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Vag engines don't get a good press recently.
If an engine is incapable of not doing 7K miles a year then its not fit for purpose IMO.
I only do 7K ayear and have done for years, i'm on my 2nd DPF diesel and nothing major has gone wrong why should it?
All on supermarket fuel with no extra additives.
I would contact whatcar and others and pursue your claim, assuming the car is still in warranty.
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Bought car used from Audi main dealer 6 months old 5000 miles. Dpf light has come on periodically they advised me to give it a blast on dual carriageway for few miles that put the light out.
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With you saying you bought the car with 5k on it, you only do 7k a year, and it's now on 50k, I'm assuming it's 6 (or more) years old by now.
Unfortunately, a lot of DPF fitted cars suffer from this sort of problem. When the car decides the DPF needs an 'active' clean, it injects additional fuel into the cylinders, to raise the exhaust temperature, to assist with burning off the accumulated soot. This additional diesel can contaminate the oil quite easily.
If you do a higher mileage, then most of the soot is burned off using 'passive' cleaning - basically, the exhaust gets hot enough on it's own to burn off the soot, so very rarely needs an 'active' regeneration.
Some manufacturers seem to have more DPF problems than others. Unfortunately, VAG seem to be on the 'more problems' side. VAG diesel engined DPF cars really don't seem that suited to low mileage / short journeys
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Since about 2008 VAG have said clearly in their brochures not to buy a diesel if you do short trips and a low annual mileage. That is one of the reasons we don't have a VAG diesel.
Since they tell you not to buy one doing your type of motoring it appears to me there is only one person to blame.
Even if the DPF cleans itself succesfully the DPF has a finite life. After a regen a small amount of ash residue remains in the DPF and over time it builds up. Eventually it blocks the DPF and you need a new one. Using the correct low SAPS oil prolongs the life of the DPF since it reduces ash, has yours been serviced using the correct oil.
We have had 2 cars with DPF's a BMW for 5 1/2 years with no issues and now a Kia Ceed for 4 years with no issues.
But we will not be buying another diesel car. We now have a Seat Leon TSi and its even better to drive to drive than a turbo diesel, very nearly as economical, £2000 less to buy and no DPF. For us it will be another similar turbo petrol car next when we replace the Ceed.
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Any evidence for this? I may be missing it in my current Audi A6 brochure but I don't see any reference to diesels being inappropriate for low mileage.
They even tell you what the service intervals are if you do less than 10k miles a year or short journeys.
Also no reference to it from the salesman during the sales process.
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Quite,I agree there is no mention about length of journeys or milage in the new Audi brochures and my neighbour has just bought a diesel from Audi without being asked about there driving habits.
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>>"there is only one person to blame."
A little bit harsh, Skidpan - what if the OP hadn't pored over a brochure before he bought the car?
Also, if the car is 6 years old, and Audi have been putting that caveat in their brochures since 2008, then surely their mechanics should have been suspicious about the DPF (the OP makes no mention that they ever mentioned that to him in the past), rather than making him pay £5000 for a new cylinder head.
Or did their Service department view the OP's car as a cash cow?
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Skidpan, on that basis, I would expect the salesman to enquire as to the use that the vehicle will be subject to and get the buyer to sign a disclaimer, if not, liability must lie with the seller for selling goods not fit for purpose!
Edited by Rats on 07/11/2014 at 12:33
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A little bit harsh, Skidpan - what if the OP hadn't pored over a brochure before he bought the car?
If the OP did not view the brochure and do research there is only one person to blame.
Skidpan, on that basis, I would expect the salesman to enquire as to the use that the vehicle will be subject to and get the buyer to sign a disclaimer, if not, liability must lie with the seller for selling goods not fit for purpose!
Salesmen are there to sell stuff. They lie on a good day so why would you expect them to be totally honest on any other day.
The answer is to do your own research. The info is out there if you can be bothered to read it. Trouble is most don't bother and then look to blame others.
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I bought a new Audi in 2007. The brochure contained warnings about DPFs and low mileage and went even further saying DPF vehicles were not available to anyone living on the Channel Islands due to potential problems with operation.
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I have used two DPF cars for short journeys and low mileage, with no real issues. I'm off now on a 8 mile trip so 16 miles in total, with a couple of hours in between.
What they are not suitable for is short jorneys in CONGESTED traffic. But then even a petrol car will suffer with that driving, hence electric cars or hybrids.
Blaming the OP is a joke, the cars obviously got problems, if an injector is leaking or an injector seal is passing then diesel will find it way into the sump. Nothing to do with low mileage.
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Quite,I agree there is no mention about length of journeys or milage in the new Audi brochures and my neighbour has just bought a diesel from Audi without being asked about there driving habits.
Never looked at an Audi but since 2009 when we looked at the Passat through 2010 when we looked at an Octavia to last year when looked at the Golf and then bought a Leon there has always been clear information about the unsuitabilty of diesels for short trips/low mileages in the brochures.
But no salesman has ever mentioned it so as I said above you need to read and do your own research.
In fairness to VAG the salesmen from other brands have not mentioned it either and I have never seen anything regarding the unsuitability of DPFs in other brands brochures. That includes BMW, Kia, Ford Toyota, Honda to name 5 we have looked at/purchased.
Based on that I will say that VAG have been more honest in the info provided than any other brand, salesman are just as rubbish as the rest though. Liars one and all. Never listen to them, do my own research and never ask questions, why should I when I expect them to lie.
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Yes the car is 07 plate. I just feel badly let down,it's been serviced and repaired by Audi including new gearbox ( Multitronic ) at 34000 and I am pretty sure now changing the head was unnecessary.
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Blaming the OP is a joke, the cars obviously got problems, if an injector is leaking or an injector seal is passing then diesel will find it way into the sump. Nothing to do with low mileage
Correct but on a 7 year old car its 4 years out of warranty so the only option is to put hand in pocket.
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When I was looking at new cars last year, the advice from ALL dealers (incluing Audi) was: don't buy a diesel. I don't do many miles, but all my miles tend to be on long journeys. I've never heard the same advice on the 2nd-hand market.
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It's tough if you want to buy the new Passat. It only has diesel engines.
Are the new VW engines OK for short trips?
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As do all new Volvos, did I hear ??
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Forgive my ignorance what is OP
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OP = original poster - the person who started the thread
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Skidpan - your wrong.
When I purchased a new Fiat Doblo van, not only did the brochure include a full page dedicated to explaining the DPF and what it does, but there was also 2 additional documents supplied by Fiat commercial warning about DPF and driving condtions, a hanger on the steering column stalk giving a brief run down of the DPF light and the type of driving when it illuminates, and finally a full section in the owners manual about DPF including numerous warnings about the mileage and driving conditions.
With VAG's legendary ability to deny any problems with their cars, anyone who thinks they are more honest than the others is naive at best.
VAG are the worst around for standing behind their products, I would never have one again despite being tempted by the price and space inside a Skoda Rapid.
Edited by daveyK_UK on 07/11/2014 at 16:43
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Already put hand deep into pocket.had new head 14 months ago.
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