A3 1.9 TDIe 2007 DPF warning light

[PeteA3]

Mine came on this evening on the way home from the gym. I read past posts about high replacement prices and almost cried. I decided to go out and rag the **** out of it until the thing gave up trying to scam more money out of me (recently payed 833 for a service, rear brake pads and discs at audi). Although i dont suggest you "rag it", i do suggest you do the recommended "drive for 10mins at 2,000rpm in 4th or 5th" as this worked for me, and the light went off.. 13 miles later :) I DO suggest you ignore when it says to change up a gear because it almost always leaves you at about 1,200rpm which obviously after a while clogs the DPF as i found out and the manual actually states not to drive below 1,500rpm. Im going to change my driving style now onwards and leave it a little longer before changing up. I hope this helps someone!

[alankru]

Thanks for the advice Pete. I have wondered that it must be a fine balance between MPG and not clogging the DPF!

[PeteA3]

Yeah it really must be a fine line as iv only had the car about 3weeks! Im certain it will clog again some time because i dont drive on the motor way, but surely if i act promptly and regenerate it myself it wont cause any harm. I think the harm comes when people ignore it etc.

[alankru]

Yes, I would assume that there is only a certain amount of regeneration that is possible before it gets saturated...I don't know for sure.

I know of 2 people that have had the light come on and before they have been able to regenerate it manually the car has gone into limp mode.

[alankru]

Hi Pete,

Do you do a lot of short journeys? I am just interested to find out because if I got a new A3 it would probably have a DPF and so I would like to know what would be best for it.

Thanks.

[Samperry87]

Hi Pete,

I am having the same problem with my A4 2.0tdi Cabriolet. It tends to happen twice a week on average even if I am doing motorway miles. I have already replaced my previous A4 Cab after 5 weeks due to this problem. The garage told me I must have bought a bad egg and this wouldn't happen again if I was to exchange. Liars....