[miketod]

Hi guys,
Has anyone experienced his DPF pollution indicator to start flashing?
Yesterday mine started on MY10 diesel engine.
In has happened in the past the indicator to light on but after 20 min driving at 60 km/h, it usually turned off. This time less than 5 min. after it initially turned on, it started flashing and although I rum more than 50 km it did not turn off. I should go the dealer next week but would really appreciate if someone has already experienced similar situation.

 

[dpm]

Nope, no sign of such issues. But flashing warning light can mean regeneration failure, DPF physical failure, or failure to have reset the oil dilution counter. We'd know better if any fault codes were logged...

 

[FPT_RAIDER]

in larger trucks DPF's need to go into whats called regen, its where diesel is dumped into the exhuast and the DPF heats up somestime over a 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and burns all the soot off, now im not sure if this is how the subaru DPF works, but if it is then you would have to go to the dealer,because for the most part it is something that needs to be run with a OEM scan tool

 

[fsonic]

I agree you should go to dealer.
So far, I 've had no problem with DPF (15,000 Km).
Anyway, according to the supplementary leaflet for "Forester Boxer diesel" I was given by dealer in summer, there are some driving conditions that make DPF's life difficult (too much soot): running all the time at 15 Km/h (9 mph/h) or less, pulling away immediately (no idle first), driving only for short distances, too much idle. You believe you fall in any of the "categories"?

 

[miketod]

I agree you should go to dealer.
So far, I 've had no problem with DPF (15,000 Km).
Anyway, according to the supplementary leaflet for "Forester Boxer diesel" I was given by dealer in summer, there are some driving conditions that make DPF's life difficult (too much soot): running all the time at 15 Km/h (9 mph/h) or less, pulling away immediately (no idle first), driving only for short distances, too much idle. You believe you fall in any of the "categories"?

Probably I am in the "driving for short distances" situation. Also I've read in the net that the temperature could be a factor as well. For the last week we had at average -7 C here in Sofia.
Anyway tomorrow I hope to solve the issue at the dealer. Today another two indicators went on (the one for engine check and ESP). A friend of mine (who is car technical advisor for Peugeot) told me that this means since DPF can not recycle itself it forces the engine to be in something like a "safe mode". Being in "safe mode" the engine can not control ESP therefore it is switched off.
I will let you know tomorrow what the dealer will say..

 

[Janspeed]

(RTFM)The info is in the MANUAL, all explained there. :biggrin:

 

[miketod]

(RTFM)The info is in the MANUAL, all explained there. :biggrin:

well, it's too general in the manual.

 

[Janspeed]

well, it's too general in the manual.

Even my quick reference guide advises on what to do if the DPF light comes on.

It usually comes on when you drive a lot in the city or too fast.
The car performs the regeneration cycle every 'x' miles anyway, but sometimes it is just not enough.

If I'm not mistaken it says that you should drive at a constant speed (60 kph) for about 5 or 10 minutes (or something of the sorts) and then the light should go out, either while driving or by stopping it and starting again.

 

[miketod]

Even my quick reference guide advises on what to do if the DPF light comes on.

It usually comes on when you drive a lot in the city or too fast.
The car performs the regeneration cycle every 'x' miles anyway, but sometimes it is just not enough.

If I'm not mistaken it says that you should drive at a constant speed (60 kph) for about 5 or 10 minutes (or something of the sorts) and then the light should go out, either while driving or by stopping it and starting again.

That's absolutely true. Unfortunately the above description relates to the cases where the indicator is only on without flashing. If it is flashing /my case/ the car cannot itself recycle and needs some manual intervention /it's even recommendable in the manual/.
I went to the dealer on Monday. The intervention was to software boost the turbo charger and keeps the car at app. 3,500 rpm for about 20 min. Then everything was ok /apart from the lost fuel :icon_biggrin:.

 

[Janspeed]

That's absolutely true. Unfortunately the above description relates to the cases where the indicator is only on without flashing. If it is flashing /my case/ the car cannot itself recycle and needs some manual intervention /it's even recommendable in the manual/.
I went to the dealer on Monday. The intervention was to software boost the turbo charger and keeps the car at app. 3,500 rpm for about 20 min. Then everything was ok /apart from the lost fuel :icon_biggrin:.

Well it is good to know that all was sorted out.

If that happens now I know.

 

[CIP]

Problem with DPF

Hi, I am 5 months Subaru Forester with 14500 km, last week on vacation in Italy discovered the problem with flashing DPF. I called Subaru Assistance, which took me to the service. The service performed DPF regeneration. The guarantee is not to say so I had to pay 108 Euro. It's really strange, because regeneration is itself being carried on long journeys. I am disappointed in it, it's my second car with a DPF, but the first to have problems with Subaru. On Thursday I go to 1 guarantee a tour, so I wonder what he will say. Do you have anyone similar experiences? Not the only problem with Subaru? I did not buy a new car, I had problems. My old Skoda Octavia with 200 000 km should not malfunction because of that I had on the way to service. I wonder jsetli I made a mistake when buying Diesl with DPF.:

 

[jevel]

Oops... Wrong thread.

-KJ

 

[bokiv]

Hi,
i am having the same problem with DPF filter (almost 2 years), first i the DPF light turns on after a period of time start flashing and then my Forester goes to safe mode. Local dealer changed DPF filter but with not results. When i went to service they are making force regeneration and then its ok for the next couple of months but after that again the some problem. It is strange that sometimes the regeneration is working ok (2 times for the past two years). Also i can noticed for the past 3 months the DPF light immediately start flashing and after a short period of time goes into safe mode. If anyone knows what should i do please help me, because i 2 year are behind from my guarantee only 1 year left


Regards
Bojan

 

[JMess]

Question for those with a technical bent: Our Forester diesel lit the DPF warning light on the dash this morning for the first time. This happens to coincide with me noticing yesterday arvo/evening that the turbo response was really poor.

By this, I mean that there is a significant turbo lag between gears and the good old torque rush that we usually get from 1500 rpm upwards would not show itself until after 2000 rpm.

I wonder whether a DPF that's loaded enough to activate the dash warning light could be affecting the driven end of the turbo (restricting the flow of exhaust gases to the turbo), resulting in more lag and less boost overall. The turbo on the diesel forester is mounted at the outlet of the DPF.

On one gentle hill where the road goes from 80kph to 100kph, I usually just roll it on in 6th and it easily lopes up to 100. Yesterday, I mashed the throttle to the carpet in 6th and it just would not go past 90kph. The low end torque was missing in action.

I'll take it for a blatt on the highway this evening to regen the DPF and if the DPf is causing the problem, all should be back to normal. If this is not the case, I'll have to take it to the dealership to have it sorted.

Any thoughts?

 

[dpm]

DPF/cat are post-turbo.

Not just will a blocked DPF affect performance, but the computer may also choose to go to a limp-mode.
Give it a good thrash for a bit, if the light doesn't go off then it's dealer time or at least have someone scan for codes and I'll attempt to help from there..

 

[Ricker]

What was the outcome JMess? I just ordered a Subaru diesel myself, and I only drive 8 minutes to work. 5 of which is at 60 and the other 2-3 is at 100. So I hope this is going to be enough to get the DPF hot enough to burn of the soot. The dealer told me the car just has to get up to temperature and then it'll burn it all off and everything is ok. Every weekend, i'd usually do a beach run which involves 30 minutes of 90 km driving. So that should help to

 

[JJ68]

Question for those with a technical bent: Our Forester diesel lit the DPF warning light on the dash this morning for the first time. This happens to coincide with me noticing yesterday arvo/evening that the turbo response was really poor.

By this, I mean that there is a significant turbo lag between gears and the good old torque rush that we usually get from 1500 rpm upwards would not show itself until after 2000 rpm.

I wonder whether a DPF that's loaded enough to activate the dash warning light could be affecting the driven end of the turbo (restricting the flow of exhaust gases to the turbo), resulting in more lag and less boost overall. The turbo on the diesel forester is mounted at the outlet of the DPF.

On one gentle hill where the road goes from 80kph to 100kph, I usually just roll it on in 6th and it easily lopes up to 100. Yesterday, I mashed the throttle to the carpet in 6th and it just would not go past 90kph. The low end torque was missing in action.

I'll take it for a blatt on the highway this evening to regen the DPF and if the DPf is causing the problem, all should be back to normal. If this is not the case, I'll have to take it to the dealership to have it sorted.

Any thoughts?

This sounds very much like the issue I had for months - the lack of power. No lights on the dash tho. Subaru Nordic thought it could be related the DPF trying to clean itself, as that will lower the overall power of the car while it works.
Problem as I see it was, it was doing this on a daily basis now. That can't be normal.

Eventually, after about 3 months, the dashboard lamp for the DPF started to blink, but before I could get out on the highway (5 min away) both the engine and dvc lamp lit.
Turns out, a sensor for the DPF was bad. Probably had been the whole time.
DPF thought it was full, even tho it was only 5-15% full, so started to clean out stuff that wasn't there.
Sensor replaced, and all has been perfect again for the last month.

 

[PaulOC]

OK, I have just had my first problem.at 5000 km.

I drive 50 km to work and 50 km back home each day. Most of the run is at between 120 and 130 km/h on the freeway, with the last 2 kilometers coming in to the city.

My light started flashing without doing the first bit where you are just supposed to burn it off for 15 minutes. I managed to clear it initially, then it came on again, at which time I took it in and they cleared it for me at the workshop. within 150 km it was on again, and then finally went into limp mode about 2 km from the garage.

A diagnostic then found that the oil had become polluted, or whatever it does, so they did the first service at 5500km. It has been fine since then, but the factory rep said that I was driving too gently, and I must no longer use 6th gear and also not to change gear below 3500 rpm.

I've done that and there is a small difference in fuel consumption, (from 6.8 l/100 to 7l/100) and all seems fine, and I have now done 9600 km.

My question is....why would they produce an engine system that has to be driven as hard as possible? Particularly on a diesel, where it is usually bought BECAUSE you can drive it gently...?

 

[sozxtc]

"...not to change gear below 3500rpm." ???? That sounds excessive. From other posts the recommendation was 2000rpm which feels more reasonable.

Irrespective of that, Subaru still needs to step up to the plate and admit there is an issue. I took a diesel for a test drive on the weekend and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it (currently in a 09 XT AT). There was no mention or caveats at any point however, that the car needed to driven in a particular manner.

 

[PaulOC]

"...not to change gear below 3500rpm." ???? That sounds excessive. From other posts the recommendation was 2000rpm which feels more reasonable.

Irrespective of that, Subaru still needs to step up to the plate and admit there is an issue. I took a diesel for a test drive on the weekend and surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it (currently in a 09 XT AT). There was no mention or caveats at any point however, that the car needed to driven in a particular manner.

I fully agree with you! It makes absolutely no sense that a car should HAVE to be driven hard in order for one of the components to work correctly! I just wish that we could get a definitive answer from Subaru on this count.:shrug: