DPFs and AdBlue
Discussion
Hi All,
I need a bit of advice on something.
I might be in a position where I need to change by car in the coming months.
The "problem" I have (very first world) is that the used car market does not have any large petrols available at reasonable prices, compared to diesel where the market is flooded.
For example, BMW X3, X5, Mercedes E Class, Audi Q5 etc are all large diesels with very few large petrols thrown in.
I don't Mercedes even has a large petrol E class unless you move into AMG territory which is not something practical for my needs.
Hence the main question.
Does anyone have experience of a Merc 3l diesel and how it responds to low mileage with the odd blast thrown in to clean out the pipes?
Does AdBlue help/solve the blocked DPF issue or is this still a no-go area for low mileage town driving?
I need a bit of advice on something.
I might be in a position where I need to change by car in the coming months.
The "problem" I have (very first world) is that the used car market does not have any large petrols available at reasonable prices, compared to diesel where the market is flooded.
For example, BMW X3, X5, Mercedes E Class, Audi Q5 etc are all large diesels with very few large petrols thrown in.
I don't Mercedes even has a large petrol E class unless you move into AMG territory which is not something practical for my needs.
Hence the main question.
Does anyone have experience of a Merc 3l diesel and how it responds to low mileage with the odd blast thrown in to clean out the pipes?
Does AdBlue help/solve the blocked DPF issue or is this still a no-go area for low mileage town driving?
I have had my E350 bluetec for over 2 years now.
I use it daily for short town journeys with longer journeys at the weekend and a fortnightly long motorway run.
No problems so far. The Adblue tank lasts between services (I have never had to top it up).
It is possible to find a non AMG petrol E class in both V6 and V8 but they are rare. When I was looking I couldn’t find one so went for diesel. The diesel wasn’t my first choice but I don’t feel short changed.
I use it daily for short town journeys with longer journeys at the weekend and a fortnightly long motorway run.
No problems so far. The Adblue tank lasts between services (I have never had to top it up).
It is possible to find a non AMG petrol E class in both V6 and V8 but they are rare. When I was looking I couldn’t find one so went for diesel. The diesel wasn’t my first choice but I don’t feel short changed.
Artsy said:
Hi All,
I need a bit of advice on something.
I might be in a position where I need to change by car in the coming months.
The "problem" I have (very first world) is that the used car market does not have any large petrols available at reasonable prices, compared to diesel where the market is flooded.
For example, BMW X3, X5, Mercedes E Class, Audi Q5 etc are all large diesels with very few large petrols thrown in.
I don't Mercedes even has a large petrol E class unless you move into AMG territory which is not something practical for my needs.
Hence the main question.
Does anyone have experience of a Merc 3l diesel and how it responds to low mileage with the odd blast thrown in to clean out the pipes?
Does AdBlue help/solve the blocked DPF issue or is this still a no-go area for low mileage town driving?
If you want a recent-ish large petrol exec forget Merc. Other that AMG's and tiny 2.0's they abandoned petrol from around 2012 till very recently. Now that Dieselgate has happened they've piled back in.I need a bit of advice on something.
I might be in a position where I need to change by car in the coming months.
The "problem" I have (very first world) is that the used car market does not have any large petrols available at reasonable prices, compared to diesel where the market is flooded.
For example, BMW X3, X5, Mercedes E Class, Audi Q5 etc are all large diesels with very few large petrols thrown in.
I don't Mercedes even has a large petrol E class unless you move into AMG territory which is not something practical for my needs.
Hence the main question.
Does anyone have experience of a Merc 3l diesel and how it responds to low mileage with the odd blast thrown in to clean out the pipes?
Does AdBlue help/solve the blocked DPF issue or is this still a no-go area for low mileage town driving?
Plenty of BMW 5 Series and Audi A6's around with interesting I6's, V6's and V8's though.
Although usually saloon and estates rather that mumtrucks.
I have a C350d with about 80k Miles on it, bought it at just under 12k miles. It is the pre Add Blue version, initially was used for slogging up and down the motorways, more recently it has been predominantly shorter trips. The only DPF related problem (so far) has been the differential pressure sensor which intermittently gave crazy readings. The control system decides every now and again it is going to attempt a regeneration, you are aware of it happening because it holds the revs higher than normal and holds onto gears. If it keeps trying on short trips a longer bash gives it a chance to get things sorted.
My family have had six Merc 3-litre diesels. None have ever had any issues with DPF.
My wife's new one (GLC350) requires Adblue. It lasted well but we have had to refill it recently. Mercedes will charge extra at service time if you want them to fill it so it works out cheaper to do it yourself. A lot cheaper - we checked with Mercedes.
Mercedes has actually reaffirmed their belief in diesels with the new inline-6 so I think we'll continue to only see larger petrols in the top of the range AMG variants. That said, the turbocharged 2-litre 4-cyl petrol works well in the A-class and even the GLC (I've had a lot of loan cars from Mercedes over the past 2-years), although I'd never consider one for anything bigger. I have seen a couple of 4-cyl GLEs - clearly most people value economy over experience but I'd never consider a 4-cyl in a car that big. I have a GL350 and I'll replace it with either a GLS350, a GLS400-something (one of the new inline-6 diesels), or (if I'm feeling particularly flush one year) a GLS63.
In the middle would be an E-class. We px'd my wife's E350 for the GLC but I've wondered whether an E would work with a 4-cyl petrol. There's plenty of 4-cyl diesels out there and they're hateful (to me). The E is slightly lighter than the GLC so it ought to work but I can't help think the E "deserves" a 6-cyl or more. The A or C should be the place for smaller engines.
My wife's new one (GLC350) requires Adblue. It lasted well but we have had to refill it recently. Mercedes will charge extra at service time if you want them to fill it so it works out cheaper to do it yourself. A lot cheaper - we checked with Mercedes.
Mercedes has actually reaffirmed their belief in diesels with the new inline-6 so I think we'll continue to only see larger petrols in the top of the range AMG variants. That said, the turbocharged 2-litre 4-cyl petrol works well in the A-class and even the GLC (I've had a lot of loan cars from Mercedes over the past 2-years), although I'd never consider one for anything bigger. I have seen a couple of 4-cyl GLEs - clearly most people value economy over experience but I'd never consider a 4-cyl in a car that big. I have a GL350 and I'll replace it with either a GLS350, a GLS400-something (one of the new inline-6 diesels), or (if I'm feeling particularly flush one year) a GLS63.
In the middle would be an E-class. We px'd my wife's E350 for the GLC but I've wondered whether an E would work with a 4-cyl petrol. There's plenty of 4-cyl diesels out there and they're hateful (to me). The E is slightly lighter than the GLC so it ought to work but I can't help think the E "deserves" a 6-cyl or more. The A or C should be the place for smaller engines.
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