Dpf filter problems

What are diesel particulate filter problems? Is it illegal to drive with a faulty DPF filter? Are DPF filters covered by warranty? Do diesel cars have to be fitted with a filter?

With that in min here are ways to fix a blocked DPF: Drive Faster. If you are driving slowly everywhere in your large diesel , the DPF will become blocked.

If the DPF light is on, your best bet is to drive at high RPM’s for a prolonged period until the. Diesels produce lots of soot (particulate matter) that can cause respiratory problems and contribute to the risk of cardiovascular diseases. A quick trawl of some forums and discussion. Faulty or failed units can cause excess diesel particulates to be produced , thus causing the DPF filter to block quicker. This seems to effect older cars much more due to residue and carbon build up around the valve an EGR housing.

Make sure you check out our EGR valve FAQpage for more information. To counter this series of diesel particulate filter problems, FTC treated diesel in a reduction in both the total number of soot particles, and the total soot mass produced. Secondly, it forces all carbon in combustion and exhaust spaces, including any soot trapped in the DPF , to combust at temperatures as low as 350C to 400C.

If a filter has been remove the car will fail its MOT. Removing the DPF will sometimes cause the warning light to glow – and this itself is an MOT failure point: no dashboard warning lights should remain on during the test. Diesel particulate filters have been the cause of some seriously hefty repair bills. Depending on your car type, driving with a faulty DPF filter can be illegal. Motorists tend to avoid repair due to the expense of cleaning , remapping or replacing the filter , particularly if the car still runs pretty well but there is an engine warning or glow plug light flashing.

The DPF is designed to collect and reduce soot and exhaust particles entering the atmosphere as part of the EU emissions regulations and is a legal requirement. When the DPF becomes full to a certain level or partially blocked it regenerates by “burning the soot off” by increasing the temperature. As i had lot of trouble with my Audi aDPF getting blocked i though of helping others who have same problems. Sticky EGR valves are another DPF killer - pumping excess crankcase vapour into the exhaust.

Faulty glow-plugs - also DPF-deadly - because they cause the engine to run too rich on start-up. And then there’s the differential pressure sensor across the DPF - all that does is measure the pressure drop across the filter. A new filter can cost £0(or significantly more on larger vehicles). Aftermarket Alternatives. There are a number of alternative solutions to DPF problems available in the vehicle aftermarket.

Which one is most suitable may depend on factors like the severity of the issue, budget and whether the problem is recurring. Possible alternatives. The diesel particulate filter systems on these engines are poorly designed and prone to serious, ongoing problems.

However, diesel particulate filters must be cleaned from time to time or they will block up.

Not many drivers know what a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is – until it costs them serious money. Green Flag attends a lot of cars that have broken down with DPF problems and they are caused by one primary factor: the DPF is clogged with soot because the driver has ignored the warning lamp. A lot of armchair experts advise trying to remove the filter housing, or the mesh inside, and avoid Audi DPF problems for good- but under new rules this will mean an automatic MOT fail. New, emissions testing technology can now check whether a DPF with an effective mesh filter is in place.

The exhaust becomes blocked and this triggers fault codes to store in the DDE (engine control unit) At this point it is highly unlikely that the DPF will “naturally” regenerate. The problem arises when the car fails to regenerate the DPF. So why would the DPF block? Always Full the tank with diesel as it helps alot.

Once you clear the dpf you shouldnt get problem till the next. DPF regenerations can only occur when certain conditions are met such as spee RPM and engine temperature. Unless all the conditions are met, the DPF regeneration process will not start and you’ll be one step closer to a costly dealer regen (trust me I know from experience).

The DPF message is incredibly common - and irritating. You need to run the car for around mins minimum at around mph. The message should clear next time you start the engine. Failure to do this could cause the filter becoming clogged up and failing, which will result in expensive bills for cleaning or replacing the DPF. So, what can you do?

One method of avoiding this problem was to pay someone to remove the DPF altogether, but VOSA has clamped down on this by making a DPF check a mandatory part of the MoT.