Timely, just sold my Skoda Superb diesel…not because of any problems. We had done 45000 kilometers in under two years. But left hand drive and now spending more time in the UK, it had to go. Completely fault free. 50mpg and cavernous (estate). It did though have an extended five year warranty, and despite short journeys, it also got plenty of long runs. Things that can go wrong, adblue system issues, egr valve issues, turbos, engine oil dilution and more (though the Skoda/VW group 150 tdi may not have all these potential problems. I have just bought a hybrid (NOT a plug in! ) Toyota Corolla tourer 2.0 in rhd for the UK. 50 mpg expected. Warranty extends up to ten years if you service each year with Toyota. Max 100’000 miles. I was very torn as I love diesel torque. But the emissions systems now have too many issues and complexities. Even finding a decent diesel with any manufacturers warranty is hard. Toyota hybrid? Imo the best, fairly simple and very well proven. Not sure, but I think I worked out when I was back in UK over the holidays that diesel is approx 6-7% dearer. Then adblue too, consumption for adblue varies between makers, model and use..so 45mpg on a petrol compares to 48 ish in a diesel? I think.. Road tax. I was looking at hybrid Rav4s. Then I saw the road tax. Fcuk that.
i guess someone had to do it. Petrol's have DPF's (PPF's) now too and have had EGR's for several decades. but thankfully no adblue. i've seen a couple of petrol's with PPF issues but as yet i've still to diagnose them as they have been within the manufacturers warranty period. my part of the world doesent see much in the way of emission faults though more are coming through as folk are hanging back for longer than normal because they dont want to go electric along with other uncertainties. these faults are mostly due to the type of commuting involved. long distance at higher speeds up here. but may start to become an issue for city dwellers.
Petrol if you do short runs It’s not just the DPF to be wary of. Modern diesels can be a nightmare if used for short runs or sit about. Ad blue can crystallise in the tank, nox sensors fail and other ancillaries all which cost a stack of money to fix
Yep, dont get a diesel for short journeys. I bought a used Diesel SUV last year and if i had known then how painful the ADBlue nonsense can be, it was, i would not have bought it. Also the EGR valve. I had to have the EGR valve replaced at £500. Although it is possible to recover their function yourself with some dedication and some time spent injecting chemicals into the inlet tracts. It does work. And a nice man came to the house to diagnose some running issues. Funnily enough the ADBlue issue has never returned. The worrying thing about all this emissions bollox is that curing the issues are frighteningly expensive, not guaranteed to work and not guaranteed not to return.
They really need frequent decent length runs.. I do wonder if anyone has thought all of these parts through, or if they are just rushed to market each time there are changes from euro 5, to 6, to next version. Adblue. Is anyone factoring in manufacture and materials, components, delivery to pumps etc. ? I doubt it. Just like electric cars, with the damage to environment with battery manufacture/mining. Meanwhile it is fine to launch rockets (for satellites), daily flights and boats/ships largely emissions unchecked.. Yes, there are petrol issues too. I had a Mitsubishi 1.8 GDi some years back. Quick and economic…till it started to coke up. The garage sorted under warranty but could not say it was not going to happen again. Which I took as, it will happen again.
People don't drive Diesels like they should. Because of their torque people tend to drive them sedately or in too higher gear all the time. They need a good hard run/thrash to blow the systems through. It's easy with an auto to simply select sport mode a couple of times a week to keep the revs up a bit higher than the emmisions focused gearbox software is set to do in normal mode.
I had adblue failure on a 2019 Frod Ranger. Apparently it was the heater which had failed, a common problem. Without it the urea crystalises, the injector blocks so no adblue is being injected and the system assumes the tank is empty. If you continue to drive, when you shut off the ignition it won't let you start it again until the adblue has been topped up. I'd brimmed mine and the low level warning was still showing. Sometimes you can blow the crytstalised blockage out by running under stress at high revs for a few minutes, but it will happen again if the heater isn't working. Ford dealer wanted about £700 for the replacement injector and heater plus fitting. Took it to a dyno shop and got it mapped out for £200 with a combined economy fueling remap at the same time. It was no bother at all for another 10,000 miles and then I sold the thing before the next problem arose.
Just filled up the cars with petrol. 129.9 p per litre, price has not gone up - yet. Diesel was out of stock, luckily not my problem.
Wont be long. Cars with big engines already under the cosh with road tax, could be some bargains coming up…if you can afford to run them.
Ooh err… I’ve got a late MY22 LWB 6.1. I love it but I’m reading a lot of similar stories online. If I quickly floor it, it goes into limp mode which can be a ball ache at times. Pull over and reboot clears it. ACC threw a wobbler too but I managed to straighten it out with my Carpal Diagnostic thang. It’s out of warranty now so I’m wondering whether to soil it with deletes and remaps or just leave it be. What’s the general consensus?
You’re not wrong. £735 to tax my petrol car for a year. Cvnts!!! Bonkers for the mileage I do in it. I’ll SORN it through the winter next year..
I was shocked at the road tax, having been in France for a while. Sold my lhd Superb 2.0 tdi. Great car. But knowing how much hate there is these days for diesel thought it was time for petrol. Was looking at nearly new Rav4 4wd hybrids. Then I realised how much the road tax is… Bought a 2.0 Toyota hybrid estate instead ! £195 is enough for the privilege of pothole dodging here, thanks.
Is road tax a thing in France? I have wondered as I drive through France. Peage fees seem the way to go. Pay as you go… Makes you realise what a fkn disgrace our roads are…
Diesel for long journeys. Petrol for short journeys. Diesel engines take a long while to warm up but once they do they’re efficient. Petrol engines warm up quicker but drink more on a run. A hatchback Yaris Cross hybrid petrol/electric will do 58mpg. Has a 10 year guarantee, yes, 10 years. Downside is they’re noisey if you live up steep hills. Otherwise good little run around but certainly not a performance car. Oh, one other thing, they have a constantly variable transmission. In other words it sounds like the clutch is slipping when you put your foot down, which I have to say, going up steep hills is awful. Don’t be afraid of hybrids though.
Some, not all Autoroutes are paid. They also have excellent services and are pothole free (inc service areas! uK…) Main roads are free. So in theory you dont ‘have’ to pay. But something like Brive to Bordeaux will be 2.5 hours on motorways and 4hours off them.. 2.0 Corolla Tourer estate, 50mpg. That has been one long run, then around the doors. Good, considering the hills here. I bought it with 10 k showing and 49.7mpg average since new. Previous Skoda Superd tdi, 50-55 mpg. But needed adblue (not often). Petrol is cheaper than diesel in the UK, dearer in France..
