DPF Regen & Soot Values Amarok V6

[GreyWolf]

Hi All,

Is anyone currently using VAG DPF / VCDS & tracking a baseline for their DPF regens?

What are your values for V6 3.0L TDI Amarok?

1. Km's per regen
2. approx exhaust temps when 80+ km/h (not in regen) / have you seen a passive regen?
3. soot % & grams when active regen starts
4. average mg/km soot accumulation (not in regen)
5. soot % & grams after regen completed

Any other interesting information in regards to Amarok DPF?

Thanks in advance

GreyWolf

[Lucas_R]

Not an Amarok, but a similar V6 in my wifes Audi SQ5 which might help. I use VAGDPF weekly to monitor the DPF behaviour.

1) varies on the type of driving you are doing (eg city vs highway) and also how you drive (heavy throttle use it will fill up faster). With our normal driving, its about 450-550km between regens, but on a freeway run it increases to about 650km.

2) VAGDPF does not give me exhaust temp on my engine, but yes I have had a few passive regens when on the freeway at 110kph when soot levels were high, but not quite as high as when normal regen takes place.

3) about 21-22grams on average when DPF levels reach 100% and a regen commences.

4) have not really looked.

5) after a regen has taken place, soot level is usually around 25% and about 7-8 grams.

[GreyWolf]

Hi Lucas_R

Thanks for the quick response.

Currently on VAGDPF & reading from ECU. (Driving is 80% 80-100km)
- 300km before regen
- apporx 80% / 31g soot regen begins
- regen finishes on 12% / 5g soot
- regen takes approx 20mins to complete

Interesting comment about higher load increases soot accumulation. What indicators inform you it is performing a passive regen?
(-mg/km value)? The highest temp I have seen monitoring exhaust gas temp pre & post dpf seems 450 C (not in active regen). I suspect it does not do a passive regen at all considering the EGT's during active regen are 600 C.

For future reference do you happen to know what conditions will cause the DPF light to illuminate?

Thanks,

GreyWolf

[Lucas_R]

The SQ5 has 2x DPF's, whereas I believe the V6 Amarok has 1x - so this might explain why your DPF fills up more quickly than mine.

I agree the regen process from start to finish takes around 15-20mins and if you turn the car off mid-regen you will have engine fans running and in my case, you can feel the heat off the exhaust coming from under the car. Sometimes there is also a slight smell. The engine fans run as part of the procedure to help move the heat that is generated.

As for the passive regens, im only guessing that's whats has happened as I don't know for certain. But in normal conditions with our normal driving, a regen will not trigger until the VAGDPF app shows 100% full which is around 22-23 grams. But in a few occasions when on the freeway I have noticed the regen in process when the app only said it was 85 or 90% full for example. So I can only assume that when on the freeway at 110-120kph there is enough heat that the car is happy enough to do a passive regen.

I will double check exhaust temp, but im pretty certain the app does not show this data for my engine. There are several blocks of data that do not display for my engine.

As for the DPF light on the dash, yes I have had this (before I knew about the VAGDPF app) and early on in our ownsership of the SQ5. If you spend a lot of time at 80-100kph then it is likely you will never see this light unless a sensor etc goes bad. But in our case, we do probably 50% city driving (Newcastle, so not a busy city like Sydney) and the remainder is motorway at 80-90kph where my wife commutes to work and back most days. I have found that the 20-25 mins or so that it takes my wife to get to/from work is not long enough to warm the engine oil temp to 80 degrees, trigger the regen and then let it run its course.

It takes a good 12-15 mins (especially in winter) for oil to reach 80 degrees, then as mentioned, the regen procedure takes a good 15-20 mins. So we were having scenarios where the regen was only partially completing, then it was trying again a day or two later and only partially completing. Once it does this a certain amount of times it gives up and throws a hissy fit = light on dash.

So yes I had a few DPF issues in the first 12 months of owning the car. I knew about DPF's in modern diesels but assumed that with regular 20-25 minute drives on the motorway that we would be ok. Turns out thats not long enough, really needs to be 40 minutes or so. Anyway, the VAGDPF app is a godsend and has paid for itself many many times over already.

So, in case you aren't aware - a DPF regen will only take place if:

- Oil temp is above 80 degrees (not water temp, but oil).
- Fuel level is above 1/4 tank
- No warning lights on dash

There may be other parameters, but these are the ones I have discovered.

Have you seen this thread: VAG DPF app on Android to monitor DPF

[GreyWolf]

Hi Lucas_R,

Thanks again for your time & detailed reply. It is great to be able to share data to collect a baseline.

I am assuming as you a monitoring with the app when you know you are doing a regen you continue to drive (within reason) in order to avoid interruption of the cycle.

I also agree that a light would be generated from continual poor regeneration, irrespective of speed & temp landing in the regen km zone.

I am assuming you have seen below link. Not sure of accuracy but thought I would add in case others were looking.
The regeneration process from official VAG document - ApplagApp Forum

Out of curiosity were you able to get readout & data from VW in regards to your dash light?

Have you also by chance monitored DPF when towing?

Thanks,

GreyWolf

[Lucas_R]

Yes I manage to catch the vast majority of regens using the VAGDPF app and we continue driving the car to allow the regen process to run its course. Sometimes of course its just not practical (eg you will be late to work or an appointment) but in most cases we can.

Car manufacturers (not just VW/Audi, but every car manufacturer) who are making diesel vehicles really need to include a DPF level display on the dash so that owners don't need to rely on aftermarket apps to know what is going on. The only manufacturer who I know does this to a degree is Toyota/Lexus with the Hilux and LandCruiser/LX570 models. These cars have a warning that pops up on the dash to say the DPF is regenerating, and some of these models also have a manual DPF regen button so you car trigger a regen at your leisure (when on the freeway for example).

I don't have a towbar on my vehicle, so can't help you with that question sorry. I can only imagine you would be much more likely to experience a passive regen when towing as the Amarok would be working harder that usual and exhaust temps would be higher.

I had not seen that info you linked to, but have seen similar info from other Google searches and forum posts etc.

The first time I had a DPF issue, several months into our ownership of the car, my mechanic (not Audi, but an independent VW/Audi specialist) forced a regen using VCDS.

The second time I had a DPF issue, it wasn't my fault or the cars fault - the company I had tune my vehicle stuffed up and the car was not performing regens so it completely clogged up. The car went into limp mode with literally about 10kw of power. My mechanic was not able to force a regen, so I took matters into my own hands and removed the 2x DPF's from under the car (thankfully a very easy task to do), blasted them out with my high pressure hose, let them dry for a day, refitted them and then reset the DPF info using VCDS. Thankfully this worked (along with having the tune fixed up) and I have not had an issue since (this was about 2 years ago).

More info here on that whole ordeal: Playing with an Audi SQ5 TDI

[GreyWolf]

Hi Lucas_R

Thanks for sharing the info.

I don't believe I have seen a passive regen at all as I would expect to see a -mg/km value (top right screen value)

Agree that an earlier warning of DPF soot level would be more beneficial alongside a manual button for not having to drive extra km's. One would think why drive more it will do a regen next time. However, I have seen on a few occasions through the app that you may be pulling up to a driveway & its just about ready to do a regen. It may do this a few times in a row. This is separate to the known city driving problems

I have also seen ScanGauge with xgauge functions. Although more expensive this is also a useful tool for DPF monitoring.

Out of curiosity does your engine consume any amount of oil?
What oil do you use?

I wonder how many others are using the app or VCDS & can share their info. I noticed a few monitoring this thread.

Cheers,

GreyWolf

[Lucas_R]

No oil consumption at all on my engine, but its quite young and has only done 65,000km.

I check the oil at least once a month to check the level and general condition of the oil - its always on the full mark.

So my VW/Audi specialist services the car once a year for me (which is about 12,000-14,000km) and he uses Fuchs Titan GT1 5w-30 oil, then 6 months after his service I do my own oil and filter change and I use Penrite Enviro+ 5w-30 which is readily available from Supercheap/Repco etc and on sale several times a year so that's when I buy it.

So the car gets fresh oil every 6 months or so and 6,000-7,000km.

[Transporter]

Hi Lucas_R

Thanks for the quick response.

Currently on VAGDPF & reading from ECU. (Driving is 80% 80-100km)
- 300km before regen
- apporx 80% / 31g soot regen begins
- regen finishes on 12% / 5g soot
- regen takes approx 20mins to complete

Interesting comment about higher load increases soot accumulation. What indicators inform you it is performing a passive regen?
(-mg/km value)? The highest temp I have seen monitoring exhaust gas temp pre & post dpf seems 450 C (not in active regen). I suspect it does not do a passive regen at all considering the EGT's during active regen are 600 C.

For future reference do you happen to know what conditions will cause the DPF light to illuminate?

Thanks,

GreyWolf

I can confirm that my 2019 V6 also regenerates every 300km, regardless how long my trips are (done 10,000km in 2 years).

[Lucas_R]

I can confirm that my 2019 V6 also regenerates every 300km, regardless how long my trips are (done 10,000km in 2 years).

My friend has the current model Hilux 2.8L diesel and he says it does a regen about every 350-400km, and he does quite a bit of long distance driving where the filter fills up more slowly. His car actually tells him the car is doing a regen (on the digital dash display) which all diesel cars should do IMO.

I remember when I bought the SQ5 which was my first diesel car, that I read on this forum that DPF regens occur approx every 1,000km. Admittedly this info was from the 2.0TDI engines as found in the Golf/Passat etc, but I assumed the SQ5 would be similar. So I was surprised to find out the SQ5 is twice as often as this. Similarly surprised to hear the Amarok's do one every 300km's.

@Transporter - 10,000km in 2 years isn't much. Do you simply not drive the Amarok much, or do you do short trips?