Question 1

Accepted Answer

Diesel engines are efficient, but they create sooty particulates in their exhaust that are bad for health. Your Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) removes the particulates by pushing exhaust gases through a maze of metal channels, collecting the sooty particulates.
Engine management systems are supposed to regenerate the filter unit when needed by applying high temperatures to the collected soot.
For various reasons this regeneration routine can fail (one of the main reasons is when the car is only used for short journeys, never getting fully up to temperature).
When the filter becomes clogged, exhaust flow is blocked. Eventually your engine management will apply a partial shut-down.
The filter is a closed unit, and expensive to replace. It can be cleaned, however, with the right tools and techniques.

Question 2

Can I still drive?

Accepted Answer

If you have an engine management light on, the problem needs to be fixed – even if the light goes off from time to time. The light means the engine is not working properly.
Sometimes, engine management systems will put your car into “limp-home” mode after the fault is detected. That usually doesn’t change till the fault is cleared.
You may be able to get home, but until the problem is fixed your car is not really useable.
Most garages will prefer to simply replace the DPF unit, but this is expensive and rarely necessary.
Fortunately the unit can now be effectively cleaned without removal, at much lower cost.

Question 3

What will it cost?

Accepted Answer

You have the choice of buying a new DPF unit and getting it fitted (the most expensive option), or having your current unit cleaned.
Cleaning can be done by removing the unit and sending it off to be cleaned, or using our in-car cleaning service.
Of all three options, ours is the cheapest and quickest, especially when you consider the garage costs of removing and fitting a unit. Our service is also done while you wait, so you don't have to be without your car for several days, or even weeks.
For an exact price for your vehicle, call us or fill in the enquiry form below.
There is a fourth option which disreputable garages may offer: they may advise you to have the DPF cut out. In the long run it is by far the most expensive option. Whilst it’s not illegal for them to do this IT IS 100% illegal for you to drive the vehicle once this has happened and if caught you can be liable for a fine upwards of £2000. Your car won't pass its next MOT and will have little resale value.
There is a good reason for DPFs being a legal requirement – they remove diesel particulates (soot) from the exhaust. None of us wants to be breathing the sooty air that used to come from older diesel engines.
Modern engines with DPFs have actually brought about a very positive change in air quality levels, particularly in cities.

Question 4

How does cleaning work?

Accepted Answer

We provide a full, deep cleaning service for all Diesel Particulate Filters and Gasoline Particulate Filters where we aim to remove between 95-98% of the filter’s contents. The service we provide is the following:
– Pre-clean Health Check and Investigation: This allows our expert engineer to read all of the live data from your vehicle’s ECU. This will tell them how full the filter is in terms of percentage and the weight of soot in grams so we understand what we need to remove. Alongside this we are also checking all of the vehicle’s sensor, glow plugs and every other component involved with the DPF system to be certain the faults are not being caused by something else and that the clean will be successful
– Full Deep Clean of the DPF – Using our in-house manufactured cleaning solution our engineer will being the cleaning process which will take 45-60 mins to complete
– Post-clean Health Check and Investigation: We perform a post-clean health check on the vehicle, again to review the live data to ensure we have removed the contents of the DPF, reset any warning lights and that there are no other fault codes you need to be aware of. We will also, where possible, perform a short road test to ensure full power has been restored.
– Copies of both pre and post health checks: These will be emailed to you for your records
– 14 Day Aftercare Warranty: Designed to cover you for the next two weeks’ worth of journeys post-clean just in case you have any questions or concerns that we can assist you with.

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