Warning Light: Emissions- relevant fault

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

I have a Oct 22 Ocean, today a yellow warning light came on which the manual tells me is 'emissions-relevant fault'

Any ideas what to do?

 

[WelshGas]

I have a Oct 22 Ocean, today a yellow warning light came on which the manual tells me is 'emissions-relevant fault'

Any ideas what to do?

How many miles and what sort of driving/milage per journey?

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

Mileage is low, less than 4k.

Generally use for a few trips away so far and daily for a very short commute to work (couple of miles).

Today was the longest run in a while about 120 miles.

Thanks

 

[WelshGas]

Mileage is low, less than 4k.

Generally use for a few trips away so far and daily for a very short commute to work (couple of miles).

Today was the longest run in a while about 120 miles.

Thanks

Diesels don't like short runs as they are unable to complete a DPF, Diesel Particulate Filter, regeneration to burn off the accumulated particulates. I would suggest you use VW Assistance, part of your 3 yr warranty. This is run by the AA, you should have the contact number. Phone them and ask for a VW Assistance Technician, not the normal AA technician. They can read the codes and if it is the DPF force a regeneration. If it is not the DPF then they have priority access to the local VW Dealership.

For a DPF regeneration to take place automatically the vehicle should have in excess of a 1/4 tank of fuel, be upto temperature and with at least 20 minutes running with revs in excess of 2000/min.Failure to regenerate the DPF will mean the DPF fills up with particulate matter and gets to a point where it cannot regenerate and has to be replaced at a cost of £1500 + and it will not be covered by warranty.

 

[Kayleigh]

For a DPF regeneration to take place automatically the vehicle should have in excess of a 1/4 tank of fuel, be upto temperature and with at least 20 minutes running with revs in excess of 2000/min.

Our T6 will perform the automatic DPF regeneration even when driving at relatively low speeds with stops and starts at traffic lights etc. If it starts the process while driving around town, which is quite normal for us in London, I just let it complete when parked up before turning the engine off. It easy to tell when complete as the revs drop back down again. Maybe the OP is not letting this happen on short trips.

I thought your instructions applied when the DPF warning light is on. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

Thanks for the responses. So taking the van for a longer run won't sort the problem now? I need a technician to reset the light, is that correct

 

[WelshGas]

Our T6 will perform the automatic DPF regeneration even when driving at relatively low speeds with stops and starts at traffic lights etc. If it starts the process while driving around town, which is quite normal for us in London, I just let it complete when parked up before turning the engine off. It easy to tell when complete as the revs drop back down again. Maybe the OP is not letting this happen on short trips.

I thought your instructions applied when the DPF warning light is on. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

There seems to be a difference in when regenerations take place between the different engines. I am never able to detect when a regeneration takes place. T6 owners mention the rev rise and engine fans full on . T6.1 , seeing as it uses more Adblue might be different.

If you check the conditions when you believe a regeneration has started you will probably find you have over 1/4 tank of fuel and the car has to be upto temperature to trigger the regeneration, once started it should complete unless the ignition is switched off.
How long you have to drive for and what revs will vary each time until the vehicle is happy conditions are met for a regeneration to start.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks for the responses. So taking the van for a longer run won't sort the problem now? I need a technician to reset the light, is that correct

I don't know. Depends on what the Diagnostic Codes show. If they are DPF related then a long run and allowing a regeneration to complete will fix it.

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

I don't know. Depends on what the Diagnostic Codes show. If they are DPF related then a long run and allowing a regeneration to complete will fix it.

OK thanks, worth a try first then

 

[Viktorgeorge]

Not sure if this helps, I am am a novice on this subject, but I have recently bought a Carista off Amazon for £24.99 (current price, was more expensive previously) after a few mods (such as below) I cancelled the subscription which - I believe but have not yet tried it - leaves me still able to check the state of my DPF and start a regeneration for example before a longer journey.

 

[Kayleigh]

I don't know. Depends on what the Diagnostic Codes show. If they are DPF related then a long run and allowing a regeneration to complete will fix it.

To add to this, it could of course be a faulty DPF sensor, which a dealer can diagnose. As a first step I would try the VW recommendation on the link below, which is what @WelshGas suggested. I would try and use a dual carriageway/motorway if possible where you can keep the rev range constant by selecting manual mode.
Once the regen has started it should complete while the engine is running, so the key is to trigger it. If the light doesn’t go out I would head to a VW dealer for advice.
How to know if the regen has started (on a T6, not sure about 6.1):
1. Start/Stop does not operate. Aircon can also prevent this, so keep that off.
2. Tick over revs are about 1000rpm
3. Vehicle fan can be heard working hard.
4. MPG will decrease, so reset that before you head out.

Diesel Particulate Filter Warning Light | Volkswagen UK

Find out what diesel particulate filter warning lights mean & the action required by you. Explore more about diesel particulate filter warning lights.

www.volkswagen.co.uk

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

I tried the run and it didn't work.

Could have got AA almost straight away, have followed @WelshGas advice and booked a 'VW assistance tech' for tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all the advice and I will post an update

 

[Perfectos]

Yellow warning are exactly that , a warning.

if the Light turns red you have got an issue !

as said above :
Take the Van for a run, 1/4 tank of fuel min , drive it hard, ideally A road dual carriageway where you will not need to stop. (Speed is irrelevant , revs matter more)
turn the start stop off
keep engine revs above 2K (after initial warm up) should take no more than 20 minutes for a full regen (when the engine has warmed up)
use the manual mode to keep revs artificially high and use engine breaking (gears) when slowing down to increase back pressure and help clear the DPF.

you can monitor when the van is in Regen, by using a plug in Volt meter in the front dash cigarette lighter, when the van goes into Reg the Volts rise to 15.2 V for the duration of the Regen, then drop back to 12.4 - 13.6 v when the regen is complete (depending on starting Voltage / state of starter & leisure battery charge)

edit; just seen your update

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

Firstly thanks to @WelshGas and others for the advice.

The fix (as I had done the long runout yesterday) was a software update from the VW technician, the problem was the DPF and the light didn't go out until he did the software update, which apparently would have required a visit to the dealer at some point as it was 'field campaign' so that saved me a job.

His advice going forward is that I don't switch of the engine if the regen is happening as I pull up on driveway, every day is a school day. As pointed out by @Kayleigh in their post.

Very impressed with the service from VW assist.

 

[Elmo3]

An Italian tune up every now and again will help prevent issues.

 

[Resfeber]

An Italian tune up every now and again will help prevent issues.

AKA drive it like you stole it or for those more mechanically sympathetic, if you find you have parked, switched off and interrupted a regeneration, restart and drive about with the gearbox in 3rd or 4th or dsg held in manual 3 or 4 to keep revs around 2500.

I’m finding that the regens are completing in under 10 mins with this method in my T6 150 bhp. I use it every other day but trips are only 10 miles so.
When it throws a regen 10 miles of normal driving isn’t quite enough to complete a regen.The regens seem to be on about 2 hrs of engine runtime in this type of driving so about every 5th trip.
I was finding that I was parking at work with an interrupted regen (hovercraft mode) and then on the return 7 hrs later parking at home with regen interrupted again.

With the above method I can guarantee that an interrupted regen completes next drive.

Never had an emissions warning yet in 4.5 years use

 

[B J G]

Firstly thanks to @WelshGas and others for the advice.

The fix (as I had done the long runout yesterday) was a software update from the VW technician, the problem was the DPF and the light didn't go out until he did the software update, which apparently would have required a visit to the dealer at some point as it was 'field campaign' so that saved me a job.

His advice going forward is that I don't switch of the engine if the regen is happening as I pull up on driveway, every day is a school day. As pointed out by @Kayleigh in their post.

Very impressed with the service from VW assist.

From trying the wait for the regen to complete be prepared for a long wait as it may only just have started the regen process.
My experience has been that when switching off with it running the regen it will complete the process when engine next switched on. Not much heat or gas flow to assist the regen when sitting idling.

 

[WillSS]

For those that aren’t aware there‘s a free android app called ‘VAGDPF’ downloadable from the google play store which when paired with a cheapo bluetooth OBDII scanner (left permanently plugged in) will give you real time ‘graphical’ information on what’s going on with your dpf regenerations. (Yes all this information can be pulled from Carly/VCDS etc but you have to go looking for all the relevant data and not very practical when driving!)

Takes all the guesswork out of it and you very quickly see the pattern for how the regenerations work and more importantly when you either need to extend your journey or actively go for a dual carriageway spin to let the regen finish. Can’t recommend it enough for removing all dpf related stress!. If you’re Apple IOS just dig out an old android phone from your kitchen drawer and leave it permanently in the van just for the vagdpf app (no sim required)

I use the VGATE obd2 but loads of choices out there

Amazon.co.uk

a few snapshots from the app…

 

[WelshGas]

For those that aren’t aware there‘s a free android app called ‘VAGDPF’ downloadable from the google play store which when paired with a cheapo bluetooth OBDII scanner (left permanently plugged in) will give you real time ‘graphical’ information on what’s going on with your dpf regenerations. (Yes all this information can be pulled from Carly/VCDS etc but you have to go looking for all the relevant data and not very practical when driving!)

Takes all the guesswork out of it and you very quickly see the pattern for how the regenerations work and more importantly when you either need to extend your journey or actively go for a dual carriageway spin to let the regen finish. Can’t recommend it enough for removing all dpf related stress!. If you’re Apple IOS just dig out an old android phone from your kitchen drawer and leave it permanently in the van just for the vagdpf app (no sim required)

I use the VGATE obd2 but loads of choices out there

Amazon.co.uk

a few snapshots from the app…
View attachment 109163View attachment 109164

No longer free £4.19 .

 

[WillSS]

No longer free £4.19 .

I reckon most California owners can stump that up

 

[WelshGas]

I reckon most California owners can stump that up

Judging by some posts I'm not so sure.