[turnbulltj]

Love the car, hate the DPF. I am having to force a regen every 2 weeks by driving 20 miles up the motorway in fourth gear at 60mph. How is this enviro friendly ?? Fan stays on after ignition switched off, followed very shortly by the DPF light and here we go again . . . . . . . . . .

My wife does about 30 miles per day, not constant, but more urban, and any extra that I may do, which is minimal. The latest is the DPF light will not switch off, so recovered by RAC into garage as Dealer said car was not driveable for fear of causing any further damage. Now driving a nice Auto VW Sharan which has been hired for us by RAC.

Anyone else had or having similar DPF issues? Car is going in Feb, having the new Vauxhall Antara 4 x 4 Auto Exclusive.

 

[bopeep]

Had mine nearly two years never had the light come on, something could be amiss.

 

[kevinhiatt]

I think that the problem we are having with the DPF is not so much the vehicle as our driving now as for short journeys petrol would be better now as before DPF was fitted Diesel was the better choice. This DPF is causing problems with many other makes and going for the Antara which looks a nice vehiclecould have the same issues if it Diesel and its a General Motors Vehicle. The Engine fitted to the Orlando I don't know if its right or not but its made in Italy for General Motors by Hyundi I was led to believe from an outside source. The Engine itself really goes extremely well and you would not think it was a Diesel you were driving the only other Diesel which I came across which frightened the life out of me was the Citroen ZX which I once borrowed from a garage when my car was being repaired.

 

[Aussie Ed]

Had mine nearly two years never had the light come on, something could be amiss.

Possibly nothing wrong Bopeep, your driving habit may well be keeping the DPF clean by normal running cleansing, plus your warmer climate keeps exhaust warmer which is required to clean DPF. The dash light only comes on when forced regeneration is necessary. If vehicle running well then you are fortunate your DPF is operating well without intervention.

 

[bopeep]

I must admit that I do not do many short journeys in it, I either tow my caravan long distances or like this Wednesday will be driving to the UK in it and then back in the new year.

I have another car for just driving local

 

[robin61]

I must admit that these DPF issues are putting me off the Orlando. I really like the car and have been considering one for my next purchase. we do a lot of town driving and have previously had 2 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso's - no issues at all. A friend of mine drives a Hyundai diesel and also does a lot of town driving with no issues.
I realise I could buy a petrol car but I want an automatic as well and I reckon the fuel economy would be pretty poor ?hence the desire for a diesel.

Do you guys think the Orlando's are more prone to these issues than other cars ?

 

[cravensmythe]

I personally dont think these suffer more than others, I found equally tales of horror for the dpf and also people who claim no problems for just about every diesel I looked at before buying the orlando.

We have done 4000 miles in ours now mainly of the 7 miles into town then 7 miles back variety with a 25mile run each weekend with the family and so far no light has come on. We have been able to tell when it has done the regens as you get the burning smell and fan staying on. I have also kept checking the oil to see if it has been going up but it has stayed the same.

My boss at work does motorway miles everyday in his Audi A6 and I wouldnt have expected him to ever see the dpf light but his comes on often.

I have seen a lot of DPF problems mentioned on vauxhall forums as well



Edited by: cravensmythe

 

[Taffy222]

Never had the DPF light come on in the 4 months we've had ours and we do a lot of town driving with a smattering of long distance (ie 1 hour of motorway) a couple of times a month. I have had the fan come on after engine switch off 2 or 3 times though!

 

[ianlg8]

Is it possible to just stay stationary with the car in park mode or neutral & put your foot on gas up to 4000 rpm for 10 minutes. Will that regenerate?

 

[Aussie Ed]

Probably not! Regeneration takes 20 minutes or possibly more. 4,000rpm is probably unnecessarily high anyway. Try it and see - hope your neighbours are out of earshot.

 

[ianlg8]

Hi, I have read that you can completely remove DPF of the diesel Orlando so you don't get that problem for someone like me who have short journeys everyday (less than 5 miles per day)

Is this a recommended solution? Will it affect MOT & insurance? I'm planning on getting the Orlando.

 

[andyjones_98]

For the miles you do, and you're driving style you've described, you're going to be financially better off with the Petrol version.

As a rule of thumb, you need to be doing more than 15,000miles a year to make a diesel 'better value' than a petrol, taking in to account the higher purchase price of the diesel car, higher fuel price of diesel, and then better fuel-ecomony of the diesel.

If you're not bothered about the slowness of the petrol, compared to the diesel, then go for the petrol.

I've got the diesel LTZ version, and am very impressed to be honest, with both the MPG (although not fantastic, it's Ok for a car of this size) and the drivability. But then again, I do 18-20k a year, and am quite a 'sporty' driver!

 

[ianlg8]

For the miles you do, and you're driving style you've described, you're going to be financially better off with the Petrol version.

As a rule of thumb, you need to be doing more than 15,000miles a year to make a diesel 'better value' than a petrol, taking in to account the higher purchase price of the diesel car, higher fuel price of diesel, and then better fuel-ecomony of the diesel.

If you're not bothered about the slowness of the petrol, compared to the diesel, then go for the petrol.

I've got the diesel LTZ version, and am very impressed to be honest, with both the MPG (although not fantastic, it's Ok for a car of this size) and the drivability. But then again, I do 18-20k a year, and am quite a 'sporty' driver!

Hey Andy,

Thanks for your reply. Now I just need to test drive the petrol version so I can see if it will be fine. I'm just worried because all the reviews say stay away from the petrol version.

 

[andyjones_98]

That's mainly due to the much better performance of the diesel, in terms of 'umph'!

But you need to weigh up the extra-costs associated with it, against you're needs and driving habits etc.

I was lucky, and managed to pick up my auto-diesel as an ex-demonstrator, with only 50-miles on the clock for £7.5k less than the list price, so making it alot cheaper than a petrol version!

Doing the miles I do, 25-mile commute each-way, the DPF wasn't a concern.

 

[ianlg8]

Would you say the petrol Orlando is similar to drive with my wifes auto nissan micra? Hopefully its not that bad to drive as the reviews on it.

 

[pmbbiggsy]

Fiat/Vauxhall/Saab use similar diesel engines so have a particular problem with the DPF - too far down the exhaust away from the engine/exhaust manifold - so doesn't get hot enough in normal use - a relative of mine has a Zafira that does a forced re-gen every 500 - 600 miles. If the Orlando uses a similar system, then expect regular re-gens. My previous car was a Dodge Journey with a 2.0 VW TDi - the combined cat/DPF is right next to the exhaust manifold - after over 3 years of and 42,000 miles it never did a forced re-gen even once! I let you know how I get on with my Orlando which has just over 300 miles on the clock so far.

 

[andyjones_98]

10-months of ownership, and not a single re-gen that I'm aware of........ but then as per my previous posts, I do that kind of driving that is conducive with not having to do a re-gen.......

 

[pmbbiggsy]

That's good! You'd certainly be aware if a forced re-gen was taking place due to the DPF warning light!

 

[Aussie Ed]

Fiat/Vauxhall/Saab use similar diesel engines so have a particular problem with the DPF - too far down the exhaust away from the engine/exhaust manifold - so doesn't get hot enough in normal use

I've been considering thermal exhaust wrap to reduce the cooling effect, especially after last winter!

 

[Swampey]

Hi all

DPF issues is nothing newwith many modern diesel cars, considering that car makers are producing more diesels compared to petrol's vehicles.then you got the sales men not asking the right questions when ppl purchase a vehicle..ie the usage,

This filter system was bound to be problematic.. I have a C4 grand Picasso and yes I've had the DPF light come on, way around it I've found is Wynn's diesel particulate filter cleaner... seems to work quite well.


I certainly am looking to purchase a nearly new Orlando, not impress what the reviews about the petrol version, runs like a dog from what I've read, maybe 1a 1.8 is a tad under powered for the size of vehicle.. so maybe opting for the diesel is the better option for me