What Are The Options After A Dpf Issue

[G777]

Hi everyone

Please can anyone advise as to the best option once you've been hit by the dreaded DPF & 'limp home' issue

A bit of history: I have a 1.6 TDCI which I drive on the motorway pretty much every working day. It's just over 3 years old, out of warrenty and done 55k. A few weeks back it went into limp home mode whilst joining a motorway, and then again a couple of days later. My local garage said it was a dpf issue and they regenerated the dpf and cleared the codes. However I took it down a straight road, pushed the revs high in 2nd and 3rd and I got it to die twice.So what is the best option for me from the following:

1. Leave it alone and hope it doesn't happen again - I'm not keen on this option as its pretty scary having the car die going onto the M25

2. Get the dpf replaced - But this is expensive, and can it be guaranteed it will solve the issue

3. Try and get my garage to accept liability as I don't think they changed the additive at 37.5k - I think I can safely say they will say no or something less polite

4. Get the dpf removed - I'm not sure how much this costs, or if any of you have done this

5. Trade it in for a newer petrol focus (and give up on diesel so no dpf) - I tend to get a new car every 4 years, so maybe I should just move on. Shame to do this as I still love it to death

Any help would be appreciated by this Confused man

[johnH]

this topic has been done to death. what id personally start with before spending money is take it for a 20 min blast down a motorway or dual carriage way...basically put it in 3rd and keep revs at 3000 for like i say 20 mins. this will hopefully clear the ash buildup in your DPF.

post back if this doesnt work. ill suggest more then.

[jeebowhite]

1. Leave it alone and hope it doesn't happen again - I'm not keen on this option as its pretty scary having the car die going onto the M25

- Bad Idea, do you really want a high pressure building up and risking blowing the turbo because you thought it might "fix itself"? - £1000 for a new DPF and a further £700 for a new turbo?

2. Get the dpf replaced - But this is expensive, and can it be guaranteed it will solve the issue - Cant guarantee it will resolve the issue - it probably will if its definately a DPF issue but no guarantees really.

3. Try and get my garage to accept liability as I don't think they changed the additive at 37.5k - I think I can safely say they will say no or something less polite

- Your garage wont accept liability as they will admit they sold you a car not fit for purpose, and will mean they have to fork out for damages, plus the fact that you could still return the car even at the end - this wont happen - thats a guarantee!

4. Get the dpf removed - I'm not sure how much this costs, or if any of you have done this

Read a thread I did a while back "DPF Removal" - "I wonder...." It goes into a lot of detail - its possible, but its risky.

5. Trade it in for a newer petrol focus (and give up on diesel so no dpf) - I tend to get a new car every 4 years, so maybe I should just move on. Shame to do this as I still love it to death

You could do this, or buy a maintenance free DPF which gives you the best of both worlds...

[G777]

Hi

Thanks for the replies. However it turns out that my garage did not have a clue what they were doing. I have taken it to a larger main dealer and they have diagnosed that there is nothing wrong with the DPF.

Apparently despite the other garage having given the car a full service, and more recently charged me for regenerating the DPF, they still hadn't refilled the DPF additive fluid, or picked up that there was a blocked fuel filter. I now have had the fluid added and the fuel filter replaced. Hopefully (fingers crossed) I won't have any more issues and my car will go back to being the lovely car it was to drive.

Cheers

G

[johnH]

if you have a receipt from the the original garage which claims they refilled the EOYLS fluid, you can claim the money back on this, especially if you have a receipt from ford to say they refilled it.

but glad you got this issue sorted.