So who else has the WORST regen timing?

[ErikTheRed]

My last three regens (which are always time-based at 24 hours, never soot-based) have all come at the very worst of times. Because I'm bored at the moment, let me share....

Most recent regen-- Taking the grandsons camping, we left the house and towed 3 hours north. It was dark by the time we got to our campground near Old Station on Hat Creek. Of course, NO regen the entire drive up there, oh no no no.... it waited until literally the very moment we pulled into the campground, in the dark at 9pm, poking through the place looking for a campsite. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing 6 hours south to Pismo Beach, of course no regen the entire drive down there, oh no no no.... regen starts just as we pulled off the highway and were nearly on the sand. Had to poke down the beach to our camp area at damn near idle. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing back from Washoe Lake campground near Carson City, looked at the Banks gauge regen timer and thought 'perfect, it'll hit a regen on the freeway home', but of course.... we hit a traffic jam in Reno near the 395/80 interchange and poked along at bumper-to-bumper speeds and PRESTO, the regen starts. Nothing I could do about it.

JUST ONCE I'd like to hit a regen when I'm on the freeway with plenty of time ahead, or at least when or where I can actually keep driving and not be forced to slow or stop. All of those last three regens resulted in the cycle stopping itself before complete because of the slow speed and had to restart again on the next drive. I've only owned the truck though 4 regens so far, and three of those were interrupted due to just plain ol' rotten timing.

 

[Units]

just plain ol' rotten timing.

Murphy’s law. TBH I usually only hit the 24hr timed regen when I’m towing my TT. But, I have a 40min commute to and from work every day and most of it is on the interstate so usually mine (soot based) hits while I’m driving on the highway. I did have one start once when I was taking my youngest son to register for high school, had to shut it off mid cycle. Also had several while putting around Yellowstone on a trip we took, truck didn’t like that very much, in fact that’s the only time I’ve ever seen the “regeneration in progress keep driving” message.

 

[johnmyster]

My last two regens have been triggered as I've been hitching up to our camper for the 5 mile trip home from storage. If it could have waited literally 5 miles to initiate it could've done a regen heading across the mountains putting in the work, EGTs already 90% of the way there. Instead I pull into my driveway smelling like a jet plane spooling up on the tarmac, interrupt the regen and let it idle for 15 minutes to cool down. No amount of putting it in park at the stop lights would make it give up for good.

We just came home from the beach, 340 miles each way, towing. Now sitting at 95% of time interval. Soot load has got to be absolutely near zero due to passive. I'm sure it'll do it again while I do trailer prep before our trip next week.

A regen delay button for the non-novice user would be really nice. The ability to push out to 28 or 30 hours without error for time based regens. Can someone build a ECT fooler switch that makes the computer think it hasn't reached temperature? I think my dad's GM he can trigger an active early, which would be another way to skin the same cat.

 

[Msw1382]

I'm at 1300 miles and have had two full regens and one that was seemingly random and made no sense.
All 3 were when I was either on my way to the grocery store or post office. Both are close to my house....

For the last one, on my way home from the post office, I decided to hit the highway and just drive. Gave it the 30 or so minutes it needed to do its thing.

@johnmyster - A switch or manual trigger would be amazing.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Recently, almost every time I'm 5 miles from the house.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Yeah its more than just a little bit ridiculous that we don't have some way to delay the timed regen, ESPECIALLY since a truck like mine that is used 90% for towing doesn't have any problem with a dirty DPF. Its a bad idea and a bad design. I guess I could understand (but not support!) the inability to shut off or delay a soot-based regen. But, I would argue that a regen cycle should ONLY be triggered by soot and never by time. If the sensors are there to indicate a soot-loaded DPF, then the only time the truck should regen is if the DPF actually needs regenning. Which in my case would be nearly never.

Its all just so DUMB. [mod redacted political comment]

 

[johnmyster]

Yeah its more than just a little bit ridiculous that we don't have some way to delay the timed regen, ESPECIALLY since a truck like mine that is used 90% for towing doesn't have any problem with a dirty DPF. Its a bad idea and a bad design. I guess I could understand (but not support!) the inability to shut off or delay a soot-based regen. But, I would argue that a regen cycle should ONLY be triggered by soot and never by time. If the sensors are there to indicate a soot-loaded DPF, then the only time the truck should regen is if the DPF actually needs regenning. Which in my case would be nearly never.

Its all just so DUMB. I really don't like democrats.

IIRC, even soot based regens happen at what the manf considers 50% capacity, giving the vehicle the ability to be interrupted, resume later, etc. Those could also easily be delayed.

But that would take an informed driver and the manufacturers have always wanted the regen process to be transparent to the user, rather than the user feeling like a hostage to their truck.

 

[Trash Panda]

Yeah its more than just a little bit ridiculous that we don't have some way to delay the timed regen, ESPECIALLY since a truck like mine that is used 90% for towing doesn't have any problem with a dirty DPF. Its a bad idea and a bad design. I guess I could understand (but not support!) the inability to shut off or delay a soot-based regen. But, I would argue that a regen cycle should ONLY be triggered by soot and never by time. If the sensors are there to indicate a soot-loaded DPF, then the only time the truck should regen is if the DPF actually needs regenning. Which in my case would be nearly never.

Its all just so DUMB. I really don't like democrats.

It is frustrating, but just shutting the truck off and finishing the regen should also function just fine.

The real problem here is manufacturers not having a solid handle on how to make these emissions systems function as they should. I’m very interested to see how well the new system on the 2025+ trucks work

 

[wrvond]

IIRC, even soot based regens happen at what the manf considers 50% capacity, giving the vehicle the ability to be interrupted, resume later, etc. Those could also easily be delayed.

But that would take an informed driver and the manufacturers have always wanted the regen process to be transparent to the user, rather than the user feeling like a hostage to their truck.

Turning the truck off during a regen with the expectation that it will pick up and complete the cycle at next start appears to have it's own set of problems if it is shut down and restarted "too many" times.

 

[CumminsContender]

I can't wait for my weight reduction... mine always start when I pull up to my driveway.

 

[AH64ID]

My last three regens (which are always time-based at 24 hours, never soot-based) have all come at the very worst of times. Because I'm bored at the moment, let me share....

Most recent regen-- Taking the grandsons camping, we left the house and towed 3 hours north. It was dark by the time we got to our campground near Old Station on Hat Creek. Of course, NO regen the entire drive up there, oh no no no.... it waited until literally the very moment we pulled into the campground, in the dark at 9pm, poking through the place looking for a campsite. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing 6 hours south to Pismo Beach, of course no regen the entire drive down there, oh no no no.... regen starts just as we pulled off the highway and were nearly on the sand. Had to poke down the beach to our camp area at damn near idle. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing back from Washoe Lake campground near Carson City, looked at the Banks gauge regen timer and thought 'perfect, it'll hit a regen on the freeway home', but of course.... we hit a traffic jam in Reno near the 395/80 interchange and poked along at bumper-to-bumper speeds and PRESTO, the regen starts. Nothing I could do about it.

JUST ONCE I'd like to hit a regen when I'm on the freeway with plenty of time ahead, or at least when or where I can actually keep driving and not be forced to slow or stop. All of those last three regens resulted in the cycle stopping itself before complete because of the slow speed and had to restart again on the next drive. I've only owned the truck though 4 regens so far, and three of those were interrupted due to just plain ol' rotten timing.

Sounds like it’s working as designed without any issues… so I have to ask, what’s the issue?

Turning the truck off during a regen with the expectation that it will pick up and complete the cycle at next start appears to have it's own set of problems if it is shut down and restarted "too many" times.

This is not a known or discussed issue with 24 hour regens, as experienced by the OP for this thread. The trucks do just fine when a 24 hour regen is interrupted and the duty cycle supports 24 hour regens.

For soot based regens it can be an issue, but multiple soot based regens in a row can also mean the truck is the wrong tool for the job or it’s also an indicator of a malfunction. Each scenario is different.

 

[OLEJOE]

I can agree with the timing issue but it is what it is. My last regen came just as I would have been getting home after towing for 650 miles but being able to see that it was fixing to start with the ScanGauge , I just kept driving until it finished and then went back home.

 

[nickgbp]

I need to ask, how are you guys seeing the regen information... is it coming across the dash or are you using an aftermarket device?
I've had my Tradesman 6.7 SO since Aug of 21 and have never seen any information, good or bad come across.
Thanks for indulging a dumb question.

 

[mbarber84]

This is where a little investment up front can be a beneficial thing down the road. Having an aftermarket monitor like an iDash, or CTS3, that allows you to see how close you’re getting to a regeneration cycle triggering is very beneficial. It allows you to be prepared for it, and potentially adjust your driving schedule to allow it to complete rather than interrupting it.

Yes they will “pick up” where they left off, but unless your next drive cycle is conducive to an effective regeneration, repeatedly interrupting them can definitely create further complications down the road, especially if the vast majority of the regen’s the truck initiates are soot load based.

 

[OLEJOE]

I need to ask, how are you guys seeing the regen information... is it coming across the dash or are you using an aftermarket device?
I've had my Tradesman 6.7 SO since Aug of 21 and have never seen any information, good or bad come across.
Thanks for indulging a dumb question.

You can see it on the DPF page on the EVIC. I also have a ScanGauge III so that I can tell when a regen is coming by percentage dpf load I also monitor the EGTs. With the SG I can leave the EVIC on the page monitoring temperature especially while towing.

 

[Units]

Sounds like it’s working as designed without any issues… so I have to ask, what’s the issue?

Because I'm bored at the moment, let me share....

I didn’t take it as he had a “issue”. Looked like he was just sharing.

 

[DrTron]

I don't drive a Diesel RAM but my first Diesel vehicle ever has been my tractor for a year now. That only regens on soot level, but yes, it also picks the worst opportunities to do so.

 

[sstoner911]

My last three regens (which are always time-based at 24 hours, never soot-based) have all come at the very worst of times. Because I'm bored at the moment, let me share....

Most recent regen-- Taking the grandsons camping, we left the house and towed 3 hours north. It was dark by the time we got to our campground near Old Station on Hat Creek. Of course, NO regen the entire drive up there, oh no no no.... it waited until literally the very moment we pulled into the campground, in the dark at 9pm, poking through the place looking for a campsite. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing 6 hours south to Pismo Beach, of course no regen the entire drive down there, oh no no no.... regen starts just as we pulled off the highway and were nearly on the sand. Had to poke down the beach to our camp area at damn near idle. Nothing I could do about it.

The regen before that-- Towing back from Washoe Lake campground near Carson City, looked at the Banks gauge regen timer and thought 'perfect, it'll hit a regen on the freeway home', but of course.... we hit a traffic jam in Reno near the 395/80 interchange and poked along at bumper-to-bumper speeds and PRESTO, the regen starts. Nothing I could do about it.

JUST ONCE I'd like to hit a regen when I'm on the freeway with plenty of time ahead, or at least when or where I can actually keep driving and not be forced to slow or stop. All of those last three regens resulted in the cycle stopping itself before complete because of the slow speed and had to restart again on the next drive. I've only owned the truck though 4 regens so far, and three of those were interrupted due to just plain ol' rotten timing.

You really are just better off driving the truck as you intend and let it do its thing. I have never had an issue with the 4 - 2019+ trucks I have owned with regen issues. I am sure I had interrupted a regen a time or 2 along the way.

As you noted, there is nothing you can do when it decides to regen it will regen. On that same note if its going to throw a code - it s going to throw a code no matter what you do.

 

[johnmyster]

Turning the truck off during a regen with the expectation that it will pick up and complete the cycle at next start appears to have it's own set of problems if it is shut down and restarted "too many" times.

Noted, the informed user needs to consider this. I hesitate to turn off the truck at >650 EGT (post turbo) anyway for other reasons.

The popup message would need to be something like "Regen required in the next 75 miles or 2 hours. Delay?" And then the prompt would reappear on subsequent drive cycles. It would be up to the driver to make sure to not hit the hard timing limit. Maybe this would be a menu feature that could be activated by dealer/alphaobd for informed users.

I'm under the impression that the DPF has plenty of reserve capacity even once it hits the triggering amount.

My father can manually trigger an active regen on his 2022 duramax, and he does so if he knows he's nearing the limit and projects he's not going to have an appropriate drive cycle before the regen is required. End of a long trip, etc. Pull forward vs push out strategy.

I test drove lots of trucks in 2024, mostly 2015-2016 Fords. More than one of them had a hard code set for failure to complete regen. I assume being on a used truck lot for very long (lots of short test drives) is not ideal for DPF cycling.

 

[wrvond]

Noted, the informed user needs to consider this. I hesitate to turn off the truck at >650 EGT (post turbo) anyway for other reasons.

The popup message would need to be something like "Regen required in the next 75 miles or 2 hours. Delay?" And then the prompt would reappear on subsequent drive cycles. It would be up to the driver to make sure to not hit the hard timing limit. Maybe this would be a menu feature that could be activated by dealer/alphaobd for informed users.

I'm under the impression that the DPF has plenty of reserve capacity even once it hits the triggering amount.

My father can manually trigger an active regen on his 2022 duramax, and he does so if he knows he's nearing the limit and projects he's not going to have an appropriate drive cycle before the regen is required. End of a long trip, etc. Pull forward vs push out strategy.

I test drove lots of trucks in 2024, mostly 2015-2016 Fords. More than one of them had a hard code set for failure to complete regen. I assume being on a used truck lot for very long (lots of short test drives) is not ideal for DPF cycling.

My 2017 F350 had nothing to indicate it even did regens. There was no gauge to indicate DPF loading and nothing to indicate when a regen was in progress. The “smell” of heat when getting out of the truck and slightly worse fuel mileage were the only indicators.
I drove that truck for over 300000 miles with no issue related to emissions ever. I certainly didn’t obsess the way I feel I do in this Ram.
I will say that since switching to Exxon fuel and Archoil my DPF gauge has stayed at zero for the past three tanks of fuel.