[SDJ077]

@Jaynad
Welcome to the forum.
Whereabouts are you located?
You mentioned that the car is to be sent to Perth, but I can see (Moderator access) your IP address suggests western NSW?
Care to clarify?

Hi Steve,
We're in Gero - about 400km north of Perth. Not sure why the IP address would suggest western NSW?

 

[SDJ077]

Never heard of dpf's being faulty as such, the only reason it will go into limp mode (assuming that's what you are experiencing) is when it hasn't been given a chance to regenerate.
You normally would get a message before that.
How far is the dealer?
From what I think all it needs is a forced regen now

Thanks Singh. We've just had a diagnosis done and the mechanic reckons that the DPF needs to be replaced. We're not convinced - so we're taking it in to the VW dealer next week to get a forced regen done first to see if that sorts it out.

We do regular long distance trips as well as the local short distance runs, so am not sure why the DPF would get clogged so quickly.

 

[SDJ077]

Did the mechanic run a scan , get a readout of the ash levels, otherwise a regen will sort it out.

He said that he did a full scan, but hasn't mentioned anything about the ash levels. The VW dealership here were the first (and only) ones to mention getting a regeneration burn done first and they'll then scan it again after that. Hopefully that sorts it out.

 

[SDJ077]

run in "Sports mode" for 30-40 minutes to burn it out?

We were going to take it for a run with the revs over 2500 for about 40 minutes to see if that helps. Our main concern is that it doesn't have enough power to go up any hills at the moment and all the long stretches of road around us have some level of hilliness. But am going to give that a go this weekend.

 

[SDJ077]

Too late for that, when that light for dpf comes up don't turn the engine off but instead go for a hard run to clear it off.
If you turn off the engine then it will likely go into limp mode and forced regen is the only way...

As you indicated, the long drive in Sports mode didn't work. Forced regen booked in for the 16th June.

 

[SDJ077]

Without codes, and MVB data, we are all just guessing.
Get actual data in order to take the proper action\approach.
It's a young vehicle, so DPF requiring replacement is very unlikely (unless ofcourse, I'm the guy selling you the DPF and I want to buy some nice stuff with my profits)
It's more than likely one of the many supporting components that's failed (read an EGT sensor, pressure sensor, other supporting system component) which has cause the otherwise "autonomous" active regens to take place.
Once you isolate the issue, you can address it.

A proper tool like VCDS could tell you when your last regen happened, how many attempted\requested\interrupted regens have taken place, distance and time between successful ones, etc.... not to mention soot and ash load readings.

You can either insist on a proper diagnostic to get all these answers, or you can throw expensive parts at it based on the "claims" of those who will make $$$ off your part chucking escapade.

We don't have a VCDS at the moment. The fault codes according to the mechanic are:

• P2463
• P2196
• P2002

We've got no idea what they mean specifically aside from what the mechanic told us.

 

[SDJ077]

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice - much appreciated. We just got the report back from the dealer's diagnosis. Basically they're stating that the issue is the G31 mass air flow (maf) sensor, which is malfunctioning and not telling the DPF to regenerate when it needs to. So, they're going to be replacing the MAF sensor and then doing a forced regeneration. They reckon that will solve the issue.

 

[SDJ077]

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. We got the MAF sensor replaced and the forced regen done earlier this week. The car seems to be working fine now. Best of all, it was covered under the extended warranty - which was awesome.