Clean Diesel DPF Data Collection Thread

Thanks so much for starting this and keeping tabs on the data. this really for me helped show what normal DPF ash load values are, which is not available elsewhere for the casual owner.

about 1 ml per thousand miles, in increments of 8 or 9 ml at a time.

high values observed (well over 200 ml) that do not seem to impact operation.

If you wanted to declare victory, and ask for an admin to lock the thread, or find another member to take over, I do not think anyone would blame you.

The only thing we still don't know from all this data, is at what point does the dpf stop working?

Model Year: 2011
Model: Jetta Sedan
Tranny: 6MT
Miles: 240,111
Oil Ash Volume: 228 ml
Oil type: Pentosin (whatever it's proper spec is called)
Avrg. MPG: 40.4 50/50 hwy/city
Comments: Monitored with Torque app, I observe all regens, and intentionally load the motor harder during the entire cycle, essentially never interrupted no matter what

Model Year: 2010
Model: Jetta Sedan TDI
Tranny: DSG
Miles: 88000
Oil Ash Volume: 90 ml
Oil type: Castrol from dealer
Avrg. MPG: 40
Comments: At 47k miles my EGR filter required replacement, done at dealership and covered under warranty. At 57k miles my DPF was clogged and needed to be replaced, done at dealership and covered under warranty. Now at 88k miles getting another P0401 code and dealership is saying replace EGR and DFP, not covered under warranty!

MemberName: phlfly
Model Year: 2012
Model: Passat SEL
Tranny: Auto
Miles: 43,000
Oil Ash Volume: 40ml
Oil type: different every time

MemberName: phlfly
Model Year: 2012
Model: Passat SEL
Tranny: Auto
Miles: 35,000
Oil Ash Volume: 40ml
Oil type: different every time

MemberName: Scratcher
Model Year: 2011
Model: Sprtwagen
Tranny: 6sp Man
Miles: 61,440
Oil Ash Volume: 69ml
Oil type: Castrol LL03

TDI peeps-
Reconstructing all the data is taking some time. I need to go back and enter some of 2013 and 2014 posts. I have all the 2015 posts added, but the overall average is off. Still plugging away. The key/main variable is the oil ash vol build up which is still running the same. 1000 miles = 1ml

I believe mctdi and Airstream are leading the pack...
mctdi: 215K miles, 206 ml
Airstream: 206K miles, 219 ml

2015 Data

Here's data thus for 2015. Interesting to see the higher mileage.

arto_wa said:

Date: March 10, 2015
Member Name: arto_wa
Model Year: 2010
Model: Jetta Sportwagen TDi
Tranny: 6 sp. man.
Miles: 101,400
Oil Ash Volume: 99 mL
Requested Regenerations: 3
Oil Type: Castrol LL03
Avg MPG: 43 - 45

Click to expand...

Well well, above is my post regarding DPF ash loading as of March 10, 2015

Late last week I got CEL and fault code at about 103,500 miles:

1 Fault Found:
001025 - EGR System
P0401 - 000 - Insufficent Air Flow - Intermittent MIL ON

It turned out that the DPF filter had failed, causing EGR system to plug up with soot.
According to the dealer, the DPF had to be replaced, which was done yesterday!

As it looks now, measuring ash volume with VCDS was pretty meaningless at least in this case!

New DPF was about $1,600 less 10% discount + labor.


Cheers

Your DPF was not full but, rather, developed a crack which allowed soot to pass into the E G R. I had the same thing happen on my 2011 JSW. I found a slightly used DPF and EGR and had those installed. Hope these go more than the 85K of the originals!

nhdude said:

Your DPF was not full but, rather, developed a crack which allowed soot to pass into the E G R. I had the same thing happen on my 2011 JSW. I found a slightly used DPF and EGR and had those installed. Hope these go more than the 85K of the originals!

Click to expand...

Yes, as I said it had failed - here is what the dealer's invoice says:


"Inspected and found fault p0401 egr flow too low. Inspected egr filter pipe and found exhaust soot. DPF has failed internally allowing exhaust past it. Recommend replace DPF.
Replaced particulate filter, performed ash and soot reset procedure, road test operation normal."

arto_wa: nhdude's point is that your DPF didn't "fail" from its ash load, but probably from an internal failure/crack.

This is important to note, as the ash capacity (not exact!) of the DPF seems to be in the 200-250ml range before clogging requires a replacement. Your ash load, at 101k miles, was entirely normal.

You're correct, though, a failure is a failure. We just need to keep possible causes distinct.

And the filling continues...

Member Name: Andy_2009_JSW
Model Year: 2009
Model: Jetta Sportwagen
Tranny: DSG
Miles: 136250
Oil Ash Volume:168 ml
Oil Type: Mobil-1 ESP 5w30
Avg MPG 35-ish
State: GA

Additional VCDS (version 14.10.2) data points:
8.7g Soot (calc)
0g Soot (meas)
2 Requested Regens
0 Successful Regens
8.4l Fuel consumption since last regen
120 km distance since last regen
144 time since last regen (minutes)

Remarks:
My P0401 (EGR insufficient flow) codes/check-engine light occurrences have gotten/are getting worse. CEL was on for 2+ weeks recently, cleared by itself the other morning, and then returned after a day or so. Current P0401 fault frequency is 81. I've cleared the codes and will continue to track. I've had soot on/at my tailpipe for 10's of thousands of miles, so I suspect a cracked DPF, which would be consistent with and explain why soot is filling up the EGR.

The Delete trigger may get pulled at some point...

arto_wa said:

Well well, above is my post regarding DPF ash loading as of March 10, 2015

Late last week I got CEL and fault code at about 103,500 miles:

1 Fault Found:
001025 - EGR System
P0401 - 000 - Insufficent Air Flow - Intermittent MIL ON

It turned out that the DPF filter had failed, causing EGR system to plug up with soot.
According to the dealer, the DPF had to be replaced, which was done yesterday!

As it looks now, measuring ash volume with VCDS was pretty meaningless at least in this case!

New DPF was about $1,600 less 10% discount + labor.


Cheers

Click to expand...

Ah, the benefits of a 2010+ model -- $1600 vs $5000 for fixing this issue!
I'd still encourage you to check the ash load and report it in this thread -- just note the miles since the DPF was replaced, I suppose, perhaps in addition to the vehicle mileage.

PowerslavePA said:

Member Name: (None, Coworker w/PowerslavePA)
Model Year: 2011
Model: Jetta TDi
Tranny: DSG
Miles: 261,389
Oil Ash Volume: 120 mL
Oil Type: All Dealer Serviced Oil Changes @ Scheduled Intervals
Avg MPG: 42.3
Comments: Still on the original timing belt

Click to expand...

Wow, serious outlier in the ash load data trends, but in a good way. In a way that it should have been for everyone...

Dealer serviced oil changes, yet the timing belt (and coolant pump, and pulley tensioners/etc.) has not been changed? This does not compute. And is just plain against all common sense.

Andy_2009_JSW said:

Ah, the benefits of a 2010+ model -- $1600 vs $5000 for fixing this issue!
I'd still encourage you to check the ash load and report it in this thread -- just note the miles since the DPF was replaced, I suppose, perhaps in addition to the vehicle mileage.

Click to expand...

I see what you mean about the benefits, but it's still hard to celebrate cracked DPF, especially after the labor and tax were added...

I will check and report the ash load next week - by then it will have at least 3,000 more miles on it.

No chance to do it sooner.

So it was just the DPF that cost $1600? What was the labor charge?

PowerslavePA said:

Member Name: (None, Coworker w/PowerslavePA)
Model Year: 2011
Model: Jetta TDi
Tranny: DSG
Miles: 261,389
Oil Ash Volume: 120 mL
Oil Type: All Dealer Serviced Oil Changes @ Scheduled Intervals
Avg MPG: 42.3
Comments: Still on the original timing belt

Click to expand...

This post makes no sense. "Dealer serviced" vehicle, and they DIDN'T insist on changing the timing belt, TWICE?
This makes me want to completely dismiss the Oil Ash Volume number, as well. Based on the many posts in this thread, I can't believe the number.

I respectfully request the poster reconfirm the info he has posted, as this thread is about real numbers, not (possibly) fabricated ones, especially since the poster isn't the owner of this car. If the numbers aren't accurate, the post should be removed from the thread.

Modal year 2011
Model Jetta tdi
Trans 6m
Miles 56127
Oil ash 39ml
Oil Castrol
Mpg 50ish

arto_wa said:

I see what you mean about the benefits, but it's still hard to celebrate cracked DPF, especially after the labor and tax were added...

I will check and report the ash load next week - by then it will have at least 3,000 more miles on it.

No chance to do it sooner.

Click to expand...

Sweet, the more data the better. No rush, obviously -- heck, you could report late summer or fall and that would be cool.

And of course NO ONE ever celebrates a $1500+ dollar bill on a system part that WILL clog (or possibly break/crack before it has a chance to clog) again. I was just drawing the contrast to swallowing a large, bitter pill ($1600) and needing the Heimlich maneuver because you're choking on a grapefruit ($5000), so to speak.

MemberName: Bluey
Model Year: 2012
Model: Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI 138hp
Tranny: 6M
Miles: 24972
Oil Ash Volume: 20mL
Oil Type: Shell Helix Ultra Extra
Avrg. MPG: 32.1 (lifetime)
Comments: fuel additive Morey's Diesel Smoke Killer

MemberName: lemminglife
Model Year: 2012
Model: JSW
Tranny: DSG
Miles:37K
Oil Ash Volume: 30ml
Oil Type: Castrol LL03
Avrg. MPG: 40
Comments:

Absolute Diesel said:

This is a very big concern IMO. I think it's safe to say that eventually, the DPF will become clogged and need to be replaced, whether that's at 100K or 250K. If they cannot be cleaned as I was hoping, VW better find a way to bring the price of replacing these down to a few hundred rather than thousands. Otherwise I see DPF deletes in many people's future or dumping their CR VW (which is a shame b/c this car is awesome) for possibly Mazda Sky-D.

Click to expand...

DPF Regeneration.com in Stratford, Connecticut does have a process to clean them out, they offer a one year warranty on their cleaning process, cost is $400.00. They have been very successful in their processes. They have been cleaning all styles and sizes of filters, and catalysts, since 2008. website www.dpfregeneration.com

dpfregen said:

DPF Regeneration.com in Stratford, Connecticut does have a process to clean them out, they offer a one year warranty on their cleaning process, cost is $400.00. They have been very successful in their processes. They have been cleaning all styles and sizes of filters, and catalysts, since 2008. website www.dpfregeneration.com

Click to expand...

Sir,

Whats the turn around time and approximate cost for return shipping to NJ?

Thanks in advance.

Update from the MKV discussion area.

report of DPF lamp lit, following successful regens with 279 ml ash (at just over 250k miles)

his mechanic says he has seen several have the DPF lamp lit and need replacement units at 240ml ash.

member plans to have his mechanic send to dpfregeneration in CT for cleaning.

dpfregen said:

DPF Regeneration.com in Stratford, Connecticut does have a process to clean them out, they offer a one year warranty on their cleaning process, cost is $400.00. They have been very successful in their processes. They have been cleaning all styles and sizes of filters, and catalysts, since 2008. website www.dpfregeneration.com

Click to expand...

Is this your business? If so, then please register as a vendor.

Update to my previous post(s):

MemberName: frugality
Model Year: 2010
Model: JSW
Tranny: manual
Miles:169k
Oil Ash Volume: 159ml
Oil Type: Castrol LL03
Avrg. MPG: 42
Comments:

see http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4811559#post4811559

2011 Jetta TDI. 145000 miles

MacBuckeye said:

So....... based on the data collected thus far, the oil ash volume is building up at a rate of about 10 ml per 10,000 miles. I'm going to take a very uneducated guess and say the DPF can hold at least 1 liter of this crud. A little simple math and...... wait for it......... could it be true?????
1 million miles before the DPF clogs up!!!! OK, let's say it would only hold half that amount (1/2 liter). That still gives us 500K miles before the DPF is clogged. I'm OK with that. What are your thoughts? Even being more conservative would put us around 250K miles. That is still OK in my book. I've never owned a car that long or with that many miles.
Appreciate the data fellas. Hope to see additional member posts as well as future data from you.

Click to expand...

Hey love the math and agree about the diesel participant filter rate if build up.
I just had the timing belt and water pump etc replaced at 130000 and this Dpf light has been on since 120000
The dealer tried a clean to the EGR valve and Dpf filter .
I said just replace it . So they replaced the EGR valve and ran a cleaner thru the system.
They recommend a DPF replacement.
I think the dealer are the biggest rip offs I have ever seen.
Really want to replace the whole emission control EGR and DPF with the moline system and call it a day.
But live in jersey and getting thru inspection would be an issue.
So I drive on until I get the money to replace the DPF .