What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Can I remove the DPF from my car?
Are DPFs a legal requirement? What do you think of ECU-Flash's DPF removal service, please?
Asked on 21 December 2013 by SW, via email
Answered by
Honest John
DPFs are an EC legal requirement, yes. According to the relevant government document:
“It is an offence under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Regulation 61a(3)) to use a vehicle which has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the air pollutant emissions standards it was designed to meet. Removal of a DPF will almost invariably contravene these requirements, making the vehicle illegal for road use. A vehicle might still pass the MoT visible smoke emissions test, which is primarily intended to identify vehicles that are in a very poor state of repair, whilst emitting illegal and harmful levels of fine exhaust particulate.”
Removing DPFs is therefore technically illegal. It could also constitute tax evasion because your car will no longer comply with its certified CO2 emissions. But VOSA in the UK has not yet found a way of enforcing this law. If VOSA enforces the law your car could get a prohibition notice until the DPF was replaced.
“It is an offence under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Regulation 61a(3)) to use a vehicle which has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the air pollutant emissions standards it was designed to meet. Removal of a DPF will almost invariably contravene these requirements, making the vehicle illegal for road use. A vehicle might still pass the MoT visible smoke emissions test, which is primarily intended to identify vehicles that are in a very poor state of repair, whilst emitting illegal and harmful levels of fine exhaust particulate.”
Removing DPFs is therefore technically illegal. It could also constitute tax evasion because your car will no longer comply with its certified CO2 emissions. But VOSA in the UK has not yet found a way of enforcing this law. If VOSA enforces the law your car could get a prohibition notice until the DPF was replaced.
Similar questions
Various companies are advertising diesel particulate filter removal services with associated re-programming of the ECU to stop the CEL lighting up. My understanding is it is only an EU requirement to have...
Mercedes-Benz seems to be actively promoting its Euro 6 compliant BluTec diesel engines in favour of the established Euro 5 CDi Blue Efficiency versions with, for example, its revised ML-Class announced...
I agree with you that government economy figures for new cars are often deceiving, as they are here in the US. But surely anyone with a modicum of sense must realise that a fuel economy is relative to...
.jpg)
