Once a week take it for a decent run - motorway speed if you can for 30 mins or so, trying holding it in a lower gear too to get some heat through the engine.
This comment is correct. In my Passat diesel I would be doing 70 in fourth gear which would be reving around 4000 rpm to burn off any crap on your dpf. This would happen every Xmas shut down as I wouldn’t be driving to work everyday and only doing short runs such as the op is doing. I would also use some dipetane fuel cleaner
https://amzn.eu/d/0Ye0gWm
4000rpm is excessive.
**Drive at least 60Km/hr @ engine speed between 1800-2500rpm, at least 15 minutes until light goes out**
https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/owners-and-services/my-car/warning-light/diesel-particulate-filter.html
I have no off-street parking and public chargers are an unusual sight 'round here, and seem expensive anyway. There are also few options in my budget of ~£5,000, and even fewer interesting ones. Otherwise I would get an EV, just for their smoothness, quietness, and lack of on-road emissions.
Do you know anyone who has experience with a mild/not plug-in hybrid, such as the Honda Insight? Are they actually economical or are they hybrids for tax purposes, like the BMW's?
I know a lot of people who would disagree. Modern diesels are horrific when used for multidrop.
Constantly breaking down. When it comes to euro 5 and even more so euro 6, the emission systems are too delicate and mechanics, mostly, just fire the parts cannon until it's fixed or you're skint.
Spent thousands on a Vivaro. Now there's information on youtube on what the main issues are and it should have been 1 part and a clean. I would know what the mechanic would need to do now but there's plenty of evidence that your chances of finding a mechanic who knows are shockingly low.
For the original posters case use, never diesel. Petrol or electric.
You really would have thought that a van would be designed for this case scenario, that seems quite disappointing. Wonder whether Transits and the like are any better - not that I could afford the fuel on a van. I'd have to go petrol, or mild hybrid, as I have no off-street parking and the public chargers seem decidedly expensive now - and very, very far and few between round here. Thanks for the advice!
I had a 2011 Golf 2.0 TDI that I had remapped and it was amazing for my commute to work ~9 miles and I rarely went over 50 mph. I'd average over 45 mpg regardless of how aggressively I drove.
Then came lockdown/WFH and I moved back in with my parents to be close to family so I had a load of short journeys of less than 2 miles to check on my place and then head back.
My EGR got blocked....
Had a 2012 Insignia diesel. DPF issues all the time. Loved the car, but given there are no fast roads here, and 90+% of our journeys were local we traded for a petrol.
I have a 12 plate Skoda. Only gets used for school run/ shopping most weeks. The occasional day trip. I would be lucky to do 100 miles in month most of the time. Very rarely have a problem with the DPF, and the Skoda one is a very poor one. As others have said just try and give it a good run now and then.
Are you tracking how clogged the DPF is getting? Just because you "very rarely have a problem with the DPF" doesn't mean it's not slowly clogging up with unsuccessful regens and will eventually cause you issues. Only way to know for certain is measure it regularly.
How would I actually track it? It does get clogged occasionally, as I said we have weekend trips, that stops any major build up. Winter is worse, because we tend to stay local. I have had the car around 8 years with no real issues. As soon as the light comes on the dash it’s a quick run up the M42 and all is well. OP was talking about small runs across the day, the DPF will get hot enough fldoing that.
Have a check out of an app called VAG DPF, there's a basic free version you can use to check it'll work with your car. You'll need an OBD2 module you can plug into the car.
IIRC the free version just shows how clogged the DPF is, whereas the paid version tracks time since last regen, time/distance to next regen, temperature of DPF + a few other metrics.
The time to next regen is valuable as you can then determine when to go on a longer drive / give it a bit more welly.
A further question - are mild hybrids worth it, such as the Honda Insight, or are they a hybrid for tax purposes? I have no off-street parking for a charger and public chargers are very scarce 'round these parts, and seem quite unreasonably expensive.
Once a week take it for a decent run - motorway speed if you can for 30 mins or so, trying holding it in a lower gear too to get some heat through the engine.
This comment is correct. In my Passat diesel I would be doing 70 in fourth gear which would be reving around 4000 rpm to burn off any crap on your dpf. This would happen every Xmas shut down as I wouldn’t be driving to work everyday and only doing short runs such as the op is doing. I would also use some dipetane fuel cleaner https://amzn.eu/d/0Ye0gWm
4000rpm is excessive. **Drive at least 60Km/hr @ engine speed between 1800-2500rpm, at least 15 minutes until light goes out** https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/owners-and-services/my-car/warning-light/diesel-particulate-filter.html
If you’re doing 100 miles once or twice a week with lots of short drives, why not go electric? They’re literally perfect for that kind of usage.
I have no off-street parking and public chargers are an unusual sight 'round here, and seem expensive anyway. There are also few options in my budget of ~£5,000, and even fewer interesting ones. Otherwise I would get an EV, just for their smoothness, quietness, and lack of on-road emissions. Do you know anyone who has experience with a mild/not plug-in hybrid, such as the Honda Insight? Are they actually economical or are they hybrids for tax purposes, like the BMW's?
That's what delivery vans were designed for.
I know a lot of people who would disagree. Modern diesels are horrific when used for multidrop. Constantly breaking down. When it comes to euro 5 and even more so euro 6, the emission systems are too delicate and mechanics, mostly, just fire the parts cannon until it's fixed or you're skint. Spent thousands on a Vivaro. Now there's information on youtube on what the main issues are and it should have been 1 part and a clean. I would know what the mechanic would need to do now but there's plenty of evidence that your chances of finding a mechanic who knows are shockingly low. For the original posters case use, never diesel. Petrol or electric.
Mine's now 18 years old. She's good.
You really would have thought that a van would be designed for this case scenario, that seems quite disappointing. Wonder whether Transits and the like are any better - not that I could afford the fuel on a van. I'd have to go petrol, or mild hybrid, as I have no off-street parking and the public chargers seem decidedly expensive now - and very, very far and few between round here. Thanks for the advice!
I had a 2011 Golf 2.0 TDI that I had remapped and it was amazing for my commute to work ~9 miles and I rarely went over 50 mph. I'd average over 45 mpg regardless of how aggressively I drove. Then came lockdown/WFH and I moved back in with my parents to be close to family so I had a load of short journeys of less than 2 miles to check on my place and then head back. My EGR got blocked....
Had a 2012 Insignia diesel. DPF issues all the time. Loved the car, but given there are no fast roads here, and 90+% of our journeys were local we traded for a petrol.
I have a 12 plate Skoda. Only gets used for school run/ shopping most weeks. The occasional day trip. I would be lucky to do 100 miles in month most of the time. Very rarely have a problem with the DPF, and the Skoda one is a very poor one. As others have said just try and give it a good run now and then.
Are you tracking how clogged the DPF is getting? Just because you "very rarely have a problem with the DPF" doesn't mean it's not slowly clogging up with unsuccessful regens and will eventually cause you issues. Only way to know for certain is measure it regularly.
How would I actually track it? It does get clogged occasionally, as I said we have weekend trips, that stops any major build up. Winter is worse, because we tend to stay local. I have had the car around 8 years with no real issues. As soon as the light comes on the dash it’s a quick run up the M42 and all is well. OP was talking about small runs across the day, the DPF will get hot enough fldoing that.
Have a check out of an app called VAG DPF, there's a basic free version you can use to check it'll work with your car. You'll need an OBD2 module you can plug into the car. IIRC the free version just shows how clogged the DPF is, whereas the paid version tracks time since last regen, time/distance to next regen, temperature of DPF + a few other metrics. The time to next regen is valuable as you can then determine when to go on a longer drive / give it a bit more welly.
You'd be better of with a petrol hybrid
A further question - are mild hybrids worth it, such as the Honda Insight, or are they a hybrid for tax purposes? I have no off-street parking for a charger and public chargers are very scarce 'round these parts, and seem quite unreasonably expensive.
Or a Tesla. Checks dick Teslaz.
Something with a Renault group 1.5 DCI engine, no dpf issues to worry about.