Black Smoke & DPF Issues: Astra Diesel Owner Seeks Help

Hi there! I had a very similar issue with my 2019 Vauxhall Insignia diesel last winter. I have some experience working on cars, but with this one, I had to take it to my trusted workshop. Had pretty much the same symptoms, black smoke, glow plug light issues, and terrible cold starts. Turned out one of the glow plugs was completely worn out and needed replacement. Cost me about 560€ for parts and labor at my local Vauxhall specialist. Could you share which engine variant your Astra has and how many miles are on it? This would help me give you more specific advice since these symptoms can sometimes be linked to other issues too. Best of luck sorting it out!

Thanks for sharing your experience! Mine's actually at 256441 KM and had its last service about two months ago. The symptoms started showing up pretty recently. It's interesting that your Insignia had similar issues, I'm really hoping it's just the glow plugs in my case too and not something more serious with the DPF system. The quote you got seems reasonable, I might check with my local Vauxhall specialist and see what they say. Did your black smoke issue clear up completely after the glow plug replacement? Just wondering if I should expect any residual issues even after fixing it.

Hey again! Really appreciate you following up about the black smoke issue. Yes, in my Insignia's case, the black smoke cleared up completely after replacing the faulty glow plug. It was like night and day, honestly! The cold starts went back to normal too, taking just a few seconds instead of that annoying long crank. Since your Astra's done quite a few kilometers (mine was around 220,000 km when I had the issue), it's really sounding similar to what I experienced. The fact that it started showing up after your recent service is interesting though, maybe worth checking if anything was disturbed during the service? Just to add, after my repair, I did have to do a couple of normal DPF regeneration cycles before everything settled completely. My mechanic explained this was normal as the system needs to "relearn" optimal operating conditions after fixing the glow plug issue. It took about a week of normal driving before everything was running perfectly smooth. If you're heading to a specialist, maybe ask them to check all the glow plugs while they're at it. In my case, they found another one that was on its way out, so I just had them replace both to save another garage visit down the line. Let me know how it goes with your Astra! Always interested to hear about similar cases.

Thanks so much for all that detailed info, it's really helpful! You're right about checking if anything was disturbed during the service; I'll definitely bring that up when I take it in. It's actually quite reassuring to hear that your black smoke issue cleared up completely after the fix, and thanks for the heads up about the DPF needing those regeneration cycles to settle. I think I'll take your advice and get all the glow plugs checked while they're at it. Better to handle everything at once than make multiple trips. Really appreciate you sharing your experience, it's given me a much clearer picture of what to expect. I'll keep you posted once I get it sorted! Thank you again for taking the time to help out!