Does Anyone Have A Diesel With A Particle Regeneration Filter And Have No Problems?

[Rodge2]

My lovely 12 month old Volvo V50 D3 has gone into the dealer for the second time with this blocked. The first time at 7 months old, they said nothing could be found wrong but the car that was driven into their premises in 'limp-mode' came back perfect.

This time the problem is less severe but troublesome nevertheless, periods of intense jerking and rough running, never knowing if you are going to be able to move swiftly enough onto the roudabout etc.

Nothing whatsoever has ever been said to me about this technology, no instructions about its management, no warnings about it being unsuitable for light-users and all that I know has been gleaned on the internet since last Thursday. I hope they are not going to have the cheek to charge me.

Has anyone got one of these and finds it trouble free?

[bhg481]

I've had a V70 D5 for 5 years and 110,000 miles and had no problem at all with the particle filter, most likely because I don't do short trips.
My handbook (have you read yours?) certainly has a reference to the particle filter, which regenerates automatically every 300-900Km. It warns you that in cold weather or if you do a lot of short trips the particle filter may not regenerate as the exhaust does not get hot enough to burn off the particles.

[Rodge2]

Thanks bhg. At least it lets me know that it is workable if I go out and drive about with the sole intention of clearing it. I have read the manual, but I didn't receive it until I'd already bought the car.

[bhg481]

Just out of interest you can download a manual from Volvo cars' website - I find it much more convenient to search it than the paper manual that came with the car. For example, the bit about particle filters is on page 89 of the online manual for the 2012 V50. Go to
http://www.volvocars.com/uk/sales-services/services/owners-information/v50/Pages/v50-my12.aspx
and choose your model-year.

[Rodge2]

Thanks. They've just rung me and told me I need to run it on the motorway twice a week at 70 mph on cruise control for 30 minutes each time. As I never go on the motorway this car much as I love it, is becoming a worry. I wasn't told this when I bought it.

[bhg481]

I think they're going a bit over the top there, compared with what the handbook says. At their rate you're doing 3000 miles a year just cleaning the filter. I'd suggest that every 1000 miles or so you shop in a different town about 20 miles away just to give the exhaust time to get sufficiently hot to clear the filter.
I think most diesels now have a particle filter, so changing to a different brand probably won't help. It doesn't sound like you do a lot of miles per year, so maybe a petrol engine would have been a better option for you.

[Zeuhl]

Just out of interest...

why would you buy a diesel vehicle when you are a 'light user'?

It doesn't make any economic sense to begin with - compounded if you have to take it on trips which have no purpose other than clearing out a filter

[SirOracle]

Have you tried the " volvo owners club.org.uk".?
A very useful site which I have found to be extremely
helpful to me on a few occasions. It is free to join.

[ToraToraTora]

That's why I won't touch diesel with a barge pole, noisy, smelly and nothing but agro, leave it for trucks and tractors. The "technology" is mainly to adhere to emmissions regs and costs a bomb if it goes wrong.

[tonyav]

The "technology" is mainly to adhere to emmissions regs and costs a bomb if it goes wrong.


And so do petrol powered engines !.

[Rodge2]

@ zeuhl - Obviously I didn't know there was a problem or I wouldn't have got it. The salesman never asked me anything about how far and fast I drive. I researched the car very thoroughly but sods law was that I just missed this issue as I concentrated on the make and model and it appeared to get very good crits.

The dealer regenerated the filter, free of charge to be fair, and I drove it quite literally 2 minutes down the road and it started jerking again worse than before. They now say they think it has an 'underlying fault'. But the issue of the car being unsuitable for my needs is clearly a time bomb.

[ToraToraTora]

tony, who's talking about engines? I'm talking about all the unnecessary gubbins that diesels have, filters etc, special fluid (elyos fluid??) and maintenance regimes etc etc that is only there to make it clean enough to be acceptable. When that goes the engine management light is on and the car limps.

[EDDIE51]

I have a Vauxhall 7 seater Zafira1.7 Eco Diesel and no problems at all.
You would not know it was a diesel unless you looked at the name plate. Starts instantly first time every time, very quite ( you can hardly hear the engine at 60 mph) no smoke, and 60 to 75mpg. mainly around town and within 50 miles of home but I do over 12,000 miles a year.
I was nervous before I got it as I had never had a diesel or even driven one before, but I will never go back to a petrol car now. I was expecting to have to heat up the glow plugs before you could start the car but no you just turn the key and off it goes even in freezing weather. Has NEVER failed to start on the first turn of the key and never missed a beat. Yes it does have a particle regeneration filter but if it blocks it has an automatic 'self clean' system , not that I have ever needed to use it.

[EDDIE51]

T T T a senior service engineer for Volvo Construction Vehicles told me this to illustrate how clean the latest Eco diesel engines now are.
If you take the amount of pollution from a 1960s /70s diesel as being represented by a normal size living room, then the amount from a 1990s / 2000s diesel is represented by an office desk, the pollution from the latest 'Common rail' Eco diesels is represented by a lap top computer.
Over 5,000 times less than 40 years ago !

[ELVIS68]

My Nissan Navara went into 'limp mode' a while ago, I rang my mechanic and he said to give it a good hammering in every gear to clear it out, it worked fine after that