Audi A3 check engine light Loss of power due to a defective diesel particulate filter?

Hey, I had a similar problem with my Audi A4 (year 2010, diesel). I have some experience with cars and am not a complete novice. My symptoms were almost identical - black smoke when accelerating, check engine light on, loss of power and high fuel consumption. My garage found that the DPF was heavily loaded. They had to clean the diesel particulate filter, which cost me 1325 euros. After that, the car ran again without any problems and the symptoms I mentioned were gone. It's best to give your garage the exact vehicle data (model, year of manufacture, mileage) so that they can help you more precisely. Sometimes it really is the exhaust back pressure sensor, but often it can also be the DPF itself. Good luck! Greetings,

(Translated from German)

Hey, thanks for the answer. My Audi A3 has 186543 km on the clock and I also had the DPF checked at the last inspection. They said something about increased differential pressure, but there were no major problems at the time. It could well be that the sensor is faulty or the DPF is now completely sealed. I'll check with the garage. Regards,

(Translated from German)

Hey again, at 186543 km it actually sounds like the DPF could really be leaking now. If the differential pressure was already high at that time, there is a high probability that the problem has worsened. The exhaust back pressure sensor could of course also provide an incorrect value, but in combination with the high mileage of your vehicle and the symptoms, I would rather suspect a full DPF. Something else you should bear in mind: sometimes regeneration during normal driving is no longer sufficient if the filter is too heavily loaded. In this case, professional cleaning or even replacement of the DPF may be necessary. In my case, the cleaning helped and since then the car has been running perfectly again. I would recommend that you first have the fault memory read out at the garage to get more precise information from the sensor. This could then be followed by a targeted look at the condition of the DPF. Hope this helps you and tell us how it turned out! Best regards,

(Translated from German)

Hey again, at 186543 km it actually sounds like the DPF could really be leaking now. If the differential pressure was already high at that time, there is a high probability that the problem has worsened. The exhaust back pressure sensor could of course also provide an incorrect value, but in combination with the high mileage of your vehicle and the symptoms, I would rather suspect a full DPF. Another thing you should bear in mind: sometimes regeneration during normal driving is no longer sufficient if the filter is too heavily loaded. In this case, professional cleaning or even replacement of the DPF may be necessary. In my case, the cleaning helped and since then the car has been running perfectly again. I would recommend that you first have the fault memory read out at the garage to get more precise information from the sensor. This could then be followed by a targeted look at the condition of the DPF. Hope this helps you and tell us how it turned out! Best regards,

(Translated from German)