Audi SQ5 alternatives?

**BitlifeAPP** · 25-12-2019, 06:02 PM

May Be You Should Check Marcedse SUV

**Lucas_R** · 05-03-2020, 11:36 AM

Little update - the original stage 1 tune + EGR coding out I got from UGP for the SQ5 was a fail and messed with the DPF signals which after several thousand km's (and no DPF regen) eventually put the car into limp mode.

I was worried about the lack of regen because my car religiously does a regen every 500-600km's, and the screenshot below shows it had not done a regen for 2,251km yet it was only registering that the DPF was 38% full.

Then the errors started happening - turbo underboost error, ECM error etc.

Thankfully Alex from UGP express posted me up a CMD flash device allowing me to put the car back to the stock tune.

With the car now back on its stock tune, my VAGDPF app was reporting that the DPF was 588% full.....fun times. This was all happening just a few days before Christmas, so with no ability to get into my mechanic - we parked up the car and let it sit in the garage over the Christmas/New Year period. Borrowed a Diahatsu Terios from a friend to get around in for a few days - wow cars have come a long way in 15 years.

After doing some research and investigation, I decided to try and flush out the DPF with some chemical cleaners and high pressure water and see if I could fix the issue myself. Thankfully the twin DPF setup on the SQ5 is super easy to access and remove, only taking probably 10-15mins to remove.

The DPF was well and truly blocked visually. I sprayed it with some carby cleaner and some degreaser, let it soak for a while and then blasted it for a good 10-15 mins with the Gerni. Heaps and heaps of black muck came out, but it was clean as a whistle afterwards. It was hot as hell that day, so I let the DPF's sit out in the sun for a few hours to try and evaporate as much of the water that was in the filters before refitting it to the car.

Good news, after refitting the DPF's my VAGDPF app reported that the filter was clean, but the car was still in limp mode...so I had to perform the procedure shown in the link below to reset the DPF parameters. More good news, the car was now out of limp mode and back to have 230kw/650nm like it should.

VW T5.1 DPF related Values obscure

I kept the car on the stock tune for about 8-10 days to make sure everything was ok and that the DPF went back to doing its regens as required which it did - success!! After I was satisfied the car was back to "normal behaviour" again, I used the same CMD flash device that UGP had sent me to flash the car with a normal Stage 1 tune (no fancy EGR deletes or anything) and took the car for a spin. Improved throttle response and more torque was immediately apparent, even better than the "original" stage 1 tune.

So this was early January by the time all of this was sorted, and the car has been running perfectly since - hopefully it stays that way.

**Sharkie** · 05-03-2020, 02:05 PM

Seems like a lot of unnecessary hassle and issues due to the DPF. I'd just ditch the car and buy it in a petrol

Be more fun too

**Lucas_R** · 05-03-2020, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Sharkie

Seems like a lot of unnecessary hassle and issues due to the DPF. I'd just ditch the car and buy it in a petrol

Be more fun too

Rest assured that I never wanted a diesel in the first place, but my wife wanted an SQ5 and would NOT consider anything else. Honestly this car has been a pain in the ar$e and I will not buy another diesel vehicle ever again.

But, in the cars defence, this latest DPF issue was due to the tune not being right so not technically the cars fault.

**Lucas_R** · 09-03-2020, 10:54 AM

Got some new tyres on the SQ5 on the weekend (Kumho Crugen HP91 255/40/R21) which replaced the extremely expensive and fast wearing factory Pirelli PZero's. The Kumho's look much better on the rims, have a higher treadwear number 420 vs 280) and should last longer due to being less of a high performance oriented tyre which is pretty unnecessary for this vehicle and they type of driving we do. So far steering feel with the new tyres is more direct and there is no difference in terms of road noise etc.

Given the rare-ish tyre size, there are only a few tyres to choose from, with Winrun being the cheapest, then Kumho and Dunlop being around the $400 each mark, and then up over $500 each for Continental, Michelin and Pirelli. After having nearly $4k in unexpected vet bills in the past 6 weeks i didn't fancy paying $2k for a set of tyres, so I did some research on the Kumho's and they rated well - so I chose to give them a go. Actually got the Kumho's on special for $335 each so very impressed with them so far for the money.

Kumho Crugen HP91 - Tyre Tests and Reviews @ Tyre Reviews

Also took the opportunity to install the 034Motorsports diff mount insert which i purchased recently to complete the drivetrain stiffening - now having the gearbox mount insert, diff carriers inserts, and now the diff mount insert. The SQ5 had quite a lot of drivetrain slop from the factory, so these inserts have helped to reduce this.