HIGHLY doubt that idling for 11 hours as a one off would cause any problems for a DPF that is otherwise healthy.

DPF's get clogged up over hundreds of miles of slow driving where the engine is generating soot and the DPF is storing it but it doesn't get a chance to regenerate as it's not getting hot enough. We're talking about over weeks or even months of normal driving, not hours.

You're only talking about a few hours, and a few hours at idle at that - soot production is likely to be low during idle as the mixture is extremely lean with the throttle closed. (When you put your foot down heavily to accelerate is when most soot is produced - remember the exhaust patterns of pre DPF diesels ?)

As long as you didn't do this all the time I reckon you'd be fine, unless someone has some personal experience to the contrary ?

[SaabC5]

How long before garages start pushing a 'DPF Cleanup' as part of your annual or two yearly service for a 'small additional payment' with the selling point is that it's done to improve the health of your filter and if you don't have it done, you could be stranded miles from home with a blocked filter. This 'service' will consist of a forced regen and/or a damn good thrashing up and down the dual carriageway. Or do they already try and sell this service ?....... You can tell how long it's been since I used a garage to service my car !

They already offer this service for approx £60 extra. All they do is chuck a can of DPF cleaner (approx £15) into the tank. Thats a damn good mark up for 1 minutes work.

[lexi]

Yep, there was a very good reason for 20/50 motor oil other than for lawn mowers !

I miss soft iron valve seats, non starters when below +3 (or slightly moist), Lucky Lucas electrics, BL King Pins, leaking leaver shocks

and

lead in petrol.

(-expletive removed-)` ell! Is that Julian Assange in disguise for a day out sightseeing in London?

[Stickyfinger]

Dats me Brother DUDE, you dissing my Kith & Kin ? ....If you are, you will squeal like a pig boy !....here piggy piggy.....----SQUEAL PIGGY---SQUEAL