DPF warning lamp with poor fuel economy

[JDC]

Yeah it's a euro5 with 46k on it. Only had the light once since I've had it but the smell gives the regen away.

 

[DaveD]

Yeah it's a euro5 with 46k on it. Only had the light once since I've had it but the smell gives the regen away.

Less than a quarter of tank, the van appears to do constant regen, unusual fuel smell and rubbish mpg. More than a quarter of a tank, no issues whatsoever.

I never let mine go below a quarter of a tank and have no problems, which sounds similar to your experience. That's your solution then!

 

[Julian Kavanagh]

I never let mine go below a quarter of a tank and have no problems, which sounds similar to your experience. That's your solution then!

Time was, you knew where you were with a vehicle's fuel econ. and how many miles per tank you could get, give or take. Now there are a lot of posts about regen., tactics and theories. For me, bottom line is I remember the (good old) days when things felt a bit clogged up (Audi A4 130 diesel, 2002 vintage), a 10 min thrash round a few roundabouts, in 3rd sorted it and I was back to 50+mpg. Nowadays it's a case of trial and error and, because we are proud to own a vw van, forgiving it for returning between 380 and 550 miles per tank. Crazy.

 

[JDC]

I never let mine go below a quarter of a tank and have no problems, which sounds similar to your experience. That's your solution then!

100% that's the aim.

Time was, you knew where you were with a vehicle's fuel econ. and how many miles per tank you could get, give or take. Now there are a lot of posts about regen., tactics and theories. For me, bottom line is I remember the (good old) days when things felt a bit clogged up (Audi A4 130 diesel, 2002 vintage), a 10 min thrash round a few roundabouts, in 3rd sorted it and I was back to 50+mpg. Nowadays it's a case of trial and error and, because we are proud to own a vw van, forgiving it for returning between 380 and 550 miles per tank. Crazy.

Also give it a blast now and then. Drive it like its my work van.

 

[Julian Kavanagh]

Update
Many thanks DaveD, I hope you see this and that it was you saying you don't go below 1/4 tank.
The logic behind it resonated with me, from an AI perspective and I kept thinking about it. It had felt that whatever I did in efforts to stop van coking up and the fan overrun kicking in as soon as I turned engine off, was not working. Furthermore, my instinct was all wrong, and me and the van just weren't compatible
2 tanks later, or 2 x 2/3rds tanks later, it's a changed van: I m back in love.
35+ mpg / 540+ miles per tank
Idling speed at junctions always 800, not 900 rpm
No fan running when I switch off.

My adopted rules:
Don't get below 1/3 full, indicated. = 1/4 really
Ignore the dashboard gear selector
Spend more time above 2000 rpm than below - as much as possible. This equates to 3rd gear in town, 4th = 40+mph.

Looking back, as someone who tended to want to get to 10 miles before empty before filling up, my van was doing 1/4 of its work without the opportunity to clear the DPF.

Thanks again. Van's performance is forever changed