Chris_headley
New member
Hello! I've been having some problems with my DPF clogging and recently it got bad enough that I had to take it into the dealership. I wanted to let you guys know about my experience and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.
Car details
2015 Jetta TDI SE
Automatic
Had 2nd modification done @ ~40k miles
Current Milage ~57k
Issue: Recently I moved to a new job where my commute is roughly 6 miles round trip. Within a couple months my DPF light came on. I had no idea what this was, but I found in the manual I just needed to drive for 20 minutes in 4th gear with my RPM between 2k-3k and it would clear it out and the light would turn off. That weekend I took a long trip up California and sure enough the light turned off.
A couple weeks later the DPF light turns on again. I was going to make that same trip in a couple weeks so I ignored it thinking it would go off when I made the trip.
Then about 1 week later I was driving home from work and my turbo stopped working, I heard a beep, looked down at my dashboard and the check engine light was on and the glow plug light was flashing.
At this point I thought this issue was completely separate from the DPF and I looked into it further. After doing some searching on the internet I found that if the filter clogs too much the car could be put into a safe mode which essentially stops the turbo from working and the acceleration slows dramatically.
So at this point I schedule an appointment to have VW look at my car. Since this issue was related to the exhaust after treatment system I thought for sure it would be covered under warranty.
I live about 100 miles from the nearest VW dealer and on my way to the dealership my oil light came on even though I had just gotten an oil change by the dealer 2k miles before this point in time.
So I get to the dealership and they explain to me that they are going to have to do an active regeneration. They said once my car went into the "safe mode" the car stops doing regeneration so even though I drove 100+ miles at 50+ MPH in 4th gear, there was no regeneration taking place, meaning the soot was not burning from the filter.
The mechanic also said, if the filter is cleared after we do regeneration and the lights go off I will be charged for the service even though the parts are covered under warranty. He said active regenerations are NOT covered under warranty.
This did not sit well with me because the warranty states:
“In our continuing efforts to assure proper performance of Volkswagen vehicles, your dealer will diagnose and replace the emissions-related components listed in this section, if necessary, at no cost to you as long as the vehicle remains within the time and mileage limits of this warranty extension.”
So after I got home from the dealership I called VW customer care to ask if active regeneration was covered under warranty. The VW lady said it was and if it is not to give them a call back. So the next day I get to the dealership to pick up my car. The mechanic said nothing was wrong with the glow plug lights (which is weird because that light was flashing) and all they had to do was clear the DPF. He also said he reset my oil change light because I had just gotten an oil change.
Next he told me it would be a $165 dollar charge for the service, which honestly was a lot less than what I thought it would cost, but VW told me the service was covered so I told the dealership that. They got the manager and said I can guarantee you it is not covered, here’s my card, have them give me a call, we will print you out a receipt if they want to reimburse you. So I paid and left and then called VW customer care. I did not talk to the same lady but I did talk to someone to let them know that active regeneration is not covered and to notify them they were giving out contradicting information.
Next, I drive home and within 40 miles my oil light goes on again.. which probably means the dealership didn’t even check the oil, he just reset the light. I’m not sure if the oil light going on was caused by the DPF filter before it was cleaned but I will look into this issue further.
Once I got home a received a call from the original VW customer care lady I talked to and she asked me to send in my receipt and a report of everything they did. So I did, and then the next day I received a call from her saying she was going to reimburse me the $165 I paid for the service. I think she reimbursed me because she felt bad that she gave me contradicting information, because the dealership was adamant about the active regeneration not being covered.
Anyway I was hoping it any of you still reading this went through an experience like mine. please let me know in a reply below.
Car details
2015 Jetta TDI SE
Automatic
Had 2nd modification done @ ~40k miles
Current Milage ~57k
Issue: Recently I moved to a new job where my commute is roughly 6 miles round trip. Within a couple months my DPF light came on. I had no idea what this was, but I found in the manual I just needed to drive for 20 minutes in 4th gear with my RPM between 2k-3k and it would clear it out and the light would turn off. That weekend I took a long trip up California and sure enough the light turned off.
A couple weeks later the DPF light turns on again. I was going to make that same trip in a couple weeks so I ignored it thinking it would go off when I made the trip.
Then about 1 week later I was driving home from work and my turbo stopped working, I heard a beep, looked down at my dashboard and the check engine light was on and the glow plug light was flashing.
At this point I thought this issue was completely separate from the DPF and I looked into it further. After doing some searching on the internet I found that if the filter clogs too much the car could be put into a safe mode which essentially stops the turbo from working and the acceleration slows dramatically.
So at this point I schedule an appointment to have VW look at my car. Since this issue was related to the exhaust after treatment system I thought for sure it would be covered under warranty.
I live about 100 miles from the nearest VW dealer and on my way to the dealership my oil light came on even though I had just gotten an oil change by the dealer 2k miles before this point in time.
So I get to the dealership and they explain to me that they are going to have to do an active regeneration. They said once my car went into the "safe mode" the car stops doing regeneration so even though I drove 100+ miles at 50+ MPH in 4th gear, there was no regeneration taking place, meaning the soot was not burning from the filter.
The mechanic also said, if the filter is cleared after we do regeneration and the lights go off I will be charged for the service even though the parts are covered under warranty. He said active regenerations are NOT covered under warranty.
This did not sit well with me because the warranty states:
“In our continuing efforts to assure proper performance of Volkswagen vehicles, your dealer will diagnose and replace the emissions-related components listed in this section, if necessary, at no cost to you as long as the vehicle remains within the time and mileage limits of this warranty extension.”
So after I got home from the dealership I called VW customer care to ask if active regeneration was covered under warranty. The VW lady said it was and if it is not to give them a call back. So the next day I get to the dealership to pick up my car. The mechanic said nothing was wrong with the glow plug lights (which is weird because that light was flashing) and all they had to do was clear the DPF. He also said he reset my oil change light because I had just gotten an oil change.
Next he told me it would be a $165 dollar charge for the service, which honestly was a lot less than what I thought it would cost, but VW told me the service was covered so I told the dealership that. They got the manager and said I can guarantee you it is not covered, here’s my card, have them give me a call, we will print you out a receipt if they want to reimburse you. So I paid and left and then called VW customer care. I did not talk to the same lady but I did talk to someone to let them know that active regeneration is not covered and to notify them they were giving out contradicting information.
Next, I drive home and within 40 miles my oil light goes on again.. which probably means the dealership didn’t even check the oil, he just reset the light. I’m not sure if the oil light going on was caused by the DPF filter before it was cleaned but I will look into this issue further.
Once I got home a received a call from the original VW customer care lady I talked to and she asked me to send in my receipt and a report of everything they did. So I did, and then the next day I received a call from her saying she was going to reimburse me the $165 I paid for the service. I think she reimbursed me because she felt bad that she gave me contradicting information, because the dealership was adamant about the active regeneration not being covered.
Anyway I was hoping it any of you still reading this went through an experience like mine. please let me know in a reply below.
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