I have owned 6 cars since passing my driving test in 1996. All of them were petrol engines. This is my first diesel.The one thing i always knew about diesels was to not turn engine over till the glow plug warning light went out.I have recently read on these boards that with this 1.6tdci 06 model i have now you can turn engine over straight away unless of course its below a certain temp outside(minus 1c i believe).

Can anyone shed light on what else would be useful to know about diesels. These particulate filter thingy's sound scary to me and expensive.

My uncle owned diesels all his life and told me his engines never burnt oil. That sounds great to me as with the petrol engines i was forever topping up the oil.

Advice and views welcome from anyone Ta. ;)

Ford say you don’t need to wait until the heater light goes out but to be honest when I remember I usually do – its only a second or two.

if you try to set off in 2nd , at say a round-a-bout, you might find it easier to stall than a petrol, nothing wrong just need a little more revs than a similar petrol engine car.

The particulate filter, if you do a lot of short low speed journeys I would take the car for a bit of a blast once a week just to clear out some of the crap.

As for the oil - and as with any car check the level before and after any long runs, just to be safe.

You should find very few differences between a diesel and similar petrol engine cars and your driving style will soon adapt –enjoy the ride (and the extra mpg) :)

I found out in the first week or so, me and the Mrs were stalling the car on set off, because you needed the extra revs.I do majority of my journeys about 90% short trips so i will make sure i do give it a blast once in a while.Thats not the first time i have heard that.

I have noticed when travelling at 30 mph the diesel seems to want me to change down cause the speed is not fast enough for the fourth gear. In the petrol doing 30 mph on the flat was fine in fourth, but this diesel seems to need more speed. Probably something to do with the gear ratio i believe.

A friend at work warned me that i should never bump start a diesel if the battery is flat. He said it can damage the engine. Best to use jump leads.I would never have known this in a million years.

Anything else i need to know?

Don't put unleaded in it! Its a good idea to give a diesel a good working through the gears every once in a while (provided the engine is warm and the timing belt isn't due for a change) especially if you do short journeys. I also find with mine that if I try and drive conservatively that mpg isn't that great, however if I am a bit more enthusiastic(!) mpg is better so its about getting a balance.

Also, a lot of diesels have had issues with DMF (Dual mass flywheel) failure which costs hundreds to fix. If the DMF's going to go its going to go, but not riding the clutch for example will help to extend its life. i've also read its good practice to not not let the car run low on fuel (i.e. wait for the fuel light to come on) due to lack of lubrication which can cause problems with fuel pumps (again very expensive). For what is worth i tend to fill mine back up when its down to its last quarter (when possible). Other than that its just about making sure the car is serviced regularly and enjoying the ride.

If your doing 90% short journeys, every three hundred miles at the very least warm it up and give it a 15/20 minute thrashing on a bit of dual carriage way to induce a DPF "regeneration cycle" [burning off the soot clogging up the filter] Don't know if your motor has the instantaneous MPG read out option, my Volvo S40 had. If it does you will see the mpg fall away during the DPF "regeneration cycle"

If your doing 90% short journeys, every three hundred miles at the very least warm it up and give it a 15/20 minute thrashing on a bit of dual carriage way to induce a DPF "regeneration cycle" [burning off the soot clogging up the filter] Don't know if your motor has the instantaneous MPG read out option, my Volvo S40 had. If it does you will see the mpg fall away during the DPF "regeneration cycle"

Hi, just wondered if my problem could be as simple as a filter change??? - see my post re Focus breakdown yeterday. The car was previously owned by an old guy only doing short trips, covering apprx 4k mile in the 2 years following its last service in May 08.

Car lost power yesterday and glo plug light flashing, booked into fords tommorrow so will know outcome then, just anxious that it may something expensive connected to fuel pump etc, but hoping it may something as simple a new filter / service?

Hi, just wondered if my problem could be as simple as a filter change??? - see my post re Focus breakdown yeterday. The car was previously owned by an old guy only doing short trips, covering apprx 4k mile in the 2 years following its last service in May 08.

Car lost power yesterday and glo plug light flashing, booked into fords tommorrow so will know outcome then, just anxious that it may something expensive connected to fuel pump etc, but hoping it may something as simple a new filter / service?

I very much doubt you car has a DP filter what year is it?

mine is W (2000)

there are loads of things i can list here but,

if its a tdci engine, then you dont really need to wait on the plug light going out, but on a cold morning you really should because if not it will struggle to start. (the same goes for any common rail diesel)

dont let a diesel get low on fuel, air bubbles in the fuel line are not what you need and it will cause issues. in a petrol engine if you run out of fuel you just fill it up and then start the engine, with a diesel you need to bleed out any air.

the DPF, what a sh1te idea if you can get one without this then brilliant. more hassle than its worth IMHO.

should never really bumpstart any modern car. bumpstarting even a petrol car can do damage, think of all that unburnt petrol going in the cat...nice.

mine is W (2000)

Nope