If you own a diesel car, you probably have a diesel particulate filter, however, you may not know exactly what this is or what it means for you, so here we explain exactly what they are, what they do, why you need them and how to maintain them.

WHAT IS A DPF?

A DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter), is a device fitted to the exhaust system of modern diesel vehicles to reduce emissions and meet European emission standards. It does this by capturing Soot from the exhaust gasses while letting the gasses flow through the system.

As with any type of filter a DPF needs to be cleaned regularly to function properly. With DPF’s this achieved by going through a procedure called a Regeneration, A process of burning the soot to gas at a very high temp leaving behind an Ash within the DPF. Regeneration normally an automatic process taking place in the normal use of your vehicle.

ISSUES ENCOUNTERED WITH DPF

If a reg doesn’t function properly it leads to a build-up of soot Which will hinder both performance and fuel economy, If the issue is resolved will result in a Blocked DPF which can ultimately cause very expensive damage to other engine components. To prevent this damage most new vehicles will go into Limp Mode at this stage, which means the car will have minimum power just enough to get you home.

For a regen to take place it requires the car to be driven regularly at some speed on open roads e.g. motorway driving, normally driving at around 2500 RPM for approx. 20 mins at least once a month.

The biggest issue is most diesels these days are driving in small towns, todo local duties i.e. school runs, shopping or a trip to work 5 minutes away. So the car doesn’t ever get a chance to get uptown full operating temperature. This Will Cause the DPF to block Prematurely, even if the car was doing full regens, the ash content will eventually bloke the filter up, so its enviable the car will get a booked dpf, for this reason the dpf is classified as a serviceable item, like brake pads, oil filter etc and will not be covered under warranty. So Dpf systems have to be maintained properly

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
• If your DPF warning light or Anti-Pollution warning is on, please do not ignore it (typical dash warning symbols below). Get professional advice, consider your options carefully and attend to the problem. Leaving it will ultimately cost you much more in additional repair bills and it can be dangerous.
• By the time your DPF warning lights are visible your DPF will already be significantly blocked. Forced regeneration by a garage or a “blast down the motorway” is not likely to cure the problem, these only work as preventative maintenance. So at this stage realistically you have the following options:-

Force Regeneration– Fix may only be temporary.
Cleaning Fluids– Mix results, may clear some soot, but not ash
DPF Removal– Removal is a potential MOT failure.
DPF Replacement– This can be prohibitively expensive as an OEM part, or potentially poor performing, as a pattern part

Are you having problems with your DPF?

If your warning light is on, do not ignore it. Get professional advice, consider your options carefully and recturfy the problem. If you decided to ignore it, it will lead to much high repair bills.

The best way to internally clean and restore the blocked DPF to virtually original condition is through a two-way aqueous cleaning, with the DPF removed from the vehicle. Our powerful, state-of-the-art DPF Machine works by combining water, air and specialist agents to wash the filter remove virtually 100% of both soot and ash, This restores your filter to virtually new condition, ready for another life.

DPF Centre’s strategy is to supply the local motor trade a quality, environmental friendly and cost effective DPF cleaning solution that will both resolve blocking issues and extend the life of the DPF.
The technical team at Quantum, in partnership with their Swiss partners have developed a state-of-the-art DPF cleaning machine that delivers results consistently over 98.5%. During the process, all particulate matters (PM) is safely captured into specialist filters for environmentally friendly disposal.