Hi everyone

Was down at the stealers earlier looking at an 09 Golf GT sport.  Was talking with the salesman and was told the new GT TDI sport 140 has a DPF.  Is this definately correct as the MK5 Golf TDI 170 had the DPF not the 140 model. 

Reason Im asking is because I do short trips (4 miles each way) to work in the morning, but would do some motorway driving during the day for work.

Dont want to buy the car and be plagued with DPF problems.  Anyone have this new GT model?

Thanks

Tim

 Anyone?

 Every single diesel MK6 Golf is fitted with a DPF

No DPF issues to worry about though, Skoda says the switch to common-rail technology also means that the engine’s particulate filter will no longer clog if the car is mainly driven in urban conditions.

 Provided you do a mix of driving then i cant see any issue, the issues with DPF blockages seem to be more related to people doing 2-3 mile shopping trips and nothing else.   I expect to be able to pull my car out of the garage for a wash, put it back in, do a week of 4-5 mile commutes, inlcuding 0.5-1.0 mile trips around the work site, and still not have issues provided it gets a 10-20 mile run at the weekend.

percymon:

 Provided you do a mix of driving then i cant see any issue, the issues with DPF blockages seem to be more related to people doing 2-3 mile shopping trips and nothing else.   I expect to be able to pull my car out of the garage for a wash, put it back in, do a week of 4-5 mile commutes, inlcuding 0.5-1.0 mile trips around the work site, and still not have issues provided it gets a 10-20 mile run at the weekend.

Sorry but unless you can provide evidence on that, I think that advise is misleading. The only DPF issues I am aware of are with the 2.0 TDI PD 170, not the newer common-rail diesels.

 ive got a mk5 dpf and hand on hart not had any probs as yet .  there no good for shops n home 5 min trips so the dealer says .but i do 20 miles each way to work so gives it time to get up to temps

percymon:

 Provided you do a mix of driving then i cant see any issue, the issues with DPF blockages seem to be more related to people doing 2-3 mile shopping trips and nothing else.   I expect to be able to pull my car out of the garage for a wash, put it back in, do a week of 4-5 mile commutes, inlcuding 0.5-1.0 mile trips around the work site, and still not have issues provided it gets a 10-20 mile run at the weekend.

Even still some still get those DPF niggles

J400uk:

percymon:

 Provided you do a mix of driving then i cant see any issue, the issues with DPF blockages seem to be more related to people doing 2-3 mile shopping trips and nothing else.   I expect to be able to pull my car out of the garage for a wash, put it back in, do a week of 4-5 mile commutes, inlcuding 0.5-1.0 mile trips around the work site, and still not have issues provided it gets a 10-20 mile run at the weekend.

Sorry but unless you can provide evidence on that, I think that advise is misleading. The only DPF issues I am aware of are with the 2.0 TDI PD 170, not the newer common-rail diesels.

Well sounds like I should be ok then as this new car is a CR diesel.  Only other problem I will have is haggling the ridculous dealer price of £17,995 down for a 3 door 09 GT TDI

TDI_Tim:

Well sounds like I should be ok then as this new car is a CR diesel.  Only other problem I will have is haggling the ridculous dealer price of £17,995 down for a 3 door 09 GT TDI

 

percymon:

TDI_Tim:

Well sounds like I should be ok then as this new car is a CR diesel.  Only other problem I will have is haggling the ridculous dealer price of £17,995 down for a 3 door 09 GT TDI

 

Dealers perhaps not offering the same sort of deals these days, but mine gave me the £2k scrappage and 9.5% discount against my TDI SE. Pretty much matched the £3950 scrappage VW were offering against the base S spec at the time.  Good luck.

I can't see the dealer knocking £3950 off the car but Im aiming for £1500 - £2000 off the price.  Car has 7000 miles on the clock and the What Car valuation was £15,810 and im not sure how accurate their valuations are.  Do you find the last few days of the month is a best time to buy?

 The best time to haggle is when the car has been sat around on their forecourt for a while - there are some 110bhp 2.0 TDI SEs at the Renault dealer near me - Lookers, Chester. They look to be ex Europcar vehicles, they reduced the screen prices by £500 last week, but they've had them there since late November.  The year end effect accounts for the £500 reduction. I reckon someone could get another £1500 off, bringing them to £14k ish.

percymon:

 The best time to haggle is when the car has been sat around on their forecourt for a while - there are some 110bhp 2.0 TDI SEs at the Renault dealer near me - Lookers, Chester. They look to be ex Europcar vehicles, they reduced the screen prices by £500 last week, but they've had them there since late November.  The year end effect accounts for the £500 reduction. I reckon someone could get another £1500 off, bringing them to £14k ish.

With £1500 off they would be selling them at a loss. Car dealers don't normally have much more than £2000 margin give or take £500, and you have to remember they need to pay VAT on the sale and pay for the prep costs etc. Whilst four figure discounts are easy with a new car, its a very different story with used cars.

 Not always the case - these will have needed minimal prep so £100 out of the delaers pocket.  They've no consumables like tyres to replace and no warranty to offer - 09 platers so at most 9 months old.

 They had 17 of them on their nationwide website before Xmas so they've obviosuly done a deal somewhere outside of the auctio houses, otherwise they would't have secured that number of cars.

I expect VW dealers weren't too interested in them as they were out of date models now that the 2.0TDI has been replaced by the 1.6TDI105.

I only really noticed them because they were originally priced at £1k more than i was paying new for the equivalent car :D

 DPF on a CR 2.0 TDi I hear you mutter, I have a 58 plate A4 B8 TDi 143. I got this car 0n 21st September 2008 and today it has clocked 59,000 miles, it has had three dealer services and has also had two dealer visits for DPF Issues!

 When I first got the car I noticed after 18,000 miles the engine would idle at 1,000 rpm and drive very well, throttle response was excellent, I later found this to be the DPF doing a regeneration so I now know what this is, so I drive at 60 mph in 4th gear at anything above 2500 rpm, after 5 or 10  minutes the regen is done and the car sets itself back to normal.

 The other issue I had again DPF was the car started to do as described above but after 30 seconds the emissions workshop lit up on the dash and the glow plug light started to flash indicating the car was in reduced output mode, when Audi assist arrived he put the computer on and the error was 41.3 grams of soot on the DPF sensor, safe level for forced regen 40 grams, however he would not force a regen and my car spent two days in Audi for a new pressure sensor in the DPF.

 I use BP Ultimate or Shell V power diesel and cover a lot of miles, I think most of the problems above are down to new technology just needing the niggles ironing out, if you know when the car is regenerating and you can go for a quick high revving spin up the motorway you will have no issues.

J

Tell me about it DPF problems are now my main worry since Monday I started a new job which is only a 4 mile drive from my house my former journey was 26 miles away so gave the DPF time to warm up.

Since Tuesday the light came up 2 times and I had to take it out and drive it for 10 minutes in 2nd and 3rd gear as instructed in the manual to turn the light off. Waste of fuel and time just driving around in 3 rd gear !

DPF sucks !

moe360:

Tell me about it DPF problems are now my main worry since Monday I started a new job which is only a 4 mile drive from my house my former journey was 26 miles away so gave the DPF time to warm up.

Since Tuesday the light came up 2 times and I had to take it out and drive it for 10 minutes in 2nd and 3rd gear as instructed in the manual to turn the light off. Waste of fuel and time just driving around in 3 rd gear !

DPF sucks !

 Sorry to hear about your problems moe360. It looks like the AutoCar article that said the DPF won't clog in the MK6 was wrong.

percymon:

moe360:

Tell me about it DPF problems are now my main worry since Monday I started a new job which is only a 4 mile drive from my house my former journey was 26 miles away so gave the DPF time to warm up.

Since Tuesday the light came up 2 times and I had to take it out and drive it for 10 minutes in 2nd and 3rd gear as instructed in the manual to turn the light off. Waste of fuel and time just driving around in 3 rd gear !

DPF sucks !

moe. Take it to the dealer. We know what the response will be but you are using more fuel and time cleaning the dpf than your commute. Vw need to be aware, at no point do they say don't buy the diesel unless you do a minimum of 10 mile journey. What stupidity, a car company that sells products you can't use and have to cycle/bus instead.!!!!

I was thinking about going down to my local dealer but the dpf light has not come on in the last 2 days so am hoping it is nice and warm, if it happens again next week then I will be making some enquires through my dealer.

The strange thing is that my car is on a contract hire and VW finance who own the car set it to the long life service option every 2 years on 18,000 miles which ever comes first, the official VW information says LLS is suitable for drivers who do long journeys at a constant speed for over 25 miles a day which I was doing before but not any more since last week.

I called up my VW dealers service department and said my cars set to LLS will I need to get it changed now the service department lady said yes as you will need to replace the oil from long oil to the normal stuff. I said ok she said because the cars on contract hire VW finance will pay for the change which I was happy to hear, she said I need to get in touch with them to schedule the work.

I called up VW finance and they said all contract hire cars are set to LLS as default and said that even though i am doing less then 10k a year now it will still be set to LLS because its on contract hire. I said to him are you sure I do not want to get fined in 2 years time when I have to hand back the car he said NO nothing to worry about.

I don't feel that safe now calling my local dealer as they have very poor knowledge about anything related to the cars they sell !!! worrying 

percymon:

moe360:

Tell me about it DPF problems are now my main worry since Monday I started a new job which is only a 4 mile drive from my house my former journey was 26 miles away so gave the DPF time to warm up.

Since Tuesday the light came up 2 times and I had to take it out and drive it for 10 minutes in 2nd and 3rd gear as instructed in the manual to turn the light off. Waste of fuel and time just driving around in 3 rd gear !

DPF sucks !

 What stupidity, a car company that sells products you can't use and have to cycle/bus instead.!!!!

I know Percymon its very annoying every time I start the car I am waiting for the DPF warning light to come up !!!! the last 2 days been ok just hoping it stays this way.

My dad had a Merc E280 CDI Sport (2007) and he only did 3,500 miles a year in that and not once did any DPF light come up or any warning lights come on I am not sure if it had  DPF but it had a much bigger and powerful engine then the 1.6 TDI but he never had any lights come up !!! and he only did like 4 miles a day.

The worrying thing is many people buy diesels because they do a lot of miles, 6 months ago this was my case so I bought a diesel but circumstances can change and you do not need to travel that much for whatever reason, will this DPF light casue problems all the time for Golf owners only time will tell.

I agree with you Percymon I think VW and the dealer who sells the car should at least inform the buyer about potential problems !!!

Overall I do like TDI but if i knew i was going to do a lot less mileage I would have got the TSI.... never mind

J400uk:

 Sorry to hear about your problems moe360. It looks like the AutoCar article that said the DPF won't clog in the MK6 was wrong.

Thanks J400uk its been ok for the last few days so just hoping it stays that way.

Do you have a link to the Autocar article which said that ? not had a read of that one would be interesting to see what they said ?

moe360:

J400uk:

 Sorry to hear about your problems moe360. It looks like the AutoCar article that said the DPF won't clog in the MK6 was wrong.

Thanks J400uk its been ok for the last few days so just hoping it stays that way.

Do you have a link to the Autocar article which said that ? not had a read of that one would be interesting to see what they said ?

Moe, it was this article - http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Skoda-Yeti-2.0-TDI-CR-140-4WD/239851/

That sense is underlined by this car’s excellent refinement. VW’s new common-rail diesel is superbly smooth and quiet - I had to be told the car was actually diesel as I wouldn’t have guessed. It’s all the more impressive as other car maker’s Euro 5 compatible engines have got noisier. Skoda also says the switch to common-rail technology also means that the engine’s particulate filter will no longer clog if the car is mainly driven in urban conditions.

Moe you are not alone. My DPF light came on after 2,000 miles! Admittedly my usual commute is only a few miles but I have a 300 mile motorway run every fortnight so was a bit surprised when it lit up. Only done it the once mind but still a bit worrying. Is anyone else having this problem? Can't say I'm impressed with the fuel consumption either. I'm lucky to get into the low 50's on a long run, mid 40's on anything else. I do like to press on but was hoping for better.

J400uk:

moe360:

J400uk:

 Sorry to hear about your problems moe360. It looks like the AutoCar article that said the DPF won't clog in the MK6 was wrong.

Thanks J400uk its been ok for the last few days so just hoping it stays that way.

Do you have a link to the Autocar article which said that ? not had a read of that one would be interesting to see what they said ?

Moe, it was this article - http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Skoda-Yeti-2.0-TDI-CR-140-4WD/239851/

That sense is underlined by this car’s excellent refinement. VW’s new common-rail diesel is superbly smooth and quiet - I had to be told the car was actually diesel as I wouldn’t have guessed. It’s all the more impressive as other car maker’s Euro 5 compatible engines have got noisier. Skoda also says the switch to common-rail technology also means that the engine’s particulate filter will no longer clog if the car is mainly driven in urban conditions.

J400uk thanks for this information I am going to wait and see how many times the light comes up from next week and will report back took it for a 10 mile drive today to warm up the DPF. 

just to add my 2p in here - going from past experience with my car, the quality of the fuel used makes a noticeable difference on DPF regeneration cycles and output. Also, I have had less regeneration by using Millers Diesel power ecomax additive. Try going for a branded performance fuel such as Shell V-power or BP diesel ultimate.

MK5 170 TDI after PDI came with a nice sticker in the top right of the windscreen detailing the DPF, and the dealer was really good it making sure I was 'doing the miles' before he would let me place an order.

On the MK5 you can quickly program the Dual zone temperature gauge to show current DPF temperature and saturation.

I have also found that a quick blast in 4th at 1800 rpm is the best for bringing the soot oven up to temperature , rather than going hell out trying to boot it clean.

For the science behind the DPF I recommend;

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=229303

 The Autocar/Skoda statement is a bit misleading to my eyes - can be used in urban environments. That might be true if your shortish trip is actually at a very low average speed due to congestion, then the car and the DPF have plenty of time to hit optimum temps.  But if your short trips are outside congestion conditions then you may still have issues as Moe is finding out now.

My old commute to work was so short in time, that i only felt the first glimmer of heat from the ventilation when i reached the office - 5 miles, but sometimes only 8 minutes duration is the traffic lights were green.

percymon:

 The Autocar/Skoda statement is a bit misleading to my eyes - can be used in urban environments. That might be true if your shortish trip is actually at a very low average speed due to congestion, then the car and the DPF have plenty of time to hit optimum temps.  But if your short trips are outside congestion conditions then you may still have issues as Moe is finding out now.

My old commute to work was so short in time, that i only felt the first glimmer of heat from the ventilation when i reached the office - 5 miles, but sometimes only 8 minutes duration is the traffic lights were green.

 

 

Percymon all this DPF stuff had made me realise that I now miss my long journey to Harrogate every morning l0l 

 Hi there, I was strongly considering buying the 1.6 TDI when I get my new golf SE later this year. As i intend to keep the new car for many years the running costs and tax savings of the TDI on paper appear to make this a better choice for me than the 1.4TSI. 

However having read this, and with my daily commute being only 5 miles each way,  I am wondering if it would be unwise to go for the diesel. I have not had a diesel before.

 I cannot see anything in my VW brochure that would have alerted me to this possible issue. Can anyone advise me further, based on their experience? I will be test driving the new golf in a few weeks so I guess I will need to ask about this specific issue.

Just shows how without your forum I may have bene blissfully unaware of this consideration !

 Hi

If you are only doing a 5 mile each way commute the diesel may not be the way to go, my 2.0 TDI 140 is only just lifting the temp gauge at 5 miles and is only fully warm after 10 miles. Furtunately my daily commute is 30 miles each way so it does get fully warm.

dave

 I'd agree that petrol is better for low mileage users, particularly given that it has now become apparent the DPF issues still exist.

I've had my MkV GT 170 TDI since October with no DPF issues, but I suspect the reasons why I don't have issues are the reasons you guys do...here any highway cruise usually involves hitting at least 100MPH, so most people do a pretty good job of heating up the DPF. I do a short 3 mile commute everyday, and maybe every other weekend I take a highway cruise but then I think I probably really heat the thing up (even in winter when I try to stay under 200km/h when my snow tires start to scare me...)

And all these VW/Audi engineers drive on the same highways and probably faster speeds than me-so they probably hardly ever saw DPF issues during development.

 Thank you for your opinions on this, I will certainly research this carefully now and think I will err towards the 1.4 TSI.

Thank you.

Toadoftoadhall:

 Thank you for your opinions on this, I will certainly research this carefully now and think I will err towards the 1.4 TSI.

Thank you.

If you are only driving a few miles a day I would go for the 1.4 TSI its actually cheaper to buy then the 1.6 TDI and faster to 0- 60.

However if you are doing lots of long journeys then the TDI is better also it depends on your driving style do you like the torquey power delivery and lazy nature of the TDI ? or do you like  the rev of a petrol engine ? 

I like the torque of the TDI and running costs 8 quids worth of diesel does me for most of the whole week.

An update on the DPF issue this week no problems the light not been on once did drive it on a long journey this evening so has helped. I think you should still go for the 1.6 TDI its a great engine just take her for a nice long drive on the weekend

moe360:

Toadoftoadhall:

 Thank you for your opinions on this, I will certainly research this carefully now and think I will err towards the 1.4 TSI.

Thank you.

 

If you are only driving a few miles a day I would go for the 1.4 TSI its actually cheaper to buy then the 1.6 TDI and faster to 0- 60.

However if you are doing lots of long journeys then the TDI is better also it depends on your driving style do you like the torquey power delivery and lazy nature of the TDI ? or do you like  the rev of a petrol engine ? 

I like the torque of the TDI and running costs 8 quids worth of diesel does me for most of the whole week.

An update on the DPF issue this week no problems the light not been on once did drive it on a long journey this evening so has helped. I think you should still go for the 1.6 TDI its a great engine just take her for a nice long drive on the weekend

I checked my commute and it is in fact 6 miles each way on average 4 days a week ! My current engine only just gets warm. So only average 48 miles a week for commuting. Living nearer the pointy end of Cornwall (sea on most sides !), even my other trips tend to be fairly short, with only occasional - say once a month or so longer trips of about 50 miles.  I am sure with a lovely new Golf that I would drive it more just for the sake of it, but I do tend to feel that the TSI engine may be better suited to my needs.

I don't really have a preference regarding lazy TDI or revvy TSI. I drive TDI cars at work , and my current small engine petrol Polos (have a 1.0e and a 1.2s) are more revvy.  To be honest I enjoy them both. I will be test driving a new Golf in a few weeks time, so it will interesting to see what the sales guy (or girl !) says about this.

Toadoftoadhall:

moe360:

Toadoftoadhall:

 Thank you for your opinions on this, I will certainly research this carefully now and think I will err towards the 1.4 TSI.

Thank you.

 

If you are only driving a few miles a day I would go for the 1.4 TSI its actually cheaper to buy then the 1.6 TDI and faster to 0- 60.

However if you are doing lots of long journeys then the TDI is better also it depends on your driving style do you like the torquey power delivery and lazy nature of the TDI ? or do you like  the rev of a petrol engine ? 

I like the torque of the TDI and running costs 8 quids worth of diesel does me for most of the whole week.

An update on the DPF issue this week no problems the light not been on once did drive it on a long journey this evening so has helped. I think you should still go for the 1.6 TDI its a great engine just take her for a nice long drive on the weekend

 

I checked my commute and it is in fact 6 miles each way on average 4 days a week ! My current engine only just gets warm. So only average 48 miles a week for commuting. Living nearer the pointy end of Cornwall (sea on most sides !), even my other trips tend to be fairly short, with only occasional - say once a month or so longer trips of about 50 miles.  I am sure with a lovely new Golf that I would drive it more just for the sake of it, but I do tend to feel that the TSI engine may be better suited to my needs.

I don't really have a preference regarding lazy TDI or revvy TSI. I drive TDI cars at work , and my current small engine petrol Polos (have a 1.0e and a 1.2s) are more revvy.  To be honest I enjoy them both. I will be test driving a new Golf in a few weeks time, so it will interesting to see what the sales guy (or girl !) says about this.

 

I think the TSI will suit you better but even though I dont drive that much any more I still like the 1.6 TDI over any petrol engine that is the same size or a little bigger, just like the way the engine goes and delivers it powers feels very good and smooth suits the cars nature.

I think both are good engines and you will be very happy with both with the TDI I just love the way it gives me a full weeks fuel for under a tenner l0l amazing.