Solution for DPF clogging issues on BS6 diesel cars

Do you recommend a petrol or electric car to avoid this potential nuisance in diesel BS6 cars?

BHPian Murugan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Have any of your diesel BS6 engine cars given you any inconvenience due to DPF (diesel particulate filter) clogging, and if yes, how did you solve it? Could you mention the name(s) of the diesel BS-6 car(s)? Could you also mention the distance and duration of your usual short and long drives inside town/ city, and how often and for what distance and duration you drive on the highways regularly as part of your travel?

Do you recommend a petrol or electric car to avoid this potential nuisance in diesel BS-VI cars – if yes, for which category of users and for which type of vehicles (viz. hatchback, sedan, crossover, MUV, SUV etc.)? Kindly provide any other information that could help in a trouble-free drive of diesel BS VI cars to help me and other buyers.

My personal dilemma is whether I should buy a diesel BS6 Toyota Fortuner 4X2 AT or a hardly ever purchased, at least in Chennai and Bengaluru, petrol 4X2 automatic version (I am told that in some years they have not sold even one petrol Fortuner at dealerships in Chennai and Bengaluru!), considering that my primary use is inside Chennai with travel up to 10 km at a time, and highway travel limited to only 3 to 4 times a year, totalling about 5000 to 10,000 kilometres in a year.

We are currently using a petrol Hyundai Creta automatic (torque converter) and a petrol Toyota Corolla Altis manual transmission which is more than 11 years old, and hence considering a replacement for the latter. Looking at the Fortuner from the 5-star crash test rating safety aspect, reliability (of the Toyota brand and the torque converter AT), SUV feel etc. We got to drive only the diesel 4X4 automatic and manual versions in 4X2 mode and enjoyed driving both, but do not know how the petrol AT drives since no dealer in Chennai or Bengaluru had a petrol Fortuner AT for test drive. Also, since hardly any petrol Fortuner is sold, we are concerned about the availability of spares, expertise in carrying out repairs, resale value etc. of a petrol Fortuner. What percentage of Toyota Fortuners sold in India are diesel and what percentage are petrol?

Here's what BHPian anb had to say on the matter:

I don’t recommend buying a Petrol Fortuner. The fuel efficiency will be low in the range of 6-8 km/l and fuel cost per km will be more than Rs.17. Resale value will be very low compared to diesel & parts availability related to engine will be less.

Here's what BHPian dileepcm had to say on the matter:

I had two occurrences of DPF warning light showing up during initial days of corona in my VW Golf here in Netherlands as the car all of a sudden became a city car (short distances once in many days) due to corona situation. I followed the manual and drove it above 4k rpm on highway for 10-15 minutes and it got cleared. After this, I always make sure that car gets driven on motorway for at least 10-15 minutes every week and never had any warning lights thereafter.

Here's what BHPian MSC had to say on the matter:

• My car- Hyundai Venue 1.5 Crdi.
• Month & year of purchase - May 2020.
• Period of ownership - Almost 15 months but car was stationary with zero running in September & October when covid caught me down quite badly and took almost 2 months to get in driving seat again.
• Current odometer reading - 18900.
• DPF warning - Not a single time.

My daily run consists of 70 km daily drive out of which only 4 km in city and rest all on National Highways. And to my benefit, the balance 66 kms consist of a majority of uphill climbs as well as plain roads for a while. But if I am not wrong, the second and third gear uphill drive is what, I think, is preventing me from facing a clogged filter.

It's usually said that a DPF car needs a highway drive, but if I am not wrong it's the engine RPM and exhaust temperature which prevents the clogging. It may be helpful for me in hills as an uphill climb will surely keep engine RPMs and exhaust temperature high enough to burn out the soot stored. This may not be the case in plains and big cities where you do need a long highway drive.

I am going slightly off topic and I may be attracting some eyeballs, but why do you need a burly Fortuner for a 10 km run in a crowded city where it may difficult to drive as well as park it?
Why not invest in a hot hatch and use the balance elsewhere?

Don't take me wrong, you might be having means to get a high end car, but a Fortuner size vehicle, which will spend more than 95% of its life time in city, with a mere 10 km run at a time, and 4-5 long distance outings is simply an overkill.

I could have easily bought of a top end Innova last year, without batting an eyelid but settled for a Venue as it's more about practicality rather than affordability.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

No issues with my DPF diesel. Somehow or the other, I redline my cars frequently & a minimum of every alternate drive. In fact, I view this as an advantage of the DPF = you got one more excuse to find an open road and floor it.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.