longevity of DPF and cost to replace

I own a 2014 sportwagen with 50,000 miles. I drive 45k/year. I love the performance of the TDI.

18 months from now I may have to invest almost $4,000 for replacement of the timing belt and DPF . Seems like a lot of money to have to invest in a 2.5 year old vehicle with 125,000 miles. I love the car but it's really difficult to justify the added expense (more $ for TDI engine, cost of diesel fuel vs. gas, and DPF replacement).

I can't get a clear answer on the longevity of the DPF. After 80,000 miles its no longer covered under warranty. Should I sell my car at 100,000 miles?

120K Inspection

Your maintenance schedule says first service of DPF does not occur until 120K miles, and that for it to be inspected. Who told you it needs to be replaced at 120K? There are many on this forum that have 2009 and
later vehicles with DPF that have gone many more than 120K miles.

DR. Volks here you only need the belt done at 130K miles. I do them for under $1000
For the DPF some are still going with 200+K on them and still working fine.
There are two ways to go with a failed DPF if it is not cracked in side, clean it or replace it. Cleaning it, cost a lot less but take time for removing it and shipping it out.

I think the last new one was like $ 1200 I did this summer. The hardest part is bringing all the sensors back on line.


For the cost you are posting I can see you are talking to the dealer?
What kills DPF is when someone drives with the check engine light on.
If I can be of help fell free to check my site.
Bob Mann

My DPF went at 90K - internal cracking...

CNGVW said:

What kills DPF is when someone drives with the check engine light on.

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That's the key. If you have a check light, your regens *might* not be happening, which fills up the DPF. If the light comes on, don't leave it months and months, get it checked.

Also, a car that does more city is more prone to DPF issues than a mostly highway car

There are many members here with 200,000+ miles on their original DPFs.

If you're unlucky enough to end up with a cracked or otherwise failed DPF, a new one is $1300 from IDParts.

If yours fills up with ash over time (300,000 miles?), then there are cleaning services available.

Thank you everyone for all your info. Sounds like a big unknown after 130K miles. Could last for a long time or may not…. A ticking time bomb with fairly large financial consequences.

It isn't a big unknown. There are plenty of people here with no issues past 130,000 miles. There are a few people with failures before and after 130,000 miles. The a-okays far outweigh the ones with problems.

The manual says to check the ash loading at regular intervals once the mileage is at that level. There is a thread on here where members regularly report their ash loading. In general, we're looking at "so far so good," as I stated originally.

Here is the ash loading data collection thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=324067

I have 226,000 miles on mt 2009 and the DPF was cracked for all of them.
Unfortunately when the EGR low flow started the car was well out of warranty.
I love the way the car drives and the power, but it not the most economical choice for the reasons stated.
Having a good local service available is a big help.
Working on the car yourself also helps keep the cost down.
I think the engine and mechanicals of the car can go for high mileage, but there are risks associated these days with the high technology employed.
I am considering my next car now, but hope to put many more miles on the JSW first. I really like the TDI torque and the driving experience, but being intrinsically cheap I wonder if there is a better choice available.
The VW is no longer and economy car (at least the TDI is not).
You could possible make the argument that over all that running one for very high mileage the mileage depreciation factor could tilt the equation in the VW's favor, but only if the GOTCHA's don't get you first.
List of GOTCHA's
HPFP if not covered by VW extended warranty (I installed the 2 Micron solution)
DPF - (Buzzken /Malone .5 tune)
DSG- (probably as bullet proof as any automatic)
DMF - I don't have a feel for the dual mass flywheel, but I suspect the problems with it are related to more idling and not mileage.
A/C Compressor failure (delayed cooling RCV problems)
Panoramic roof leaks - VW never made a reliable sunroof
Steering wheel shake from weak LCA bushings Relatively cheap fix, but hard to find the first time.
Cupping of the rear tires and vibrations / rumble that sounds like bad rear axle bearings. (alignment issues)

Great driving car, but not prone to a trouble free existence. More expensive to operate than I would like.

Perfectly stated.

Being that they seem to have a delicate filter inside, a pressure washer doesn't seem like a good idea. As a temporary fix I think I would just try and get as much out as I could by dumping it out the sensor port. Then a shop vac connected to the sensor port while I had it upside down and tapped it all around with my hand to dislodge any other ash. Throw it back in and reset everything and try it. You could possibly get quite a long time out of just that. Haven't heard of it tried before. I wouldn't try anything that tried to force ash "through" the filter to remove it.

The DPFs last a long time... until they don't.

We have been replacing quite a few for internal failures, that manifest themselves as a clogged EGR filter tube. We've done three already this year, and it is still January.

It seems if you are driving a lot, you will just as likely rack up a lot of miles and not have a problem. It isn't really mileage-specific.

But just as many, more actually, have gone WELL beyond the 120k mile "check" level. Which, that is even a bit goofy, since the ECU is ALWAYS "checking" the DPF. If you have no MIL, you have no DPF problem.

Personally, unless you have a 2009, I'd not worry about it.

oilhammer said:

The DPFs last a long time... until they don't.
We have been replacing quite a few for internal failures, that manifest themselves as a clogged EGR filter tube. We've done three already this year, and it is still January.
It seems if you are driving a lot, you will just as likely rack up a lot of miles and not have a problem. It isn't really mileage-specific.
But just as many, more actually, have gone WELL beyond the 120k mile "check" level. Which, that is even a bit goofy, since the ECU is ALWAYS "checking" the DPF. If you have no MIL, you have no DPF problem.
Personally, unless you have a 2009, I'd not worry about it.

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Having a 2009 I won't worry about it anymore.....
I don't worry about the DSG or the DMF either (particularly) I liked your comment about worrying more about war breaking out with Canada first. If there is a problem it's just one of those things....
with 226,000 miles the things that bug me are the big expenses that are more of engineering oversight like one piece DPF/catalyst downpipes, Leaky sunroofs, bad RCVs, no protection for failed HPFP systems, etc.

I love the car, but it is hard to enjoy it if you are aware of the problems.
In this case ignorance is bliss, until you learn the hard way that you made a poor choice.
All of the above doesn't keep me from driving and towing with it. I am getting to the point where I am getting to respect it's longevity, but I am close to it's second timing belt change and more $$. While I am there I may as well replace that dinky hex oil pump drive shaft as well.
Who knows how long the turbo will last.
I think to some extent it makes a difference how the car is driven. We drive the car a good bit, but mostly what would be considered highway miles and for long enough the warm the car up and also slowly enough towards the end to cool things down a little. I have always told Connie (SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED) to let it idle for a few minutes to let the turbo cool down.
We don't spend a lot of time in traffic creeping along (I think this is where the DMF problems come from in the DSG). and we don't make jack rabbit starts either.
I see a lot of posts here about problems I can't relate to that I think may relate to slightly abusing the car that have relatively little to do with design.
I usually have little call for warranty and as I remember I have had no issues that were fixed under warranty on the JSW. So as far as VW is concerned my car is perfect!
Well i now go off to drive my perfect car and enjoy the Farfignugen (sp?)

I have one for sale and flap motor etc just sitting in the back yard doing nothing. PM

I have a 2009. Sportwagen M6, 115K miles. Check engine light came on, lost turbo function, DPF warning light came on about 10 days layer. Dealer diagnosed & priced turbo & DPF filter, nearly $4K. Engine runs fine, power like the 80's Rabbit diesels but no other driveability issues. The advisor seemed not to know about running the regen for the DPF. I've found a new intake manifold/turbo/sensor assembly through a diesel repair shop for $300 less than just the turbo through the dealership, but there seems to be no aftermarket source for VW DPFs (unlike the larger domestic diesel trucks.)
Have I got any other alternatives?

RobinWatauga said:

I have a 2009. Sportwagen M6, 115K miles. Check engine light came on, lost turbo function, DPF warning light came on about 10 days layer. Dealer diagnosed & priced turbo & DPF filter, nearly $4K. Engine runs fine, power like the 80's Rabbit diesels but no other driveability issues. The advisor seemed not to know about running the regen for the DPF. I've found a new intake manifold/turbo/sensor assembly through a diesel repair shop for $300 less than just the turbo through the dealership, but there seems to be no aftermarket source for VW DPFs (unlike the larger domestic diesel trucks.)
Have I got any other alternatives?

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There have been a couple low mileage DPFs posted in the for sale forum, may want to check there. These are coming from people doing deletes.