Is your vehicle fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF)?

If you have a modern diesel engined vehicle, you may well have a diesel particulate filter or DPF fitted in the exhaust system. These units are there to trap the harmful soot particles emitted from the engine. If a good portion of your driving is on the motorway, you use high quality fuel and have your vehicle regularly serviced, then you shouldn’t experience any problems.

If however, you mainly use your vehicle for prolonged periods of ‘round town’ driving, short ‘stop start’ journeys or don’t have your vehicle regularly serviced these units can become blocked, which in turn causes the engine management lamp to illuminate (or an emission warning message being displayed) and a subsequent lack of engine power may well develop.

By carrying out a ‘driving cycle’ or ‘regeneration’ procedure on a regular basis, the unit is injected with excess fuel, super-heated and kept clean by the management system. This should ensure that the unit is kept serviceable for many years to come. The conditions required to carry out the regeneration process may vary depending on the vehicle manufacturer, but often require that the vehicle be driven at a steady motorway speed for a number of miles, during which the process will take place automatically - providing there are no relevant fault codes stored in the management system! For details regarding the specific process for your vehicle, please consult your vehicle’s handbook or contact us for further information.

If the unit has already started to block up and the engine management warning lamp has illuminated (or an emissions warning message has or is being displayed). You will need to take your vehicle to a capable workshop immediately. We have the necessary experience and equipment to carry out ‘a forced regeneration’ on most systems and in worst cases we can remove and clean the unit, before going to the extreme expense of replacing it all together.

Some of these particulate systems use a special cleaning fluid (eolys oil), which is stored in a tank underneath the vehicle. These operate in a slightly different way to the system described above. Every time you remove your fuel cap to re-fuel, the system injects a quantity of the cleaning fluid into the particulate filter which cleans the core. The fluid level should be checked during routine servicing and topped up when necessary. If the fluid runs out, the particulate filter will gradually block up and cause a lack of power.

Cick here to read a recent report by the BBC’s Watchdog programme, concerning diesel particulate filters.

Along with regular regeneration procedures and service maintenance, we also recommend the regular use of high quality branded fuel.

If you have any questions regarding the DPF on your vehicle or are not even sure if your vehicle has one of these units fitted, then please don’t hesitate to contact us. You may also wish to take advantage of our free health check offer (see special offer - FRC001 for details), which would incorporate a regeneration procedure (providing that the rest of the system is functioning correctly).

Special Offer - FRC001 (please quote when booking)

Free engine management system health check with every service (excluding engine oil services)

This offer is per vehicle and includes:

1. A full scan of the engine management system, including:
   
   Recording, clearing and re-checking of fault codes (as some fault codes can exist in the management system without illuminating the management lamp).
   
   Assessment of all live data (stationary and during road test conditions), paying particular attention to the readings from the oxygen (lambda) sensors, mass air flow meter, boost sensor (for turbocharged engines), MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor and electronic fuel system components.
2. A check on the engine to ascertain if the engine vacuum level is correct. This can drop due to internal or external air leaks, which in turn can cause subsequent over and under fuelling faults.
3. If all the above checks are satisfactory, we will carry out a ‘driving cycle’ in your vehicle. This requires that the vehicle be driven at a maintained speed and varying engine loads, to purge any contaminants from the intake and exhaust systems. If your vehicle is equipped with a Diesel Particulate Filter or DPF, we will ensure that a regeneration of this unit is also carried out.
4. At the end of the health check we will compile a detailed report to go with your service invoice (this will be kept on file) and any findings or recommendations will be explained to you when you collect your vehicle.

This offer is valid until March 31st 2012 (Please quote FRC001 when booking)

If you require any further information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you take part in this offer and are satisfied with the work we carried out, we would value any comments you may care to leave on Facebook or The Disc Directory. Thank you for your time!