Diesel/DPF owners. What are you doing about regen during lockdown?

[kissenger]

Lockdown has disrupted people’s ordinary routines including commuting. For a lot of diesel owners that can cause problems. Not least of which is not doing the sort of driving that will kickstart a DPF regen.

So what are you guys doing about the situation? Quick blast in the motorway? Can you kickstart a regen by revving the engine while stationary on your own driveway?

 

[Sone]

Just going work as per 80% plus of the population. The M6 as busy as ever?!?

 

[robj20]

My car has a fully active system so it will regen no matter what, car only needs to be up to normal temp then it will regen even at idle.

 

[squerble]

I'd suggest for most people the normal commutes are back - it certainly seems to me as I'm dropping off the dog at doggy daycare or the in-laws that traffic is very, very much back to normal, pre-covid levels.

 

[rpmmatt]

In reality most of us never stopped going work. We were only banned from visiting friends and family, but could freely mix with hundreds of people at work to ensure quinoa supplies were maintained.
My heart truly bleeds for those unable to regen their DPF.

 

[iamdjdz]

We took ours for a weekly hour long run just up and down nearby motorways as a long route before shopping just to keep the battery charged and the engine hot. Pretty sure it has an active regen too but better safe than sorry. Still doing it though as neither of us are back to working in the office properly yet.

Abandoned the little petrol abarth though and had to change the battery before we sold it though.

 

[panthro]

My commute has been effectively over since June 2020 and my annual mileage is down from 12k a year to less than 5k. I try and take my car on the motorway every couple of weeks for a 5 mile stretch. No idea if that helps or not.

 

[Avalon]

My commute has been effectively over since June 2020 and my annual mileage is down from 12k a year to less than 5k. I try and take my car on the motorway every couple of weeks for a 5 mile stretch. No idea if that helps or not.

Some manufacturers published suggestions on the length of continuous journey advised to avoid DPF issues, I don’t remember them being that low. When I used to do 24K of commuting and another 8-12K of personal, diesel barely made sense vs petrol and that was at 3x your pre-COVID annual mileage, have you considered you may be better off moving to petrol/hybrid?

 

[WJA96]

Just going work as per 80% plus of the population. The M6 as busy as ever?!?

Throughout 2019 the roads were running well over 90% capacity throughout the first 9 months of 2019 and dipped to 88% in the final quarter. In 2020 it dropped off dramatically, never getting above 77% (1st quarter) and dipping to 46% in the second quarter when the first lockdown come into effect. It’s mot recovered above 80% yet so far as I’m aware. So it’s only going to get worse...

 

[Maundie]

Sold it due to going down to 1 car as both the wife and I are working from home permanently now.

 

[panthro]

Some manufacturers published suggestions on the length of continuous journey advised to avoid DPF issues, I don’t remember them being that low. When I used to do 24K of commuting and another 8-12K of personal, diesel barely made sense vs petrol and that was at 3x your pre-COVID annual mileage, have you considered you may be better off moving to petrol/hybrid?

I'm planning on changing my car to a petrol car. But i have done several lengthy motorway trips recently so not too worried.

 

[Rroff]

Some manufacturers published suggestions on the length of continuous journey advised to avoid DPF issues, I don’t remember them being that low. When I used to do 24K of commuting and another 8-12K of personal, diesel barely made sense vs petrol and that was at 3x your pre-COVID annual mileage, have you considered you may be better off moving to petrol/hybrid?

My pickup surprisingly is minimum journey time of 10 minutes, minimum sustained speed 10 MPH - anything less than that builds up unburnt particulate matter and needs a longer journey at higher speed to catch up. But from experience big engine diesels don't like lots of short journeys though it has usually been EGR issues long before DPF.

The work vans get all kinds of abuse and often used for short journeys - one only ever does like 2.5 miles a couple of times a day or something - DPF issues have been almost if not non-existent but EGR issues not uncommon.

 

[Avalon]

My pickup surprisingly is minimum journey time of 10 minutes, minimum sustained speed 10 MPH - anything less than that builds up unburnt particulate matter and needs a longer journey at higher speed to catch up. But from experience big engine diesels don't like lots of short journeys though it has usually been EGR issues long before DPF.

The work vans get all kinds of abuse and often used for short journeys - one only ever does like 2.5 miles a couple of times a day or something - DPF issues have been almost if not non-existent but EGR issues not uncommon.

I don’t have any experience on big diesels, mainly 1.9 and 2.0 PD’s and 2.0/2.2 D4D’s, but I have noticed my last two D4D Toyota’s which I stripped at 85-95K were pretty clean, literally a 1-2mm layer, nothing to get excited about. The DPF as you say is a whole other problem, but it’s usually a secondary problem and mainly due to inappropriate usage, which is often tied in with bad pre-sales advice/poor understanding of the implications/real costs.

 

[OspreyO]

We had two petrol's and have done almost no mileage in the last 12 months. The 2nd car a golf has done 900 miles, and the main car a MPV 5,500 miles.
I generally take them both for a 40+ mins drive, often down a motorway once a week or a fortnight to charge up batteries keep everything moving.

Had to change the MPV (as it wouldn't have passed our MOT, I'm not on the UK) but could only find a diesel to replace it.
A diesel doesn't suit or us at all, but its only an interim car. I have no idea what our car use will be when lockdown is lifted and if we'll be back in the office at all.
A PHEV MPV would be ideal. EV too small. Don't really want a SUV but may have no choice but a SUV PHEV.

 

[HangTime]

EV too small

Not sure if budget is an issue, but a Model X or Merc EQC once available presumably isn't too small? On the cheaper end the spectrum Peugeot/Citroen have electrified some of their MPVs. If buying second hand I appreciate there likely won't be much have filtered through to the market yet.

 

[OspreyO]

Yeah I wouldn't be in Tesla or Merc Territory. Usually go VAG.

Long term plans unsure. But I might keep the diesel MPV for holidays long trips, and get a smaller EV, or even something like UP GTI as the local runabout.

At the moment all are local journeys are either 5 people often enough, or an OAP and wheelchairs/walkers and such.
I still like to use the MPV like a Van and also to haul bicycles around. Have a small trailer, but its rarely used. I'd hate to give it up though.

 

[kissenger]

I generally take them both for a 40+ mins drive, often down a motorway once a week or a fortnight to charge up batteries keep everything moving.

Would 20 minutes revving the engine at > 2k on your driveway serve the same purpose? I do what you do, but sometimes I think it would be easier to kickstart a regen at home. At least you know you're not going to run into traffic that way.

 

[Scythe]

Would 20 minutes revving the engine at > 2k on your driveway serve the same purpose? I do what you do, but sometimes I think it would be easier to kickstart a regen at home. At least you know you're not going to run into traffic that way.

I wouldn't expect so, I would imagine modern ECUs require some parameter to show the vehicle moving to initiate an active regeneration.

Forced regenerations are what garages use whereby the engine revs high when stationary to drive up DPF temperature and burn off soot. These are usually initiated through ECU diagnostics as it requires more fuel to be injected too.

 

[OspreyO]

From what I've read one of the conditions on my yoke is speed 50-60 kph. So you need to maintain that over a certain time like 20-30 mins. Driving faster makes no difference. I suspect different makes have different parameters.

 

[Avalon]

It depends on the car, Toyota for example suggested if the car is up to temp, then 40mph for 10 mins is adequate for a standard regen, but if that opportunity doesn’t present itself then the ECU will add additional fuel to the system and force one, if it’s interrupted it will resume post restart - this was aimed at the short distance/city drivers.