2023 Berlingo 1.5HDI 100hp Advice Please

[dcjg70]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum, I was just hoping for some advice as I start my Berlingo journey 

I am hoping to purchase a pre reg Berlingo 1.5HDI van in the next couple of weeks but have seen a few horror stories on the forum, so would appreciate other peoples views on the K9 1.5HDI 100hp engine.

My queries are:

- I will only be doing shorter journeys in the week but a 20+ mile journey every other weekend, will this be enough to keep the DPF happy? (I have looked at Petrol options but they seem very rare currently)

- I read comments about timing chain issues, are the 2022 models onwards fixed regarding having the newer 8mm timing chain?

- Are there any other reasons I should avoid buying the K9 model?

Any replies will be very much appreciated. 

Many Thanks,

Dan.

[Matt Haigh]

20 miles is still a short journey in diesel terms, for your longer journey it really needs to get up to full working temp and get a bit of uninterrupted eg dual carriageway at 60-65mph. My 2019 1.5 100PS has been very reliable, I don't know of a timing chain problem.
The K9 is a great step up from the B9 in terms of equipment, and interior/exterior styling, its a great vehicle

[dcjg70]

20 miles is still a short journey in diesel terms, for your longer journey it really needs to get up to full working temp and get a bit of uninterrupted eg dual carriageway at 60-65mph. My 2019 1.5 100PS has been very reliable, I don't know of a timing chain problem.
The K9 is a great step up from the B9 in terms of equipment, and interior/exterior styling, its a great vehicle

Thanks for your reply Matt. As you can appreciate finding petrol variants are few and far between. However what I don't want to do is have issues with the DPF. 

Do you think there is a way of owning the diesel variant but do one intentional journey a week that keeps the DPF healthy? Do you do higher miles in yours?

Thanks,

Dan.

[ratboy72]

All right Dan I have just got my work van and it’s the 2023 hdi 1.5
And it’s ok, I can only compare it to my previous van which was a transit connect 210 base which was dangerously slow! That van didn’t want to pull off
It had no go in it, this Berlingo feels like a Ferrari ! So I have a diesel van and I’m stop start all day in SE London so every weekend I will take it for a blast down the motorway, cos knowing my company if anything goes wrong guess who is to blame! Can’t really help you but it’s a nice van.

[Matt Haigh]

20 miles is still a short journey in diesel terms, for your longer journey it really needs to get up to full working temp and get a bit of uninterrupted eg dual carriageway at 60-65mph. My 2019 1.5 100PS has been very reliable, I don't know of a timing chain problem.
The K9 is a great step up from the B9 in terms of equipment, and interior/exterior styling, its a great vehicle

Thanks for your reply Matt. As you can appreciate finding petrol variants are few and far between. However what I don't want to do is have issues with the DPF. 

Do you think there is a way of owning the diesel variant but do one intentional journey a week that keeps the DPF healthy? Do you do higher miles in yours?

Thanks,

Dan.

Yes Dan, I think many Berlingo owners use the strategy of doing one decent trip, and drive the car quite hard, once a week.
I do several 50 and the odd 350 mile journeys, so I'm not concerned about the short trips I do in-between.

[Leonberger]

We had a Citroen Grand Picasso, in which we did mostly 15 to 20 mile journeys. The DPF warning light came on quite a bit, so whenever it happened we took it for a 30 mile blast on the motorway. Quite honestly, we resented having to do those 30 mile blasts.

We then switched to higher octane premium diesel, and found that this cleaner fuel pretty much stopped the problem: We got the warning light maybe once a year, maybe less.
We also got slightly better mpg, though not enough to offset the more expensive fuel.

[dcjg70]

Thanks @Leonberger, @matt Haigh, @ratboy72 I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my post. I think having read all your comments I need to ensure I use the higher octane fuel and ensure one long journey once per week to get the engine up to temperature.

Does the vehicle show you when it is doing a regen? It'd be useful to know so I can continue to drive until it completes.

Many Thanks 

[Matt Haigh]

I don't think you'll know when its going to do a regen, I can't say I've known when its doing one, obviously you can give it the opportunity by driving uninterrupted higher speed/power. I've heard people say it generates a load of particulates (smoke) in the rear view mirror but I've not noticed that.

[jj9]

Unless things have changed with DPF's, a regen won't take place unless the fitter is registering over a certain percentage full, so a precautionary "decent trip" or "blast down the motorway" will be in vain.

Regarding knowing when the vehicle is performing a regen, have a read of the thread below....

https://www.berlingoforum.com/thread-21909.html



.

[Sol]

Spot on JJ9.

For the OP and all others, the DPF is just a fine mesh steel filter. It catches soot particles. When it has 26g of soot in it, the ECU will initiate a regen, injecting extra fuel in to get the DPF super hot. Once that soot is burned off, the cycle starts again.

The ECU will start a regen regardless of driving conditions, road speed, wind direction or any other factor you can think of. If you do short journeys, it regens more often. Driving long journeys or having a quick "blast" once a week has zero effect.

Most soot is generated when cold, every single journey. Even on a long journey, the engine is just as cold to start with as it was at the beginning of a short journey, so it throws out the same amount of soot till it warms up. Less when hot than cold, but more when accelerating especially in a high gear, even if hot.

All this talk of blasting once a week has no effect, the strainer in the DPF will still catch all of the soot you generate, you cannot "blow or blast it out".