My car's DPF is blocked. Can it be cleaned or does it need replacing?

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My car's DPF is blocked. Can it be cleaned or does it need replacing?

I've owned a diesel 2013 Volvo V40 for nearly two years and it has now covered 28,000 miles (short journeys since I have owned it). Recently the message 'soot filter blocked' came up. My local garage has had it in a couple of times to do a forced regeneration and put it on a machine to clean the DPF but so far nothing has worked and the message is still on the instrument panel. Do you know if this can actually be cleaned somehow or, if not, what the likely cost of a replacement DPF would be? Thank you.

Asked on 6 November 2020 by Tim Collins

Answered by Dan Powell

It's possible to have the DPF cleaned via the Ceramex process, but the success rate will depend on the condition of the filter.

Modern diesel cars are simply not suited for low-mileage use. Your car will need at least 15-miles (per journey) to reach optimum operating temperature and complete a full DPF burnoff cycle. Even if you are successful in cleaning the filter on this occasion, I fear you will face more costly problems that are linked to the fact that the engine is used for repeated short runs from cold. My advice would be to fix the filter and replace the car with a petrol or electric vehicle.

Tags: diesel cars dpf cleaning dpf issues

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