[hotwheels888]

Originally Posted by MudMover

"Try going for some long drives, Sir"! But you can't go on long drives just to keep the DPF light from coming on, can you?!

Faced the same issue in my MG Hector Diesel. Had to take her to the service center for a couple of times within a month. Faced issues in starting the car, once failed regeneration caused her to give up RPMs and drive slower and slower, emitting smoke.

I was asked to go on long drives, drive at higher RPMs, etc. Did that and after a few days of city driving at lower RPMs, faced the same issue again. A certain temperature has to be reached to burn off the soot, and it is simply not possible if you are making short trips only. Had to sell the car eventually and this was one of the major reasons.

[Phantom 510]

Low speed short commutes are one of the major causes of dpf clogs. However, frequent dpf clogging could be avoided by driving it in lower gears and maintaining 1500+ rpms during the low-speed short commutes. Driving it like older diesel engines by upshifting early or lugging it in the higher gears will increase the chances of dpf clogging up. We have a 2k20 Bs6 Nexon Diesel XZ MT in our family, which has clocked 55k kms (90% of it is highway runs and the remaining 10% is low speed commutes) to date and never had clogging. Just maintaining 1500 to 2000 rpms most of the time has worked like a charm. Getting lazy with BS6 diesel and making the engine lug will make the DPF clog up frequently. Just a small tweak in one's driving style is all that is needed.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by MudMover

But you can't go on long drives just to keep the DPF light from coming on, can you?!

Sir, without mincing words, you bought the wrong powertrain for your usage.

Slow speed, short runs kind of drive is the absolute DEVIL for BS6 diesels. You will 100% get DPF clogging with this and there is no two ways about it. And this is not new information. There are numerous posts on the DPF thread that gives a lot of information on this.

Don’t buy a BS6 diesel if your usage is short city runs. Buy a city beater and the best suited is a small EV. Otherwise you have to be extremely diligent in doing an Italian tune-up every week.

For now, your only recourse is to drive it for a good 1hr on the highways, probably every week if all you do with this car is short city runs. This issue will 100% recur and get clogged beyond self-regeneration if you don’t follow this.

Originally Posted by Phantom 510

However, frequent dpf clogging could be avoided by driving it in lower gears and maintaining 1500+ rpms during the low-speed short commutes.

Beg to disagree. High RPM will do zilch if the overall run is short (in time). For BS6 diesels, engine temperature is key and you need to get the car upto running temperature for the DPF to effectively clear soot from accumulating. Just running the car in high RPM but doing a 10min drive will likely not get the temp to operating temperatures.

This is why the manual also recommends (at least the Mahindra manual does) running the car on an open highway for >30mins at around 60kph.

[MudMover]

Thank you all for the helpful hints .

Based on the majority suggestions, I've identified a few stretches in my daily route (which is not very difficult in Bangalore) where I can safely run the Sonet at a low gear in high rpm. I'll try it out and see whether it helps.

Just to clarify, i bought this car since I have to do inter-state trips quite regularly. So I was totally sold on a diesel. It's just that this DPF peculiarity of BS6 engines was an unknown factor for me. Now let's see whether we can find a workaround for this issue.

[MudMover]

It's a humbling feeling...but as suggested by many members here, the problem seems to have been my driving style. I was trying to drive a 1.5L diesel like the 1.1L diesel that I previously had. In my Xcent, I used to upshift the gears quickly at around 1200-1500 rpm in order to get quick acceleration & reach the top gears at the earliest. The same style of driving was probably causing the 1.5L engine in the Sonet to underperform, resulting in the DPF light coming on once a week and low mileage.

Past one week I didn't upshift quickly when in 2nd or 3rd gear and allowed the engine to pull for a little time at around 2000-2100 rpm before shifting up, didn't needlessly shift up to 3rd or 4th gear. And now the DPF light issue has not recurred in the past one week. I was expecting the mileage to go down further because I was straining the engine at 2k rpm but surprisingly... the mileage actually seems to have improved by 2-3kmpl !! Unbelievable! These BS6 diesels seem to appear to enjoy flexing their muscles.

[MudMover]

5000 Km Update:

Crossed the 5k mark on the odo last weekend with a trip to Kerala. The onward trip to Kerala was via Coimbatore and the return journey was via Mysore. On the to & fro journey I got around a mileage of around 20kmpl, with around roughly less than a quarter tank left. So 20kmpl is the best that I get on highways driving at around 95-105kmph. This is by tank to tank method, below screenshots are just for reference.







Meanwhile, in my daily in-city run of around 20km I get around 10 kmpl.





Major Irritant:
During the rains, one major irritation I face is that the so-called mudflaps dont work very well in keeping the mud splashes away and I am left with large back splashes from the front wheels when driving. I'm planning to check with the ASC regarding replacing the mudflaps during the next service.

[Phantom 510]

Originally Posted by MudMover

It's a humbling feeling...but as suggested by many members here, the problem seems to have been my driving style. I was trying to drive a 1.5L diesel like the 1.1L diesel that I previously had. In my Xcent, I used to upshift the gears quickly at around 1200-1500 rpm in order to get quick acceleration & reach the top gears at the earliest. The same style of driving was probably causing the 1.5L engine in the Sonet to underperform, resulting in the DPF light coming on once a week and low mileage.

Past one week I didn't upshift quickly when in 2nd or 3rd gear and allowed the engine to pull for a little time at around 2000-2100 rpm before shifting up, didn't needlessly shift up to 3rd or 4th gear. And now the DPF light issue has not recurred in the past one week. I was expecting the mileage to go down further because I was straining the engine at 2k rpm but surprisingly... the mileage actually seems to have improved by 2-3kmpl !! Unbelievable! These BS6 diesels seem to appear to enjoy flexing their muscles.

Bs6 or not diesel engine needs to be around or in their torque band to performing most efficiently. We have an Etios Liva diesel MY2013 that has run 1.1 lakh plus till date. It delivers best fuel efficiency when driven without lugging. I've achieved an astounding 28 odd kmpl when driven at 80 to 90 kmph in top gear over a distance of 150 kms. Fuel mileage was measured bu tankful to tankful method. Lugging causes soot deposition which impacts efficiency and power.

[sonetrider24]

Originally Posted by MudMover

Past one week I didn't upshift quickly when in 2nd or 3rd gear and allowed the engine to pull for a little time at around 2000-2100 rpm before shifting up, didn't needlessly shift up to 3rd or 4th gear. And now the DPF light issue has not recurred in the past one week. I was expecting the mileage to go down further because I was straining the engine at 2k rpm but surprisingly... the mileage actually seems to have improved by 2-3kmpl !! Unbelievable! These BS6 diesels seem to appear to enjoy flexing their muscles.

Just a query, did you happen to check the adblue level once the dpf light issue went off. Did the level drop?

[MudMover]

Originally Posted by Phantom 510

Bs6 or not diesel engine needs to be around or in their torque band to performing most efficiently. We have an Etios Liva diesel MY2013 that has run 1.1 lakh plus till date. It delivers best fuel efficiency when driven without lugging. I've achieved an astounding 28 odd kmpl when driven at 80 to 90 kmph in top gear over a distance of 150 kms. Fuel mileage was measured bu tankful to tankful method. Lugging causes soot deposition which impacts efficiency and power.

True.

Originally Posted by sonetrider24

Just a query, did you happen to check the adblue level once the dpf light issue went off. Did the level drop?

Yes the level did drop.

Tire Valve Extension Fitment
I usually like to top up the nitrogen in all 5 tires every time I refuel. While this was a non-issue in my Xcent, in the Sonet it's a problem with the spare tire since it is fitted 'Face-down'...



So the only way you can top-up the spare tire each time is to physically lift the tire and fill in the air. I was looking for a work-around and found these tire valve extenders on Amazon.



You fix them and then fit the tire back and the valve extender sits like this...



Then comes the tricky part... when you want to fill air, you stick in your finger like this and push the valve extender up through one of the holes in the tire



This causes the valve extender's mouth to come out like this and allow the air nozzle of the filling station to connect...



...I've just fitted this and have not yet gone for filling up air. So this is still at theoretical stage. I feel currently the angle of the extender is not correct and also the length should be a little longer. I'll update my final opinion after 'Trials' of this extender, so stay tuned!

[raj10800]

I purchased a Kia Sonet diesel (GTX AT) variant last year. Off late (last 3 months) I have been getting problems with the DPF every week. For the first year there was no DPF issue. My driving style and distance has remained same.

I call the guys at the Kia dealership and they send someone who runs the car for 30 mins wasting fuel in order to fix the issue. But so far this solution has been a temporary fix as the light for DPF pops back up after 5 to 7 days again. I have even tried the DPF regeneration myself where you open the car bonnet, switch on AC at full, keep the headlights in at High beam. While this does remove the error, the issue comes back in a 5 to 7 days.

A mechanic from the dealership told me that I should run the car for almost 70-80 kms every day in order for this to not happen again! My running is 25~35Kms per day and I do not intend to run the car additionally 30-35kms everyday to prevent this DPF issue.

If anyone else facing similar issues please do let me know what should I do to deal with this situation as this is getting a little out of hand by troubling me every week.

I will greatly appreciate if someone can share escalation contacts in Kia India as I do not think I am going to get any resolution at the dealership level.

[MudMover]

Originally Posted by raj10800

I purchased a Kia Sonet diesel (GTX AT) variant last year. Off late (last 3 months) I have been getting problems with the DPF every week.

Sorry to hear this Raj. This is very strange, since you are facing this issue after a year. I'm sure some of the senior members here can share the contact details.

Since in my case the issue was related purely to my style of up-shifting gears. Since mine is a manual and yours is an AT I am not sure of the exact setup in your car, but I can only suggest this solution...in case you haven't already tried it. Immediately when you start using your Sonet in the morning, put the drive selector in the Sport mode. Or try putting it into the manual mode and use the shifters to keep the engine in 1st, 2nd or 3rd for longer time at 2000rpm.

Also, have you checked the adblue liquid level? Another member had asked me the question when I was facing the DPF issue.

[MudMover]

10000 Km Update:

The 10,000 Km mark came up this month thanks to the Dussehra / Diwali holiday trips into Kerala. The Sonet is still holding up without any major issues. I had noticed that I was getting outside smells into the cabin even though the A/C is in recirculation mode, so that was the only issue I reported during this service. They asked whether I would like the Adblue solution to be topped up and I requested it, so that was the only major item (5 litres = Rs.347) in the Total bill of Rs.623 for this 2nd free service. The 'Convenience' service package has started kicking in with this service, chomping away at the Engine oil and Oil filter cost in the bill.









On these holiday trips I got the opportunity to fill up the Boot to its maximum and so managed to squeeze the Boot with:
1. Full Size suitcase - 3 nos
2. Duffel Bag (medium) - 1 nos
3. Duffel Bag (small) - 2 nos
4. Laptop Bag - 1 nos
5. School Bag - 2 nos
6. Sundry small bags - 6 nos



I'm generally happy with this car, the decisive points - 113bhp diesel engine, 215/R16 tyres, ample ground clearance and good quality ambience & electronics, have come together nicely to finally given me a fairly decent inter-state cruiser after 17 years! Touch wood!

[3359_QJT90]

Originally Posted by MudMover

It's a humbling feeling...but as suggested by many members here, the problem seems to have been my driving style. I was trying to drive a 1.5L diesel like the 1.1L diesel that I previously had. In my Xcent, I used to upshift the gears quickly at around 1200-1500 rpm in order to get quick acceleration & reach the top gears at the earliest. The same style of driving was probably causing the 1.5L engine in the Sonet to underperform, resulting in the DPF light coming on once a week and low mileage.

Past one week I didn't upshift quickly when in 2nd or 3rd gear and allowed the engine to pull for a little time at around 2000-2100 rpm before shifting up, didn't needlessly shift up to 3rd or 4th gear. And now the DPF light issue has not recurred in the past one week. I was expecting the mileage to go down further because I was straining the engine at 2k rpm but surprisingly... the mileage actually seems to have improved by 2-3kmpl !! Unbelievable! These BS6 diesels seem to appear to enjoy flexing their muscles.

Is this really helpful?
Did you face DPF issues after changing your driving pattern?
I’m curious to know more about the driving pattern as I’m eyeing on the Sonet 1.5 diesel MT.

[MudMover]

Originally Posted by 3359_QJT90

Is this really helpful?
Did you face DPF issues after changing your driving pattern?
I’m curious to know more about the driving pattern as I’m eyeing on the Sonet 1.5 diesel MT.

Yes, It did help! And now after the 10000 km service, the in-city mileage also seems to have moved up to the 12-13kmpl level from the earlier 10-11kmpl. But please bear in mind that i drive with a light foot and all shift ups strictly based on rpm meter at 2000rpm.

[MudMover]

The Sonet during one of the weekend roundtrips to the Estate. My first with the Sonet!



The particular features of the Sonet - 113bhp Diesel engine, 16" wheels, higher ground clearance and taller stance, is what had turned the tide against the Hyundai Exter which was my initial preference.



These weekend roundtrips are what I like to call the '49' - start from Bangalore by 4am reach the estate in Gudalur (TN) by 9am...then again start back by 4pm and reach Bangalore by 9pm. Maintaining avg 90-100kmph speed, you get around 20kmpl and you reach back with roughly quarter tank of diesel (below info is after the onward journey).



A small video of the road leading out of the estate.

https://youtu.be/_gUMey-ztvE?feature=shared

My only big regret about this package (variant) of the Sonet is that it doesn't have cruise control. That was out of our budget and it would have really made a big difference on such trips