How long does DPF cleaning take? A DPF clean can take as little as 20 minutes to complete.
All you have to do is get your car on an A road or motorway on a regular basis, such as every 300 miles. You then need to run it for 10-20 minutes at speeds in excess of 40mph. This will heat up your exhaust and burn off any soot in the filter.
A warning light letting you know your DPF is blocked should not be ignored, but can in many instances be remedied by driving in a way which initiates passive/active regeneration of the DPF. Driving for over 10 minutes at speeds in excess of 40mph will often be sufficient to clear the blockage and regenerate the DPF.
Most drivers find that if the DPF warning light comes on in their car, after having applied a dose of DPF cleaner to the fuel tank, the light disappears within 10 – 15 minutes, without requiring expensive intervention by mechanics.
Drive over 40 mph (64 kph) to begin active regeneration.
Try to keep the engine speed around 2500 rpm. Active regeneration increases the temperature in the DPF to turn the particles into gas which can be expelled. These speeds are general guidelines.
There are many tell-tale signs you can look for if you suspect your DPF is blocked. When the filter becomes faulty or clogged up with soot, you will normally be alerted to this by an orange light on your dashboard. The emission of black soot is another sign that you need to have your DPF cleaned.
While your vehicle won't stop running the moment the light turns on, continuous driving can lead to more severe issues like decreased fuel efficiency, reduced performance, and in the worst case, engine damage. An illuminated DPF light will cause an MOT failure.
DPF cleaning involves the use of aqueous cleaning technology and specialist chemicals to reduce the soot emissions generated by your engine. Usually, your DPF removes soot automatically using passive regeneration. Our cleaning service removes the excess soot that is preventing regeneration from taking place.
You can easily add too much of a high-quality diesel fuel additive. What happens when you over-treat your diesel fuel? Overdosing can lead to a whole new list of fuel and engine issues from clogged filters to overall decreased engine performance and efficiency. If you're losing lubricity, don't over-treat.
How does DPF regeneration occur? The regeneration occurs automatically, usually without the driver being aware that it is taking place. In the majority of cases, the process is carried out when the engine and exhaust system has reached normal operating temperature and the vehicle is travelling at over 40mph.
Some garages can clean blocked DPFs, in a process called forced regeneration. This usually costs around £100 and, while it's not a 100% guaranteed fix, it's usually successful in removing the excess soot and allowing the DPF to work and automatically regenerate again.
Heat the engine
The easiest and cheapest method of DPF filter cleaning is by driving the vehicle for a long-distance at high revs per minute.
A blocked DPF can cause severe damage to your engine. This is because your engine is having to work a lot harder to vent the exhaust fumes that your blocked DPF is failing to. This can lead to weakened acceleration, increased fuel consumption, and the risk of leaks.
Low engine RPM
Alongside the engine not producing much power, the engine may not be able to rev very high, sometimes reaching a top RPM of 3,000. This is a consequence of both the exhaust gases restricting the engine's usual cycle, and because of the lack of turbo pressure.
If the DPF warning light comes on it's because the engine management system needs to 'actively' regenerate the DPF. You should take your car on a run to allow the regeneration process to take place.
When properly installed and maintained, DPFs should remain effective for the life of the vehicle, generally five to ten years or 10,000 or more hours of operation. Engine problems with fuel control or oil consumption may quickly deteriorate the performance of a DPF.
DPF filter cleaning cost ranges from $99-$695, depending on your location.
For on-highway vehicles, the DPF should be pulled off for its first cleaning after 150,000 to 200,000 miles, and then every 100,000 miles after that for preventive maintenance cleaning, Anderson notes.
Once blocked though, turbo failure can occur very quickly. If you don't check for a DPF issue when installing a replacement turbo, there is a very high chance the replacement turbo will suffer the same failure, as it will be subject to the same operating environment as the previous unit.
Low speed regeneration is achievable including driving in Low Range. The typical minimum vehicle speed to enable regeneration is 30-40km/h and the higher engine load will assist reaching the minimum exhaust temperatures to enable regeneration of the DPF.
clean it! A diesel particulate filter is a device that traps unburned carbon particles, commonly known as fine particulate matter. These pollutants are produced during normal engine operation and the role of the particulate filter is to clean them out.
The removal of the DPF can release harmful exhaust gases and particulates into the atmosphere, posing risks to human health and the environment. Violating local regulations can result in fines and even vehicle impoundment.