Ignorance is bliss

Is that the stop/start everyone switches off immediately they start up?
The auto start-stop is deactivated during a regen cycle on the 6.1 Cali. It’s the easiest way to see regen is happening, plus the idle revs are slightly higher.

But in my humble opinion you’re right about turning off stop-start. If we are doing lots of short journeys I turn off the start-stop because the “best” way to get everything coated with diesel wax and soot is to let a warm engine get cold every couple of miles! I had issues with a diesel car and I took notes from my local independent garage and the lead technician mentioned this, along with the other tips around additives, Shell v-power and cleaning additives.
 
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Add me to the list of people that doesn’t turn off the stop/start. It’s nice not to pollute wherever I am while sat in traffic. There’s a tonne of research out there about what that does to children’s brain development, and of course lungs.

To the point of cold engine turning on and of, of course that’s inefficient and would pollute (and coke up) more. However, at least on the T6 150 Bluemotion it won’t do stop/start unless fully up to operating temp. Can’t comment on inferior models :)
 
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First thing I do is turn the stop start off, but then it’s hardly ever in commuter traffic despite doing 12,000 plus miles a year (not just used for holidays, it’s my daily when somewhere is too far to walk in reasonable time)
 
To be honest I do have my stop / start activated mainly because I just thought it helped save fuel and stopped unnecessary pollution but it's only since I started this thread i'm getting the strong impression it's not good for the diesel engine! However, it doesn't always happen when I stop at lights etc why is that? I could be wrong (I normally am) but I think it has a slash through the A sometimes if that makes sense! Cheers


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To be honest I do have my stop / start activated mainly because I just thought it helped save fuel and stopped unnecessary pollution but it's only since I started this thread i'm getting the strong impression it's not good for the diesel engine! However, it doesn't always happen when I stop at lights etc why is that? I could be wrong (I normally am) but I think it has a slash through the A sometimes if that makes sense! Cheers


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The van has to be up to temp and the battery voltage and other factors before the start/stop will activate.
 
I use an iPhone app ………… DPF FILTER FOR VAG…………. Combined with an old Carista it gives me full details of regen history and frequency which makes it a doddle to know when the next one is likely. If you want to know for sure if/when the regen takes place it is really useful.
 
The auto start-stop is deactivated during a regen cycle on the 6.1 Cali. It’s the easiest way to see regen is happening, plus the idle revs are slightly higher.

But in my humble opinion you’re right about turning off stop-start. If we are doing lots of short journeys I turn off the start-stop because the “best” way to get everything coated with diesel wax and soot is to let a warm engine get cold every couple of miles! I had issues with a diesel car and I took notes from my local independent garage and the lead technician mentioned this, along with the other tips around additives, Shell v-power and cleaning additives.
To be honest I do have my stop / start activated mainly because I just thought it helped save fuel and stopped unnecessary pollution but it's only since I started this thread i'm getting the strong impression it's not good for the diesel engine! However, it doesn't always happen when I stop at lights etc why is that? I could be wrong (I normally am) but I think it has a slash through the A sometimes if that makes sense! Cheers


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There are many factors that prevent Stop/Start.
Engine temp must be Normal.
Engine Battery 80% charged.
Power requirements from Headlights, Heated Seats or AirCon.
Trailer electrics plugged in.
Engine faults.
The system is a lot cleverer than people give it credit for.
 
I use an iPhone app ………… DPF FILTER FOR VAG…………. Combined with an old Carista it gives me full details of regen history and frequency which makes it a doddle to know when the next one is likely. If you want to know for sure if/when the regen takes place it is really useful.
Interesting. Questions - do you leave the Carista plugged in? Do you need an active Carista license? I have a Carista but only buy a license for a month if I want to look a code or change a setting ( not actually used it in yonks).
 
I thought you said Stop/Start stopped when doing a regen?
Yes, but you list lots of other factors that prevent start stop. And also, you need to be attentive to the ‘A’ symbol during your drive.

If you’re NOT doing mostly long runs, i.e. you’re doing short runs with an occasional longer run, making sure the regen cycle completes is quite important. The consequences of cutting it short can be ineffective DPF regeneration and adding diesel fuel to your sump.

Just saying, it would be handy to know what’s happening when you’re driving.
 
You can totally smell when it's regenerating, if you stop whilst it's in progress.

I've never understood the hatred of start/stop, it's not like it ruins your day having the engine switch off and then back on again.

We had lots of eml issues on our 1st Transporter, so ended up getting a small UP for short journeys. Best thing ever, wee Tsi, so much fun. As everyone else said, use your big van for longer journeys pretty regularly or you will have issues. The coil light is definitely egr/dpf things, I thought.
 
So from all the great information provided, it's becoming pretty obvious that it's a bad idea to use the van for short journeys. My quandary is that I can't always avoid it, we do have a run around but if the wife is using it then I have to opt for the van. Is it better not to use the van at all where we can and only use it when we do reasonable length journeys which would probably be only once a week? Also I'm going to buy some Wynn's additive, is it the DPF specific one that I need. Thanks in advance


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Short journeys kill modern diesels. Sad but true.
I've had my 20007 T5 for 10 or 11 years now, mostly used for short runs to the shops etc, and always filled with the fancy diesel. Not had a dpf or egr problem yet.l
 
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Interesting. Questions - do you leave the Carista plugged in? Do you need an active Carista license? I have a Carista but only buy a license for a month if I want to look a code or change a setting ( not actually used it in yonks).
Yes I do leave it plugged in and no I don’t have a subscription. It also usefully shows on the MFD
IMG_7455.jpegIMG_7456.jpeg
 
We drove back from Scotland today and I note that this regen was after 280 odd miles………. where as on short journeys it can be as low as 160 miles or so
 

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