Diesel car engines are made up of a whole system of interlinking components, each just as crucial as the next for maintaining the smooth and efficient running of your engine. An important element is the diesel particulate filter (DPF), which is a part that is designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas generated by a diesel engine.
Your engine can read the information supplied by the differential pressure sensor to determine if the DPF is becoming full of soot. When this happens the system will trigger an action called regeneration to inject diesel post combustion. Once the diesel enters the exhaust, it increases the temperature inside the diesel particulate filter to effectively burn off the soot.
If the regeneration does not happen, the extra fuel injected into the cylinders fails to burn off and then will drain away into the sump. However, this results in deterioration of the oil quality, and oil levels will rise. If this happens, the oil quality/viscosity sensor will alert you to a problem, but it is important for you to check the oil level to ensure it does not rise above the maximum level. Failure to keep this in check can result in the the engine running on its own oil, and result in serious and very severe damage.
When the engine fails to burn off the soot, the DPF will soon become blocked, setting off a warning light on your dashboard. There are a number of reasons why this can happen, and it could be down to the failure of a component or sensor, or simply because of the type of journeys that you use your car for. Very short journeys, or stop-start driving, can prevent the engine from reaching the necessary parameters needed for the particulate regeneration.
Once you notice the warning light indicating there is a problem, it is extremely important to have the issue diagnosed and corrected as soon as possible. It is not simply a matter of replacing the faulty filter unit, it has to be set up correctly with the use of specialist diagnostic equipment. This is why Auto400 urge you not to ignore the warning light. Failure to thoroughly check the whole system from beginning to end can result in the replacement particulate filter quickly becoming blocked once again, and the problem will continue to be an issue.
Ignoring warning lights when they indicate a problem can result in further problems down the line, and more warning lights may be triggered as a result. Simply running your car for longer may not be sufficient to solve the issue, and you will need to bring your car in to us for a forced regeneration.
Auto400 carry all the necessary specialist diagnostic equipment needed to work with your DPF problem, and our skilled mechanics have years of experience working with diesel-particulate-filters, so you know that we can quickly diagnose and repair the problem the first time.
Once we have conducted a thorough inspection and run a diagnostic check, we can provide you with a quotation for your repair, without any hidden extras. The price we quote will always be competitive when compared to other service providers, and we only use guaranteed parts with our repairs and replacements.
We use our specialist equipment to clean your diesel-particulate-filter while it remains in place. Usually this is efficient enough to address your DPF problems, but if we find that your filter is too badly blocked to be cleaned in situ, then we can remove it for a thorough ultrasonic clean before refitting it back into your engine, and conducting a re-test.
If we find that your DPF is damaged beyond repair, we can replace it with a new part where necessary, in compliance with the DPF guidance sheet on the .GOV website. DPFs are fitted to meet European emissions regulations designed to reduce vehicle emissions of particulate matter (soot) associated with respiratory disease and cancer. Total removal would contravene Regulation 61a(3) of the Road vehicles Construction and Use Regulations.
Since February 2014, exhaust system inspections conducted during the MOT now include a check for the presence of a DPF where one was fitted when the vehicle was built. A missing unit will result in an automatic MOT failure.
If you need more advice or assistance, or would like to book your car in for a DPF check, contact Auto400 today.
