Hi guys

This is my first ever diesel car and I really want to look after it. 

I have done plenty of research on diesel cars and it seems the biggest problem is the dpf and egr, I've read if the dpf shows up on dash then all I got to do is take it on the motorway and put it on 5th gear(I have got 6 gears) and keep it revved over 3500. But for egr I haven't done any research on that yet but thought I would ask to see what else I need to look for. 

Many thanks guys 

 

Any good tips to look after a diesel car?

Yes, don't put petrol in it 😉

You'll also need to drive it for long distances frequently to keep all the various filters clear. If you do a small annual mileage, you may have bought the wrong car...

I never did anything special in the 20-odd years I was driving diesels, other than use decent quality fuel.

Mind you, I was doing up to 30k a year back then..........

The main thing to do is change the oil & filter regularly, using a good oil.

Don't worry too much about the DPF and EGR valve, as long as the car gets a good run every so often they will look after themselves. For example, I only do about 4,000 miles a year in my C Max 1.6 diesel (overgrown Focus), which gets quite a few short journeys. However, about twice a month, it gets a 24 mile round trip on a dual carriageway, and this is enough to keep it working correctly. 

I note that your car is a 2016, has it had the timing belt changed? If not, you will need to think about getting this done in the near future.

Enjoy driving your new car, as it's a diesel you don't need to rev the nuts off it, use the low down torque and you will get good fuel economy! My C Max gets about 50 mpg, even when towing a small caravan.

I never did anything special either.  Was only doing around 6k a year for the final few years.  Don't believe the hype about diesels not coping with low mileage.  Just drive it, change the oil & filter once a year, fuel filter every 3-4 years, and don't worry about the DPF or EGR unless you see a warning light or feel a loss of power.

The old Eolys type DPF on the Mk2 Focus was a poor compromise.  But since they switched to coated DPFs in 2010 they aren't really a problem unless you only do short cold drives.

Same here, first time diesel and I was coming from a MK2.5  focus petrol 1.6 which I loved and put 210000 on the clock owned it for 12 almost 13 years and only upgraded as the family needed something a little newer. 

Our new focus is the 2016 1.5tdci which is a great driver and did take a little getting used to for me but it's a nice comfortable car.

I plan on doing a service soon and just changing air, fuel and oil filters with new oil every year like I did with my old one. Just glancing over the car as a whole and making sure nothing is out of place ect as a yearly inspection. 

Clean quality fuel I think is another must on diesels as along with a decent long drive from time to time it helps keeps all working well.

 

Many thanks guys 😊

I must admit I am bit of a worrier 😂

The oil and oil filter has changed when it got put through mot last month but that is it so I'm just going to get this oil:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166410717889

And get the rest in ecp or ebay to do the service maybe in a few months. Hope the oil is the right one as I have read something about SAP and something about less ash? 

I will be doing a motorway run once every week, do you people leave it on 5th gear and making sure it is revved around 4000?

Oh the cambelt will be done next year as that was what the garage told me. Il be doing the coolant at the same time 

Consider Archoil diesel additive to get premium (+?) fuel at half the normal difference in price. Cetane improver, detergent, pump lubricant etc.
https://archoil.co.uk/

I don't see any massive mileage increase but it definitely runs better (smoother) 

I agree with the above but definitely max of 3 years for fuel filter unless its a massive one. 

12 hours ago, froggy8 said:

...do you people leave it on 5th gear and making sure it is revved around 4000?

No.  Waste of fuel for no gain.  Also fairly sure 4000rpm in 5th will be over the speed limit.  

When DPF's were first introduced to normal cars in the early 2000's they needed high revs to get them hot.  But manufacturers solved that problem around 20 years ago by introducing the 'active regen' which automatically changes the fuel amount and timing to create hotter exhaust temps only when doing a regen, so no fuel wasted unnecessarily.

Unfortunately, as with many things, the first thing people hear is the one they continue to put online forever, despite it becoming outdated pretty quickly.

Thank you again guys

I will just drive on the motorway at 70 on 6th gear maybe once a week. 

Do you guys put any additives in their fuel tank? 

3 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

Do you guys put any additives in their fuel tank? 

Can of worms there...

Personally I don't.  But many on here do.

 

Also, check that you've got the emergency funnel in the car.  Looks like a she-wee.  The EasyFuel will prevent you putting any additives in, unless they come in a bottle of exactly the same size as a forecourt diesel pump nozzle.  (And on that note, check you've got the locking wheel nut key before you need it as well. )

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

Can of worms there...

Surely that would cause a blockage?

Seriously, I used to use Miller's occasionally if having to fill up with dubious fuel from certain supermarkets. I very much doubt I'd bother now, might just as well use the "premium"fuels - BP Ultimate etc.

Go on Amazon and get a car pal diagnostic thing and it will tell you if it's ash or soot that is clogging the dpf cause I had a Mazda 3 (still sat on drive) and the dpf was full of ash so took it off cleaned it did about 5k and then the turbo had a little wee but yeah if you do miles to get the dpf hot it will clear out the soot and take the light off but them things I said about are 30 pound off Amazon the 1st year is free then it's 30 a year and it's been great 

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Also fairly sure 4000rpm in 5th will be over the speed limit.

Well over. That would be about 112! I have an old road test of a Mk 3 1.6TDCI in my "this might be useful one day" pile and the mph/1000rpm figures are:

1st.          5.62

2nd.        10.2

3rd.         16.6

4th.         22.7

5th.         28.2

6th.         33.5

 

OK guys, I won't use any additives and il just use decent fuel. I only use the one at my local station called greenaway. I think that is just a normal diesel and don't think they got the premium ones. Il check. 

On my petrol focus on 5th going 70,the rev is at 3500-4000. 

Just now, froggy8 said:

On my petrol focus on 5th going 70,the rev is at 3500-4000. 

Yes, NA petrols are awful.  Have the rev the nuts off them to get anywhere.  Turbo diesels are much better, around 2000rpm on the motorway.  

(Also, I only used normal diesel, not paying an extra £5 per tank for premium!)

2 minutes ago, froggy8 said:

On my petrol focus on 5th going 70,the rev is at 3500-4000. 

Diesels are generally much higher geared as they rev lower but usually have more torque.

 

i didnt know about the revs on diesel, everything about diesel is new to me. that is why i am trying to read as much as i can about them.

i will use normal diesel for now 🙂 

that castrol oil what i linked will be good enough wont it?

read somewhehre that it has to be the right one otherwise my engine could suffer.

also will these glow plugs be ok too?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372715071808?

i am only asking so i can bookmark these for when i need them then i dont have to ask again in future.

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Can of worms there...

Personally I don't.  But many on here do.

 

Also, check that you've got the emergency funnel in the car.  Looks like a she-wee.  The EasyFuel will prevent you putting any additives in, unless they come in a bottle of exactly the same size as a forecourt diesel pump nozzle.  (And on that note, check you've got the locking wheel nut key before you need it as well. )

Mine actually is missing that funnel so will have to pick one up online. With regards to additives I used to put a bottle of redx in my old focus at the service interval sort from that nothing else was ever used. 

No sure if adding additives to the diesel fuel would do much but don't thing it would do much harm if it was not all the time. 

regular oil change.

use the correct oil stipulated by Ford.

use premium fuel, if not every tank, then every third tank.

run the car fast (motorway speeds) at for at least half an hour once a week.

deactivate start-stop.