Exhaust pipe not 100% white glove clean... Cracked DPF?

The DPF essentially blocks the exhaust. It's a porous ceramic block. So no soot will go THROUGH the ceramic unless it's cracked. If my DPF's ceramic is 100% intact, and if I'm seeing soot, then the only other possibility is that the ceramic isn't well sealed around the perimeter, and I'm getting a little leakage/blow-by.

I have on occasion smelled a wee bit of diesel exhaust at cold start-up. I always attributed that some sort of small leak at a joint before the DPF, but as I consider it now....there probably isn't a place for it to leak ahead of the DPF, except the exhaust manifold gasket (?)

Hey guys, I guess we're all failing the white handkerchief test. My 2009 Jetta TDI now has 118,500 on it so I'm praying VW will issue a warranty extension by the time I reach 120k....yeah right.

I was about to ask my mechanic to check the EGR filter and low pressure EGR valve but was unsure what to do. Didn't want to waste the mechanic's time or my money.

Oilhammer or any TDI mechanic:I know you're probably a busy guy but what do you think the average Joe with this problem should do ? Is paying for the EGR filter change and or EGR valve cleaning/replacement worth it at this point, my inspection is good till October 2016.

Is driving with these sooty conditions anything to worry about ? I'm of the old school diesel thinking these TDI's used to have reputations of being tough. The car still runs fine, no problems just the p0401 light.

I guess it's pretty obvious we're all in for expensive DPF replacements soon, but in the mean time I'm trying a new experiment: Driving at 2500 rpm for 20 minutes, gee that might do it right ?

Thanks

Now I am wondering if the question is : Who doesn't have some yuck on their tailpipes after 50k+

I want to think that VW will issue a warranty extension on the DPF but I won't get my hopes up.

To me its a new piece of technology and the bugs of the CR system aren't all worked out.


Give me a rocksolid turbo, a rock solid emissions system, and a solid fuel system and its the perfect engine.

(I don't think it eats camshafts or has any other issues, heck I am thinking the CBEA/CJAA as a core engine is an awesome engine)

Yes I have the CBEA and am happy with the engine, it's an absolute beast with those 236 foot pounds of torque. I am reading more about it and trying to understand this 2.0 T.

I've gone from a 1991 Jetta GL 5spd, 2001 Passat B5 1.8 T Auto to this my first diesel 2009 Jetta TDi DSG auto sedan and am getting used to it. My wife says stick shift used to make my driving more aggressive so I have been getting automatics now. Letting the car do the work plus this DSG auto claims to make the shifts quicker than a manual, but I do miss manual especially the extra traction such as in snow.

Jeta Life said:

Yes I have the CBEA and am happy with the engine, it's an absolute beast with those 236 foot pounds of torque.

Click to expand...

I was criticized in another thread for calling my CR TDI "zippy". I've never had a high-powered car, though, so I can't compare it to, say, a Hemi.

Waiting to see who will make a comment about the CR TDI "beast".

Waiting to see who will make a comment about the CR TDI "beast". [/QUOTE]
I got carried away, it's a fast car though but not as fast as others I've had through the years.
When I bought it I needed an economy car so that's the real reason I bought it, not for the speed, also for diesels of the past having the tough reputation. I'm still in denial that this DPF thing is anything to worry about, except for failing emissions testing.
How would VW wait two out 2 years (07 and 08) and roll out this 09 with a one piece emissions system that seems to have been a flawed design. I'm not going to worry about it until I get more warning lights or other signals like reduced engine performance or mpgs.
Diesels are supposed to be tough so I'm going to treat it that way, not going to baby this turbo. I've heard it said that babying a turbo diesel may not be a good thing, so lately with this DPF thing I've been driving it like its a sports car, not worrying about MPGs.

That myth about diesels being tough just refuses to die. *sigh*.

FWIW, the VAG gas engines are just as tough and durable as their diesels, so long as they are properly cared for. And they can often be lower PM cost, too. They just drink a lot more fuel.

I remember the night I bought mine, the F&I lady at the stealership said "your buying a diesel, you don't even need my extended warranty I am suppose to sell you since they last forever, so I am going to move on to the paint protection and dent protection packages we offer"

I recall my salesman saying the diesels are so tough you could hit them with a sledgehammer and it won't die. When I asked why most Americans skip diesel and go for the 2.5 model he said they don't know about diesel so I felt like I was in on something special. 99 out of 100 Jettas I see are the 5 cylinder 2.5 engine they were ridiculously comparing to a Lamborghini with the 5 heads or whatever.

The few diesels I see are the wagons always in the right lane with my diesel sedan being one of a dying breed, but VW still seems to be banking on their diesel models, a lot of funny commercials though.

That family of 2.5L I5s is kinda-sorta-roundabout-in-a-way exactly half of the 5.0L narrow angle V10 engine found in the R8 and some Lambo models.

In much the same way that a 450hp air-cooled turbo Porsche 911 is kinda-sorta-roundabout-in-a-way the same as a 50hp air-cooled Beetle engine. Kinda.

Ah yes, Ferdinand Porsche, the founding father of the VW family, great to read about how that whole People's Car project started.

At least we have some Porsche DNA in these cheap Volkswagens

oilhammer said:

That family of 2.5L I5s is kinda-sorta-roundabout-in-a-way exactly half of the 5.0L narrow angle V10 engine found in the R8 and some Lambo models. p

Click to expand...

Which is 2 more cylinders added to the 4.2 V8 which is in my VW Touareg

Perry01 said:

Which is 2 more cylinders added to the 4.2 V8 which is in my VW Touareg

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No, the v8 is very different.

Funny looking Volkswagens

The badges and trim levels of some of these VWs over the years make you wonder how they can produce such cars and not lose money.

The Passat W8 with 4 Motion as rare as a UFO on the road

The Phaeton W12 where do they all get shipped: the Middle East ?

My personal favorite is the Audi TT looking like a juiced up Beetle that's my future midlife crisis car if I hit the jackpot !

My 09 Jetta Mark 5 in black with the silly chrome grill and oversized VW emblem looks like a grin, I may as wells paint the alloys black, go to 17 rims and fatten the tires

When I had the 2001 Passat B5 w/ 1.8T the roofline sloped kind of like a Beetle's, still see plenty of those but mostly the later 2001 models with the extra silly chrome on the bumpers

And now the new Passats look like Japanese cars and appear to have been cheapened like the Mark 6 Jettas

How in the world do you name an suv a Tiguan, and now CrossBlue

Wonder who thought of putting the skinny blue I after TD

I try to think that my 2010 has ties to the 72 air cooled VW my parents had when I was a child but I can't find any nexus aside from the logo and the use of lug bolts (like most European cars) vs. lug nuts


Back to the topic of white glove clean ..

Mine seems to have a little bit more soot on it after a regen this morning.

oilhammer said:

No, the v8 is very different.

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Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to Audi's new 5.2 liter V10 which is used in the Gallardo LP560 and R8. It is based on Audi's V8 FSI engine and retains the same fundamental design principals of the V8 FSI, including the crankcase, cylinder heads, valvetrain, fuel system and intake manifold as well as gaining two additional cylinders compared to the 4.2 liter V8 FSI which is in my VW.
.

Well Wilcharl consider yourself lucky to have the 2010 model and 2 piece rather than our 2009s which have the one piece !
The DPFs are starting to show their age so I guess this is going to be an issue for many, VW's "Clean" diesel was a misnomer. Moving forward VW engineers should be working on a solution...hopefully so we're all in the same boat.
I've considered doing the EGR filter and having the valves cleaned but am good till October of 2016 so I'll keep driving with the MIL p0401 until more warning signs appear. Just hope VW extends warranties.
Now after 120k my 2009 still runs great and I've looked up a trusted TDI mechanic, will probably skip the dealer unless they do a warranty extension like they did with the exhaust flap.
Like Oilhammer says the cracked DPFs are causing this soot, just make sure to go on highway runs for those regens and hope that 2.0T engine can push all that soot out of the exhaust. Maybe all our worrying will one day subside. I'm not a mechanic or engineer by any means so don't take my advice, what do I know ?

I have been getting soot as well. In addition I also once in a while smell a pure diesel exaust odor out of the exaust especially on start up in the morning.

I don't know that soot in the tailpipe for a higher mileage tdi is abnormal. A clogged egr system may eventually speed up the process however I wouldn't jump to dpf failure just because there is soot in the tailpipe.
Post dpf there is some soot mixed in the exhaust, this is evidenced by the need for an egr filter. I can see a malfunctioning egr as contributing to dpf failure however a cracked dpf would theoretically cause a marked increase in soot making it past the dpf. Thereby giving the illusion of a failed egr causing dpf failure.

I think there are two separate dpf failure scenarios: 1) DPF failure (read cracked) that leads to a clogged egr system thereby causing exhaust soot to be deposited on the rest of the exhaust system en masse and 2) the natural accumulation of small amounts of soot in the exhaust system that will eventually trigger insufficient egr flow DTCs and eventually a DPF that has reached its max capacity.

I am at 130k and have observed the slow accumulation of soot in the exhaust system. Just my two pfennings...

is of interest.

more discussion of my search for a way to predict when a little soot in the tailpipe translates to a steady P0401 error which would require replacement of the EGR filter for a short term fix, or DPF and EFR filter for a long term fix is here:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=445921