How quickly can a DPF get clogged up?

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  • ratechaser
    ratechaser Posts: 1,674 Forumite
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    thescouselander wrote: »
    Ford should be the best equipped in theory but there's no guarantee you'll get the right diagnosis - I've had wrong diagnoses from dealers before.

    If the dealer can't explain how the DPF came to be blocked it's probably a good indication they haven't found the root cause. It might be a good idea to have a word with the service manager to express your concerns and make sure one of the more experienced mechanics has given everything a good going over.

    That's apparently what's happening right now, and I'm hoping to get an answer on it today.

    And I will be bringing up all the possible causes that everyone here has suggested so thank you all. Never even thought about the type of oil used, not that it would be an easy one to prove without detailed analysis... let's hope it doesn't come to that...
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    Noree wrote: »
    Just for info, a DPF can block quite quickly if you dont drive for reasonable periods on the motorway.

    Most of the 17,000 miles a year I drive isn't on the motorway, my DPF filter at 128k shows no signs of problems. I do however do a 28 mile each way commute on major A roads (not dual carriageway) and do very little urban driving. You do not need to do motorway driving to allow a DPF filter to regenerate.
  • ratechaser
    ratechaser Posts: 1,674 Forumite
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    Oh and I'll also be asking why they did not even suggest doing a clean of the DPF, which I've just found out is a service that a lot of places offer. And obviously cheaper than replacing.

    Maybe those expensive ford parts are far too delicate to be cleaned...
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,175 Forumite
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    ratechaser wrote: »
    Well clearly a Focus DPF must be a bit cheaper than one for an SMax, as my ford garage said it was £1364 just for the part :eek:

    Versus halfords that would do it for £640 inc labour... that'll be a hard decision...

    But still leaves open the question of how it got that bad so quickly on a fairly low mileage car that does get motorway runs. Let's see if they can figure that one out...

    It might have been £500 but £300 rang a bell. They did a full "health check" at the same time. Who knows. Certainly wasn't more than £500 anyway.
  • ratechaser
    ratechaser Posts: 1,674 Forumite
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    Deleted_User wrote: »
    It might have been £500 but £300 rang a bell. They did a full "health check" at the same time. Who knows. Certainly wasn't more than £500 anyway.

    Funnily enough I spoke to someone else today that said they got a cheap ford DPF for a focus. Apparently they do a reconditioned line of parts. But nothing available for an S Max so I'm told. And it's expensive because the ford part has a precious metal component to it that you don't get with the secondary market DPFs. At least that's what I'm told...

    As I said upthread, every day a school day :p
  • Noree
    Noree Posts: 166 Forumite
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    Tarambor wrote: »
    Most of the 17,000 miles a year I drive isn't on the motorway, my DPF filter at 128k shows no signs of problems. I do however do a 28 mile each way commute on major A roads (not dual carriageway) and do very little urban driving. You do not need to do motorway driving to allow a DPF filter to regenerate.

    Yes I’m aware of this. I’ve given a best example of practice. Generally a steady 40mph can be enough with some.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    edited 9 March 2018 at 4:19PM
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    ratechaser wrote: »
    Oh and I'll also be asking why they did not even suggest doing a clean of the DPF, which I've just found out is a service that a lot of places offer. And obviously cheaper than replacing.

    Maybe those expensive ford parts are far too delicate to be cleaned...

    Because DPF cleaning is not a manufacturer approved procedure as it wrecks a Ford DPF and stops it working properly.. It is a BODGE that private individuals have come across, put on Youtube and businesses owned and staffed by people as clueless as the muppets who came up with the original idea have decided they can make money out of.

    In many Euro 5 and possibly on all new Fords the Ford DPF filters are cDPFs, ceramic coated filters used with the additive normally fed into the tank injected into the coating so you don't have to have an additive which needs topping up every so often. This coating is done to lower the self ignition temperature of the soot. It is embedded in the filter washcoat and that can be damaged or completely blown away by forcing water through at high pressure which is how they clean the DPF filters. You may find that a Ford DPF filter cleaned that way may fail the new MOT and also end up getting blocked far more often as the regeneration procedure in Fords fitted with these DPF filters isn't designed to get the DPF filter as hot as it is in cars where they use an additive and don't use these coated DPF filters. Therefore the soot never self ignites so never gets cleaned out of the filter.

    So whilst on a Ford that service you talk about will clear a blocked filter it'll also knacker it and the car could fail an Euro 5 or Euro 6 emissions test. This is what happens when mongs without a clue come up with what they think is a solution to a problem.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    ratechaser wrote: »
    And it's expensive because the ford part has a precious metal component to it that you don't get with the secondary market DPFs. At least that's what I'm told...

    Ford is one of the few manufacturers who use a special coating inside the DPF filter so you don't have the inconvenience of having to have an additive tank topped up every few services. Not many manufacturers use it because it is expensive compared to taking the additive tank route for the manufacturer.

    As I mentioned above, the coating is to lower the soot ignition temperature and Fords fitted with these cDPF filters have a regen procedure designed to work at cooler temperatures so a cheap aftermarket one without this coating is likely to end up getting blocked more easily.
  • ratechaser
    ratechaser Posts: 1,674 Forumite
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    Tarambor wrote: »
    Ford is one of the few manufacturers who use a special coating inside the DPF filter so you don't have the inconvenience of having to have an additive tank topped up every few services. Not many manufacturers use it because it is expensive compared to taking the additive tank route for the manufacturer.

    As I mentioned above, the coating is to lower the soot ignition temperature and Fords fitted with these cDPF filters have a regen procedure designed to work at cooler temperatures so a cheap aftermarket one without this coating is likely to end up getting blocked more easily.

    At this rate I'll be a DPF expert in no time!

    Anyway, the twist at the end of the tale: turns out there's nothing wrong with the DPF after all. The senior mechanic and manager had a look at it, and decided that it was a misdiagnosed soot reading. Car ran fine in their tests (they took it for a run and got it regenning on the motorway, no further error codes or cut outs).

    So apparently it was the fuel filter after all, as they had initially diagnosed.

    To be fair, the manager was very apologetic and I got most of the bill taken away, so overall it could have been worse. But if I hadn't questioned them all the way, I could have ended up another £2k out of pocket for work that didn't need doing.

    Anyway, seems to be running ok, perhaps a tiny bit sluggish, not sure if that's related to a new fuel filter being fitted. But just crossing my fingers that it behaves itself from now on.

    Phew :cool:
  • jbreen
    jbreen Posts: 4 Newbie
    edited 8 December 2019 at 8:47AM
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    lf your DPF is reading a stupid number above 200% full then it's nonsense. The cause of this high reading will 99% be a faulty /clogged Differential Pressure sensor When these sensors play up the DPF can read crazy numbers well over 400% full. Do not listen to dealers regarding replacing your DPF unless you like throwing money down the drain. They should know this . My car was in limp mode and the DPF was showing 400% full . l replaced the Differential Pressure sensor and after a short drive it dropped to 150%. Full power was restored. l then drove to a freeway and dropped the car back a gear to get the revs over 2000 rpm and the regeneration begun. l monitored this live with a icarsoft V2.0 diagnostic tool and the DPF fill levels reduced as my daughter read out the values. After 25 mins driving the DPF dropped to 0 % and the regeneration stopped about 5 mins later.. No problems ever since. l still plug the icarsoft in weekly to check my DPF fill levels . l believe all cars with a DPF need some sort of fill level gauge as standard in the dash. My advice is always change the differential pressure sensor before handing over money to a mechanic. lt's not hard to replace.
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