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Info On Dpf (Diesel Particulate Filter)


ben goddard
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Please bear with me on this one.

Until this week I haven't heard of a DPF.

My last car was a 2010 1.4tdci Fiesta Edge, fitted with a DPF.

My journeys mainly consist of trundling around town with the odd motorway run. And I had the Fiesta for 2 years and 8 months, and the only problem I ever had with that car was the rubber seals around the fuel injectors. There was not any other single fault.

2 months ago, I bought a 2009 1.6tdci Focus econetic. Reasons being i can't afford to run a petrol car with the cost of fuel and tax.

And early this week, whilst doing around 60mph the engine lost a lot of power, and on the dash all that was displayed was "Engine Malfunction". I had no prior warning about this.

So took it to my local mechanic, and he explained the issue, and cleaned it and now all is well.

So I've done some reading about DPF's, and 9/10 people are saying to stay away unless you're on the motorway often, which makes sense considering how a DPF burns off the soot.

But I'm a little confused/worried.

My previous fiesta had 50,000 on the clock when I bought it, and I changed it at 60,000, and I never had a problem with the DPF.

And this focus has 86,000 on the clock.

So, what I would like to know, is,

1) Did I get lucky with the fiesta?

2) How long can a DPF go without cleaning just driving around town?

3) Will me taking it onto the motorway for 20 mins clear the filter?

4) If so, how often would I need to do a motorway run?

Also, I have read that to begin burning off the soot in the DPF, the engine revs need to be around 2,500rpm. Which is a slight issue, as the other night on the motorway for about 3 miles, at 70mph in 5th, the engine revs only hit 2,000rpm.

So, only hitting 2,000rpm even on a motorway, does that indicate that I have an "active regeneration", as opposed to a "passive regeneration'?

I'm aware fundamentally, I've made an error in buying this car, I only buy diesel to keep the cost down, with tax and fuel. I'm just wondering, will everything be ok, if I take it for a high speed run say every 2 weeks?

After discussing this with my father, he is under the impression that, I didn't have a problem with the fiesta, so it's likely that you will generally be problem free with the focus.

After paying £200 for the DPF clean, I'd like to help the engine/filter as much as I can, I also have to consider, that I have no idea how the car was treated by the previous owner.

Any help/advice is appreciated.

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welcome to the family. I would say keep the trip to the motorway once a week if your only going for a 20 minutes drive. Keep the gear low and revs high, so maybe 70 In 4th or 3rd.

Driving around town won't keep it for long maybe a year or so but I think you did get lucky on the fiesta

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You read all sorts of horror stories regarding the DPF (scare mongering), if you plan on keeping the car for a few years then it is well worth having your DPF gutted and a remap = no more issues.

I recently changed my pals DPF on his shogun 188,000 miles without any problems albeit mixed driving.

You definitely did NOT make a fundamental error in buying the car, every car on the road has its faults so don't let the DPF situation make you think you made a duff choice in buying the car.

I will also say any car you think of buying ever you only need to look on the relevant forums to see what goes wrong and if you did you would be buying a push bike for peace of mind just stay away from the push bike forums in case the thought of a buckled wheel worries you :D

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Andy,

Had a look at removing the dpf and remap, but I've read several times that if you remove it your car will fail the mot?

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If you remove it completely and make it a straight through yes, but if you open the dpf chamber, gut it, and reweld, then remap it all looks standard by visual check

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As James has said get the guts taken out and a remap problem gone for good, you have a good car there don't let the forums etc give you any doubt about it , Each member has their favourite model/engine size thank goodness for that otherwise it would be a very boring place for all to have the same .... :D

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If you remove it completely and make it a straight through yes, but if you open the dpf chamber, gut it, and reweld, then remap it all looks standard by visual check

How much is this likely to cost James?

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

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Removal and remap is around 350 on average, compared to replacement at Ford which used to be double at least

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I've just had mine cleaned at my local mechanics and paid £205.

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Please bear with me on this one.

Until this week I haven't heard of a DPF.

My last car was a 2010 1.4tdci Fiesta Edge, fitted with a DPF.

My journeys mainly consist of trundling around town with the odd motorway run. And I had the Fiesta for 2 years and 8 months, and the only problem I ever had with that car was the rubber seals around the fuel injectors. There was not any other single fault.

2 months ago, I bought a 2009 1.6tdci Focus econetic. Reasons being i can't afford to run a petrol car with the cost of fuel and tax.

And early this week, whilst doing around 60mph the engine lost a lot of power, and on the dash all that was displayed was "Engine Malfunction". I had no prior warning about this.

So took it to my local mechanic, and he explained the issue, and cleaned it and now all is well.

So I've done some reading about DPF's, and 9/10 people are saying to stay away unless you're on the motorway often, which makes sense considering how a DPF burns off the soot.

But I'm a little confused/worried.

My previous fiesta had 50,000 on the clock when I bought it, and I changed it at 60,000, and I never had a problem with the DPF.

And this focus has 86,000 on the clock.

So, what I would like to know, is,

1) Did I get lucky with the fiesta?

2) How long can a DPF go without cleaning just driving around town?

3) Will me taking it onto the motorway for 20 mins clear the filter?

4) If so, how often would I need to do a motorway run?

Also, I have read that to begin burning off the soot in the DPF, the engine revs need to be around 2,500rpm. Which is a slight issue, as the other night on the motorway for about 3 miles, at 70mph in 5th, the engine revs only hit 2,000rpm.

So, only hitting 2,000rpm even on a motorway, does that indicate that I have an "active regeneration", as opposed to a "passive regeneration'?

I'm aware fundamentally, I've made an error in buying this car, I only buy diesel to keep the cost down, with tax and fuel. I'm just wondering, will everything be ok, if I take it for a high speed run say every 2 weeks?

After discussing this with my father, he is under the impression that, I didn't have a problem with the fiesta, so it's likely that you will generally be problem free with the focus.

After paying £200 for the DPF clean, I'd like to help the engine/filter as much as I can, I also have to consider, that I have no idea how the car was treated by the previous owner.

Any help/advice is appreciated.

£200 is a lot to get the DPF cleaned, when it will just cause problems again, you could have put that money towards a DPF delete and sorted the problem indefinately, together with a solid EGR plate, will make the car more reliable, economical + help eliminate flat spots/ hesitation

DPFs can cause broblems at any mileage, but are more liable to cause problems when driven sedately/ stop-start driving/ round town etc

The issue is not petrol vs diesel, but DPF vs no DPF

You got the Focus at 86k, and got rid of the Fiesta at 60k, how do you know the DPF on the Fiesta was/ was not going to f-oul up at 61k?, perhaps the Focus was ok till 85k?

Apart from the cost of producing the DPF (The energy used, the materials, the carbon footprint) the extra weight added to the car, the additional fuel (mostly fossil fuel) the DPF wastes in normal running (multiplied by every car that has one fitted) on top of that the DPF can cause the owner to burn even more fuel (eg, running in 3rd instead of top/ having to "boot" it to regen the DPF) as well

The DPF tends to collect carbon all the time when the engine is running, and can often "dump" it out in one big lump, often when accelerating hard, that can often be in built up areas, (near schools etc) so a DPF can concentrate pollution ware it is most harmful (at least when the DPF gets older)

spreading it around evenly may be less harmful to the enviroment, and the lower the MPG the better a car is for the enviroment (producing fuel has a significant impact on the enviroment)

DPFs can have a knock on effect of destroying an engine, this may cause the car to be scrapped - again, scrapping one car and replacing it with a new one can have a significant negative effect on the enviroment too

So the overall impact on the enviroment during the cars lifetime, and the knock-on effect of this -

And not just a knee-jerk reaction that is more of a political solution ("look what we are doing to help pollution") than an engineering solution (DPFs, EGRs) instead of allowing manufacturers to develop innovative, efficient solutions (like making cars lighter, simpler, not more complicated- its ridiculus when the avarage driver has to think twice about buying a diesel if he/she does a lot of short journeys ) to these problems that dont involve "stuck-on"/ "belt and braces" "quick-fixes"

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I have no idea when the fiesta DPF was going to fail.

However, i had that car nearly 3 years, and im wondering if people are over reacting with the DPF.

If for example, the same thing happened with my current focus, and the DPF failed in 3 years time and needed a clean, I'd be happy with that.

What I am concerned about is something nobody can really answer.

How many miles will my DPF last doing short journeys?

I am now going to start doing a weekly run up the motorway, although, i have read several times now, that the DPF is less reliant on the engine revs, and more reliant on a constant speed. many companies quoting 40mph for 10 mins.

All things considered, my next car will 100% be a petrol engine.

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100% petrol , dicky injectors, coil packs failing, catalytic converter failures, cam belts etc etc . whatever car you buy the scare mongering will always be out there .

Personally I would run the car and IF the dpf goes wonky then just gut it and map the car no more hassles .

I really wouldn't worry about it just enjoy the car . :D :D. :driving: :driving:

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Sadly there is never a straight answer. It comes down to how much of a breeze there is over the year as to how long it lasts I guess. It depends on servicing and if the roles fluid is good and maintained.

Doing a motorway run is exactly what needs to happen, so the more you do that, the better for the car and your wallet.

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I was thinking about this again this morning.

And then I remembered, that before I had the fiesta tdci, I had a 2006 Renault Clio tdci, which I believe also had a DPF.

Again, i was trundling around town exactly like i have been with the fiesta and now the focus, and i had that car for about 2 years, and didn't have a problem with that either,

On one hand I think I'm going to be spending quite a bit of money on it, but on the other hand I think back to previous cars with dpf's and didn't have a problem and that was without motorway driving on a regular basis.

There is a good thing to come out of this though, and I have learnt a few things. As long as you learn something it's not wasted.

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I have the 2.0tdci and had the same dpf issue over and over and had it cleaned twice with ford (luckily on warranty) I then had the dpf gutted and a remap which cost £240 and have never had a problem since, and I must say the car is much nicer to drive and more responsive and even get a few extra mpg. And yes if you get it straight thru after a 2008 it will fail the mot. However as others have said have the dpf gutted (opened from the top so no sign of tampering) and refitted.

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The remap is to 'delete' the dpf otherwise the ecu will think there is a problem with it as there are air pressure sensors at either side of the filter. If the dpf isn't deleted the car will go into limp mode. The remap doesn't need to be a power map. Just needs to delete the dpf.

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Ok, so by doing that, does it affect the emissions? Thinking about the mot.

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Diesels don't have an emissions test on the mot only a smoke test and it doesn't effect that, mines been done for 3 year now and never had one problem with mot.

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Ok, I'd really love to do this, but just worried about being caught out on the mot.

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I can't see there being any chance of that as they would have to remove the whole filter to check inside it, which isn't an easy task.

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the mot smoke test comes back cleaner because there is nothing in the exhaust to put more cack back into the gasses

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  • 1 year later...

I have a 2009 Focus econetic and have been very pleased with it until this March when I first encountered this problem with the DPF / Engine Malfunction. The Ford dealer suggested a clean [£200] and suggested that I take it onto the motorway at least once a week which I have been doing [Hull to Manchester and back] but then two months later the same problem only this time I was told that the sensor needed replacing [£350] but that I should have no further problems. However, they were wrong and the problem reared it's ugly head yet again despite me doing the motorway run. So what do I do? I like the car and I don't want to go back to petrol but what I'm saving on the mileage I'm losing on the repairs. The garage told me that if I bought a later Ford diesel then I would not have the problem but is this correct and what do I do with my Econonetic? Apart from the DPF issue, it's in great nick and low mileage.

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  • 3 months later...

Any one know where i can get my dpf gutted and dpf delete done in Leeds? 

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