Can I realistically clean my DPF?

Tdimrtwo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Location
North Texas
TDI
03 Jetta wagon, 15 GSW, 02 Beetle
I have a 2015 GSW with 216k miles which is flagging a P2459 dpf regen frequency code. It’s been showing up on and off for about a year, initially the CEL would come on for a week or two, then turn off on its own. Now CEL is on solid, and code comes back within a day tafter I clear it. I suspect that my DPF is almost completely clogged and I’m now running on borrowed time.
I’ve seen a lot of ads for vdpf cleaning fluids, cleaning services, etc that claim to make your dpf “like new” rather than requiring dpf replacement. Any one had any success cleaning their dpf?

Amazons top pick: https://a.co/d/0MI53pK
Motor Power Care catalytic converter and dpf foam cleaner. Looks like it has mostly good reviews.

I also found a local company that will ultrasonically clean my dpf for $600 if I take it out and bring it to them. Guaranteed not to set a dpf code for one year after cleaning or I get to take it out and they’ll clean it again for free.

So, Is cleaning a dpf a waste of time and money? Do I just be need to bite the bullet and order a new ID parts dpf or Rawtek dpf/egr delete to really fix this?

I got 216k out of the original, so maybe a new dpf every 200k is reasonable.
 

pedroYUL

Top Post Dawg
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Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2004 wagon BEW(brother)
DPF is full of ash, and it could be emptied of it, but ours are not meant to be opened and cleaned.

Those cleaning foams and solutions are just to perhaps clean a DPF that has clogged with soot, because for whatever reason a regeneration hasn't happen.
 

pedroYUL

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2004 wagon BEW(brother)
Start with the easy, check ash volume with VCDS, I believe a full DPF has around 80ml. Also, check the pressure sensors and clean the hoses to them.
 

2004LB7

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Location
California
TDI
2006 Jetta
While not a TDI or even the same year TDI, I have cleaned the DPF in my Duramax. Removed it and washed in out with dish detergent and garden hose. Reset the ash load with a bidirectional scanner and all is well

I'm not familiar with the 2015 TDI DPF setup but if you can get it out and wash it then that would be the cheapest solution that can actually work
 

Tdimrtwo

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Location
North Texas
TDI
03 Jetta wagon, 15 GSW, 02 Beetle
Start with the easy, check ash volume with VCDS, I believe a full DPF has around 80ml. Also, check the pressure sensors and clean the hoses to them.
Thanks for the reply. Do you know the correct parameter to read for ash volume? I couldn’t find it in VCDS when I looked earlier.
 

pedroYUL

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2004 wagon BEW(brother)
Honestly I don't recall, and there is so much stuff in these newer cars...

Go to engine, open basic settings and at the top you can search, just do "ash" and see what comes up.
 

AverageAndy

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Joined
Sep 14, 2020
Location
Phoenix, AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2013 Golf TDI 6MT, 2013 Jetta TDI 6MT (R.I.P.)
There is also "ash mass measured" and "ash load limit" the latter of which on my car reads 70gm. For me, each regen adds 0.1gm to the measured value. I usually go under engine, advance measuring blocks and search in the pop up like @pedroYUL suggested.
 

ddorrer

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Location
WVa
TDI
2015 GSW Tdi, 2012 JSW Tdi DSG (Sold w/80k miles), 2010 Sportwagen TDI 6spd (Traded)
Doesnt the DEF injection help keep it clean? I wonder if you added Seafoam to the DEF tank if that would do anything.
 

AverageAndy

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Location
Phoenix, AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2013 Golf TDI 6MT, 2013 Jetta TDI 6MT (R.I.P.)
Doesnt the DEF injection help keep it clean?
DEF is an after treatment of the exhaust to reduce NOx gasses. In my car it is well downstream from the DPF, so doesn't affect the DPF at all.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
SCR and DPF are two different things, that don't really have any direct thing to do with one another. However, SCR being a post-combustion NOx reduction strategy makes for a lower EGR duty cycle, which means a diesel can better do what a diesel wants to do, and run super lean, which means less soot, which means less DPF regenerations.... so technically they *could* be viewed as working in concert with one another. But you can have a DPF with no SCR, and you can have SCR with no DPF. The CBEA and CJAA CR TDIs have a DPF with no SCR.

The DPF assembly is a big job to R&R on the CVCA engine. It is packed and buried in a hard to access place without taking some stuff apart to get it out. So I'd really want to be sure a cleaning could actually help. So far, I've not seen any issues with the CVCA/CRUA DPFs like we see constantly (two so far this week!) with the CJAA's DPFs and their cracking (completely different design).

I just did timing belt change #2 on a 2015 yesterday, and it had its original DPF intact and working fine at 260k miles, with nice squeaky clean tailpipes still.
 

IDoSeaDoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
2011 Jetta, CJAA 6spd
Sorry to bring back this old thread. I'm about to replace the turbo on my CVCA Passat and I'll have to remove the DPF. The car has 186k miles on it and I'd love to do what I can to get at least some of the ash out of it. Can I just run water through it in reverse as I've seen in videos? I have welding equipment if I need to cut and weld something. I know they're strategically packed in there with special padding, so I'd def not want to disturb any of that... any pictures or hints would be greatly appreciated!
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Once you get that big albatross 'emission control module' off the back of the engine, I think you'll find it not very easy to "clean out". It isn't just a chunky tube with a hole at each end. It is a whole bunch of metal pieces welded together, with two main components and it is all assembled in sort of a horse shoe shape, with all kinds of tubes and bung holes and such. Also has the EGR cooler assembly stuck in the end. Along with the low pressure valve, all kinds of sensors, etc.

I suppose you could just start spraying soapy water in every which way and jagging the garden hose in all its holes, but who knows if you'll do more harm than good.
 

turbodieseldyke

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Jun 6, 2010
Location
Free Mustache Rides
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Big ol' honkin' tdis
Something like this would be better than just a garden hose


If it works, it could be used by disconnecting the DPF, but not removing from the vehicle. "IF". The main problem is the cracking, not the clogging.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Yep, that's strictly a CJAA thing. And while the CKRA has a similar OC/DPF arrangement, the CRUA/CVCA is completely, totally, 100% different. It looks more like a miniature version of the emissions reduction modules you see hanging off the frames of the medium commercial trucks, like Isuzu NPRs and Hino cabovers and such. Only Volkswagen hung it on the back side of the engine.
 
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