DPF clogged at high altitude in South America - have VCDS and considering Carista

chris ratay

World Traveler: 2023 T6.1 Ocean 204 w diff lock
VIP Member
T6 Pro
Short Version:
Drove from sea level to 3100m up a very twisty road. Then made several short drives at around 3300m.

Next day entered Cotopaxi at 3500m, and soon regen light came on. Foolishly we climbed even higher and made several scenic stops, including turning off the engine.
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On the descend the dashboard lit up and we lost power. Tried to connect the VCDS but got an error code. Got towed to our guesthouse, updated software, tried to clear the DTCs and go for a drive, but still no power. Here's a screenshot

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Next day towed to Quito, the capitol, and 3 VW guys with computers couldn't help.

Took to the dealer and they also couldn't do the forced regen. Later, after I left they managed to unlock the ECU and do a forced regen. They said my VCDS should be able to do the same unlock.
(I saw a video about this step the other day - now need to find it again)

Took it for a test drive and all good. Now they're going to do an oil/filter change and this Weds I'm going to do some nearby test drives from 2800m up to 4100m with the VCDS monitoring.

Going forward in planning to get a Carista (much smaller device) to monitor DPF levels when I get to higher altitudes in Peru, and to "force" a driving regen if levels get close to 30g.

* What's wrong with this plan?
* Other suggestions?

Thanks for any constructive recommendations - would like to avoid this situation in Peru which has higher mountains and even crappier diesel
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EVEN LONGER VERSION

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