New TDI Passat is Great, but What's This About Diesel Fume Particles?

[Buzy_Robot]

Just picked up my new 125TDI Passat and am very impressed with my new toy. It's certainly exceeded my expectations. Coming from Holden and Mazda, I can certainly vouch for the lift in quality and technological prowess.

However, I was taken aback this evening when I read the following article:

BBC News - Diesel fume particles 'could raise heart attack risks'

Surely this only applies to old diesel engines? My understanding is the the VW range of diesel vehicles all come with particulate filters, rendering this a moot point. I had a heart attack two years ago, but I find it hard to believe my new diesel Passat could be the death of me!

[jetfuel]

"For now our advice remains the same, people with heart disease should avoid spending long periods outside in areas where traffic pollution is likely to be high, such as on or near busy roads.

I picked up TDI yesterday and like you it exceeds my expectations. Its just the right compromise in a car. With new diesels all have particulate filters I wouldn't worry about driving one. Its more a problem in the open air in a city where there are a lot of cars emitting fumes.

[Greg Roles]

Sad to say but it's all part of pollution. Diesel particulates are yet another potential baddie, diesles do however produce less CO2, so perhaps that's a with with our beloved PM? Anyway I'm afraid all a particle filter does is trap the obvious sized soot particles - the ones you see coming out of old 4x4's for example, and hold them till they can be burnt down to a far smaller size. A DPF car will still emit diesel particulates, but as you don't see them, everyone is happy. Guess you don't want to hear how the current thinking is these microscopic particulates can potentially be FAR worse than the black soot of old, as the black stuff whilst ugly you tend to just cough back up, and it's theorised that the new microscopic variety can directly enter the bloodstream via your lungs. Lots of debate in Europe at the moment.

Still early days, but it's possible DPF's could be doing far more harm than good, but at least the air "looks" clear.

[Buzy_Robot]

Thank you gentlemen for your responses. What you are saying Greg is precisely what I've uncovered in my research last night. Indeed, I came across the federal government's Green Car Guide and the results reveal the complexity of the issue:

www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au

(10 is the highest score possible)

Petrol VW Passat: Greenhouse rating = 7 / Air Pollution rating = 7.5

Diesel VW Passat: Greenhouse rating = 7.5 / Air Pollution rating = 6

Petrol Mazda6 (my previous car): Greenhouse rating = 6 / Air Pollution = 6.5

Worse case scenario is I do a changeover to a 118TSI ..... Oh Brother!!!!

[Greg Roles]

To be honest mate, worring about it is probably more likely to cause you heart troubles!

[Buzy_Robot]

Yeah, you're probably right mate!

[dopey]

You're inside the car driving it, not hanging out the back where the exhaust is. Why worry?

[Greg Roles]

Run your car ventilation on recirculate in heavy traffic, I start the AC, put onto Recycle, and turn off AC, fan continues to blow recycled air - cuts down on pollution considerably for the traffic sections. You will get far more exposure to soot from other cars you follow than your own DPF equipped diesel.

[maxim]

Can't you remove the DPF? Probably not covered under warrantee, not sure about the law either. But don't they go better without them too? I think I read somewhere that, for the TDI Golfs at least, there is a replacement look a like?

[PassatB6]

Just picked up my new 125TDI Passat and am very impressed with my new toy. It's certainly exceeded my expectations. Coming from Holden and Mazda, I can certainly vouch for the lift in quality and technological prowess.

However, I was taken aback this evening when I read the following article:

BBC News - Diesel fume particles 'could raise heart attack risks'

Surely this only applies to old diesel engines? My understanding is the the VW range of diesel vehicles all come with particulate filters, rendering this a moot point. I had a heart attack two years ago, but I find it hard to believe my new diesel Passat could be the death of me!

You're overreacting for many reasons. Think about this, if diesel fumes were so bad for your heart half of Europe would be dying of diesel related heart attacks. In cities like Paris, you can smell the diesel in the air during the day. People exposed to more diesel fumes would show up as as a major heart attack group if it were true. They don't.In fact heart attack rates have gone down over the last ten years yet the number of diesel cars have gone up and genes, diet and exercise are a thousand times more important in causing heart attacks than diesel fumes where the link hasn't even been proven.

I think you should just sit back, accelerate hard and forget all about it.