VAG 2.0 TDI - Smokey and smelly inside

[Boydie]

I’m aware of DPF’s and needing to hoof them a bit to clear them out but I am unsure whether or not our 2011 Q5 140bhp 2.0TDI engine has one?

I notice from time to time, maybe with heat on that it gets smelly inside of burnt diesel - makes me wonder if the down pipe mesh is leaking?

When boosting, a lot of reek comes out the back - it is mapped but just starting to wonder if something untoward is happening?

Any thoughts?

 

[gary1365]

Download vag dpf app and check what the dpf is doing assuming you have a obd2 dongle. When my passat 2.0 tdi was struggling to regen it would smell of burning and smoke but not to the point of reek.

A few miles at moderate load at 60 mph in 4th took care of it. With the vag dpf app you could see the dpf heat to 600 odd degrees and the ash grams fall. It's worth paying the few quid to get the premium version of the app.

I think vags after the end of the 2000s come with a dpf.

Another thing to watch out for is if the dpf is trying to regen the cooling fans will be on full tilt. Also dpfs have a lifespan they can start to be fully used up as soon as 100k miles.

 

[mikey]

I’d imagine you have a DPF delete or it has broken up internally. I have worked round some very obviously mapped CR TDIs with DPF left intact and not a puff of smoke from the exhaust and no soot in the tailpipe if you run your finger around it.

Having said that if it’s a bad diesel smell with moreso a white smoke out the tailpipe I’d imagine you possibly have an injector issue. I’ve seen them so bad they actually have raw unburnt diesel dripping out of the tailpipe but if it’s as bad as that it’s also running like a dog and filling the sump with diesel.

If you can pop a convenient lambda or temp sensor out of the top of the DPF and have a goosey with a borescope to assess the condition of it internally and check your oil level to make sure it’s not high or smells overly diesely.

 

[KevM]

If the DPF is working efficiently, the exhaust tips shouldnt really be black.

#as Mikey just said!! lol

 

[Rigger]

I’m aware of DPF’s and needing to hoof them a bit to clear them out but I am unsure whether or not our 2011 Q5 140bhp 2.0TDI engine has one?

I notice from time to time, maybe with heat on that it gets smelly inside of burnt diesel - makes me wonder if the down pipe mesh is leaking?

When boosting, a lot of reek comes out the back - it is mapped but just starting to wonder if something untoward is happening?

Any thoughts?

What's you're mpg like when it does this?

Dunno about Audis, but Jags stick more fuel in and burn it off at higher temp, which clears the soot out the dpf and further down.

 

[Nicky Glanza]

Same engine different car but Happened on a golf I was working on for the mate, turned out to be the flexi just, wasn’t obviously broken just a hair but enough to throw a bit of smoke up into the engine bay

 

[Boydie]

Download vag dpf app and check what the dpf is doing assuming you have a obd2 dongle. When my passat 2.0 tdi was struggling to regen it would smell of burning and smoke but not to the point of reek.

A few miles at moderate load at 60 mph in 4th took care of it. With the vag dpf app you could see the dpf heat to 600 odd degrees and the ash grams fall. It's worth paying the few quid to get the premium version of the app.

I think vags after the end of the 2000s come with a dpf.

Another thing to watch out for is if the dpf is trying to regen the cooling fans will be on full tilt. Also dpfs have a lifespan they can start to be fully used up as soon as 100k miles.

That makes a lot of sense as sometimes the fans run on well after the car is turned off and locked.

I have OBD11 - can I check DPF through it?

What's you're mpg like when it does this?

Dunno about Audis, but Jags stick more fuel in and burn it off at higher temp, which clears the soot out the dpf and further down.

It’s a Q5 so Mpg is shiit isn’t it @Coog

Same engine different car but Happened on a golf I was working on for the mate, turned out to be the flexi just, wasn’t obviously broken just a hair but enough to throw a bit of smoke up into the engine bay

Ok, sort of confirms my suspicion. Will get it looked it next time she’s away and doesn’t need the car.

Oh and exhaust pipes are sooty so I’ll have a nosey at the DPF then

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[gary1365]

Should work with any dongle I used the carista one I bought off you.

The fans running after switch off are a sign of an interrupted/failed regen.

Town stop start short journeys are bad for them too. When I started in dominos I had to force a regen on my way home after every shift by holding the car at higher revs in 4 th from before your parents house most of the way to the bolea turn off.

Edit I had the egr mapped out which makes regens a bit more difficult.

 

[Coog]

It’s a Q5 so Mpg is shiit isn’t it @Coog

 

[mk2driver]

Should work with any dongle I used the carista one I bought off you.

The fans running after switch off are a sign of an interrupted/failed regen.

Town stop start short journeys are bad for them too. When I started in dominos I had to force a regen on my way home after every shift by holding the car at higher revs in 4 th from before your parents house most of the way to the bolea turn off.

Edit I had the egr mapped out which makes regens a bit more difficult.

No EGR will make regens easier and less frequent not harder

 

[gary1365]

No EGR will make regens easier and less frequent not harder

Less frequent yes but it makes it harder to get the dpf up to abd stay at temp

 

[mk2driver]

Less frequent yes but it makes it harder to get the dpf up to abd stay at temp

No it doesn’t - EGR is switched off during regen

Sorry but there are a lot of misconceptions about after treatment systems so I try and chip in when it comes up

 

[gary1365]

No it doesn’t - EGR is switched off during regen

Sorry but there are a lot of misconceptions about after treatment systems so I try and chip in when it comes up

It must have been something to do with the remap as it was done at the same time as the egr disable. From the very first regen after it was done the car really struggled to get the egt high enough to regen. Before that it would have regened at idle and after it needed load on the engine to regen.

Edit I was watching the live data via vag dpf

 

[mk2driver]

It must have been something to do with the remap as it was done at the same time as the egr disable. From the very first regen after it was done the car really struggled to get the egt high enough to regen. Before that it would have regened at idle and after it needed load on the engine to regen.

Edit I was watching the live data via vag dpf

That will be another element of the map - likely they have adversely affected fuel control in the regen operating mode

 

[Shannonsir]

I know some honda diesels 2.2 I-dtecs crack one of the EGR pipes and it leaks gases which come in through into the cabin.. burnt fuel smell as you described. It's potent, but only when the heating / aircon is on. Has happened on me twice on 2 different cars.

 

[Snoopcousins]

I have EGR & DPF delete on my wee 2008 170tdi and it’s not Smokey or sooty..
However before I got the DPF delete I was getting a Smokey smell in the cabin when the DPF light was coming on

 

[Boydie]

Its due service according to the dash in 29 days so will get it booked in for it and have the rest checked out then too

 

[Boydie]

Was driving the Q5 there all weekend and reminded me about this (nearly a year later!!)

Its due MOT on 17th, is the flexi visible and/or checked? Need to do more research and get time with the car - we work opposite shifts during the week so very rarely get time with it