DPF is the reason I want to sell my car

[tumasgts]

Hi Guys, I am writing this down so that anyone who is thinking of buying a diesel 1.6 tekna thinks about it twice. I bought my QQ back in Aug 2014 and so far this is the 7th time my car went in for DPF. Please note that I don't drive short distances and I make sure that once a week the temp is high enough for the DPF to clear out. I have replaced my DPF and once again I got the start stop error and the two LED lights on the dashboard. Has anyone been though this? Is there a way to bypass this? It is very nerve-racking and I don't think that when buying a brand new car you should take your car in for 7 times in one year. When compared to other owners who have the same model they mention that this never happened to them.

[Gel]

I've 1.5, have lots of short runs + no issues. With current QQ's no need to take for a weekly thrash- search forum on this topic for lots more info. What symptoms have you suffered?

[tumasgts]

Start/Stop appears on the dashOrange and red led on dash Car drives in slow mode.

[gvmdaddy]

Same as Gel....1.5dci, May 2014, short 3-5 mile trips at rush hour, no problems/issues with stop/start or DPF. First 8 months gave it a weekly run of 20 miles or so, but not really bothered this year. Stop start actually works better now than when I was giving it the weekly blast.gvmdaddy2015-08-04 17:04:06

[Gel]

Dealer needs to get Nissan Support if they can't identify issue/s.

[Acenta]

Had 2 cars with DPF's for a total of 10.5 years. In that time we only did moderate mileages which in many peoples opinion would have led to failure, total for the 2 cars was 78,000 miles. But we never had a single problem.We learned to recognise the signs that a regen was taking place e.g. engine note changed slightly especially at idle, massive increase in mpg on instant setting, smell when stationary to name but 3. If we noted any we did our best not switch off the engine and continue driving until the car returned to normal. Not always possible I appreciate but in most instances it was.As for the urban myths about regens and keeping your DPF clean they are many and varied.Drive fast every week for a few miles in a low gear to blow out the soot - total nonsense. The soot particles are bonded to the DPF matrix and the only way to remove them is to burn them off in a regen.During a regen drive in a lower gear to keep the revs up - nonsense again. Most handbooks I have read says to drive normally but some have actually advised an optimum rpm to reduce the regen time which is about 1800 - 2000. High rpm increases the gas speed which reduces the dpf temp and prevents a regen completing. A slower gas speed combined with the extra diesel injected increases the temp to the 600 degree C required.Regen can only complete on a motorway - nonsense yet again. Both our cars would happily do regens on our way back form Tesco which is about 9 miles and on an average day takes 20 minutes.ou can make the car regen by thrashing it - more nonsense. A regen will only start when the ecu says so and all the conditions have been met.Hope that helps.

[Mike R]

Thank you for that Acenta I learned from your info.
I've had a two year old 1.6dci for 6 months, I haven't noticed any of your three tell tales but have travelled a lot of short distance runs with the odd 60 mile jaunt without ( touch wood) any probs.

[D1eam]

Similar too Acenta. We've had Nissan DPF issues and in 16 months would do 22k miles so we were defiantly doing the miles. There are things you recognise when a regen is taking place As Acenta says ... e.g. engine note changed slightly especially at idle, massive increase in mpg on instant setting, smell when stationary to name but 3. If we noted any we did our best not switch off the engine and continue driving until the car returned to normal.

In the end we got feed up with it. And last year the Nissan Service Manager at our local garage told us the QQ suffered the most we had a a X Trail at the time .. So when we traded in for the QQ we made a decision to go back to petrol. . My hubbie an I share the car so it's in use 24/7 so don't tell me it's not in use enough.

Each Re Gen cost us £160 for the xtrail once out of warranty that's a lot when in back in every other month !

I know some peeps have been lucky and not experienced this issue. So what is the difference between theirs and those people here having problems. I would love to know the answer. There by the grace of God as they say...

[Deleted User 1571]

With my previous Juke, the engine note would change slightly when a region was due. Never actually noticed it regenerating though, although it was obvious when it had, because the 'pinking' type note would change to become smooth and quiet. The Qashqai has a much quieter and well insulated engine to start with and as yet, in 14,000 miles, I've never noticed any change whatsoever. It is a totally consistent drive, apart from being slightly noisier when the engine is cold, as with all diesels.With four cars/commercial vehicles fitted with DPF, there has been not a single issue so far. No doubt there will be some day. DPF's do actually have a finite life, where they will eventually clog with ash, which is the residue left after a successful regeneration. The life will also be shortened by the normal wear of the fuel injectors that causes more soot to be produced as the milage gets high. DPF's therefore have a long term cost and a fuel consumption penalty. I would not even consider a diesel engine for mainly town driving these days. Nor for any other slow or restricted distance driving. However, for various reasons, including fuel economy and convenience, all my vehicles are diesel, but I live in the countryside and do cover a fair proportion of journeys that are 20 miles or further. Another significant proportion is of short journeys of a couple of miles though, but always in a mix with longer journeys. Just yesterday the Qash covered about 80 miles and it has just left home for a 40 mile round trip. It may have a few days when it doesn't move and maybe two or three of about three miles.

[Deleted User 1571]

[quote="D1eam"]Similar too Acenta. We've had Nissan DPF issues and in 16 months would do 22k miles so we were defiantly doing the miles. There are things you recognise when a regen is taking place As Acenta says ... e.g. engine note changed slightly especially at idle, massive increase in mpg on instant setting, smell when stationary to name but 3. If we noted any we did our best not switch off the engine and continue driving until the car returned to normal.In the end we got feed up with it. And last year the Nissan Service Manager at our local garage told us the QQ suffered the most we had a a X Trail at the time .. So when we traded in for the QQ we made a decision to go back to petrol. . My hubbie an I share the car so it's in use 24/7 so don't tell me it's not in use enough.Each Re Gen cost us £160 for the xtrail once out of warranty that's a lot when in back in every other month !I know some peeps have been lucky and not experienced this issue. So what is the difference between theirs and those people here having problems. I would love to know the answer. There by the grace of God as they say...[/QUOTE]
Perhaps it is running the engine at no less than 1500 revs during driving and having a few long hills to climb that keeps it healthy? I don't honestly know. I do know that DPF reliability has improved on newer models, many of which have bigger filters than previously and some have a fifth fuel injector in the exhaust rather than a reliance on in-cylinder over-fuelling to raise exhaust gas temperature. Most now seem to have a valve fitted to restrict exhaust flow when re-generating to maintain a constant load, and therefore a higher gas temperature when actively re-generating.