Diesel Engine Oil for Euro 4 Engines

[Dr. Strange]

Good day all. I am a new member & this is my first post. Thank you for accepting me here & I hope we have a lively discussion about this topic.
With the introduction of Euro 4 Standards since 2017, I am aghast that dealers are still not familiar with what Euro 4 diesel engines require & what needs to be done to them in order to prevent premature breakdowns. I bought a Korean diesel early 2018 & have had them regularly serviced by my casa. With a lack of better things to do during this lockdown, I have been reading up on my car maintenance & was quite shocked to find out that the oil being used is not the proper oil for a diesel with a DP filter. For those who don't know, the DPF is a device that traps excess soot from the exhaust. A requirement to maintain the dpf health is to drive the car every 2 weeks at least 60 kph for 25 mins constant speed for a passive regeneration. Another requirement is the use of a low SAPS ACEA C2 or C3 motor oil (check manual). Failure to do both can result in the premature DPF clogging necessitating repairs & worst case scenario, Is a replacement costing at least 100k.
When I asked my SA about this, he said the oil is fully synthetic & for diesels engines. Most oils here are of the API standard CI-4 or CJ-4. What is surprising is, the requirement in the manual is for ACEA type oils & ACEA C2 or C3 which are low SAPS oils that are required for dpf equipped engines. Low SAPS oil has low residues that can delay the clogging of the filter & prolong the life of the dpf.
Even with the right oil, without the right maintenance, dpf problems can still occur, specially with the type of traffic we have & the driving style in the country where excessive idling is common.

[Brent]

Dealer SAs have really little knowledge on oils, which is really worrisome. Your understanding is correct. Using a proper oil will definitely go a long way for maintaining CRDi, DPF equipped vehicles. A lot of damage and failures are caused by using the wrong oil.

Sadly, at the dealer service level the front line is only concerned about sales incentives from their suppliers. They don't really care about your vehicle.

[Dr. Strange]

I also think that the SAs are not well informed technically about the equipment in the newer models & they always have a safe answer. It's always "basta pang diesel". They seem to want to confuse us. Unfortunately, we have to accept it when our cars are under warranty.
The API oil rating seems to be the norm in our country with CI-4 or CI-4+ the most common & you'd have to make an effort to find CJ-4 oils. ACEA oil ratings, which are followed in Europe, seem to be more specific for the needs of the engine, I noticed. Also, in my car's manual, they seem to have it detailed as to what the requirements are, which mentions ACEA & not API. I hope an article can come out so people (meaning dealer SAs) can be better informed. Dealers should realize that it takes more than selling the car.