DPF 57% blocked.

[bigben87]

Hi Guys,

I have a 206cc hdi, which i love but has caused me non stop problems!

Wondering if someone could advise or if someone has had similar experience as me.

Had a message come on the dash saying diesel particulate filter blocked as well as engine light.

Took car to peugeot main dealer who attempted a re gen which did not work - £300 down the drain.

Their report states 57% blocked will not clean. They want over £1000 for replacement DPF. Car is only worth about £1800 or so. Wondering if anyone has any magical solutions? One mechanic advised knocking out the DPF but my conscience wont allow me to knowingly spray harmful fumes into the atmosphere!

Dont know if its worth mentioning but i also had a leaking injector at the same time, which has since been fixed.

Left car on drive and last time i started car airbag fault message came up on dash.

Ive now sorned car and its sitting very sad with completely flat battery on my drive. Is it time to say goodbye to my Pug or might i still bring it back from the dead?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Ben.

[Artermis]

Hi Ben,

Don't replace the DPF - that's just crazy. Surprised the regen achieved nothing at all.

Mordern diesels are plagued with DPF problems, that's why so many people now go down the remap route and have them removed or 'cored' as your friend has suggested. This could lead to potential legality and MOT issues though, so you do the right thing to seek a better solution.

I'll point out at the start that the way you use your car has a massive impact here. Unfortunately the government previous sold us on the idea that diesels were our heros and we should all have a more efficient car - remember the scrappage scheme? Problem is modern diesels don't exist well in the modern city environment where they're only doing short journeys around the place.

Modern diesels need a good run, need to be able to get up to temperature and need to be revved a bit to get some gas flow through the DPF. They also need to be on runs long enough to allow the DPF regen cycle to complete.

So we find ourselves in a situation where lots of people bought nice diesel cars and they run into a world of problems because they pootle about town in them doing a couple of miles here and there and it kills the motors.

A bold assertion maybe but if this sounds like you then diesel probably isn't going to be your best option.

Still, to fix your problem. First try taking it for an 'italian tune up'. Give it a good hammering down the nearest dual carriageway, motorway or whatever, rev the nuts off it, get it hot as hell and see if that burns the crap out the DPF. You'll laugh, but it works. Once did this to my mother's HDi (Citroen 1.6) as it gave anti-pollution fault. Went a good 10 miles or so down the motorway in 3rd and 4th gear, got it hot as stink but it worked! Obviously show some mechanical sympathy but you understand what you're trying to achieve.

There is the remap and core option as hinted at above, but understand this isn't to your liking and I don't blame you.

The other option is a DPF cleaning service. They're getting more and more common place these days. They essentially pump a high pressure set of chemicals through your exhaust to clean it out, like a chemical flush of the DPF. Others use things like ultrasonics to break down the blockage. Start googling it and see who is doing what in your area. People like your local terraclean vendor should be able to offer something.

Good luck!

[bigben87]

Hi Artemis,

Thanks so much for your advice.

I commute into north london from herts 5 days a week, and do 54 miles per day on motorway and dual carriageway, so im confused why i had the dpf problem in the first place! However, the car is 10 yrs old and i dont know what previous owners were doing with their miles and if like you say they were potting about on 30mph roads then mabe thats why.

Ive found a dpf cleaning place near me, who charge £200 and guarantee cleaning the dpf through a special machine so fingers crossed that works.

Only thing is battery has gone stone cold dead from sitting on the drive. Trying to bring it back via trickle charger atm. If i get it up and running over next few days ill try and take your advice and floor it on a dual carriageway. The garage scared me into thinking it could break down at any given moment so i never tried that.

Thanks again.

Ben.

[Luditus]

It's amazing as to how many "faults" disappear with a new battery. Your present one is definitely finished.

[GrandadMonkey]

Luditus is quite right. An "end of life" battery on a 206cc throws up all sorts of spurious fault messages. Fit a new one, make sure it is the correct one for the car, and follow the correct procedure to the letter.

[Artermis]

Agree with others - the battery comment changes things slightly!

Stick a new battery in it and see what difference this makes. You can get batteries cheap enough off eBay brand new.

Also second the advice issued here regarding changing the battery - you have the follow the documented procedure to ensure a safe battery change. Bad battery changes have been known to fry components.

[bigben87]

Hi Guys, battery changed, car started no problem first time. Anti pollution fault and clean diesel filter still on dash.

Drove round the block to check it would be okay to get to dpf clean garage but engine completely cut out on me three times. Manged to limp home but now engine turns over but not catching at all.

Just not sure if it worth spending another £350 (dpf clean plus tow truck fee) for a 'possible' fix.

[Luditus]

Sorry to hear that you still have the problem. I had a little look on the internet, and see that new filters are available for a fraction of the price that you were quoted, i.e. from approx. £100 to £400 dependant on your vehicle spec. Worthwhile looking into, as its easier and possibly cheaper than your cleaning option.
You might consider Halfords Autocentre (or you might not!), which offers "Deep Cleaning" for £85, but it involves them removing the filter, for which there is an additional charge.

[johnbrander]

I had a 16. hdi 110 that had similar problems,
Tried a forced regen - Failed.
Replaced the DPF and reset - Failed
In the end smashed the DPF contents out and had it reprogrammed - worked, and also put a egr blanking plate in to reduce visible black smoke and did pass MOT