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ford focus estate 2.0tdi powershift - DPF advice - guyhes

I drive around 40k miles per year and always try and buy older low mileage cars to keep the costs down, I only generally have them a year or so before changing. I have put a deposit down on a 2009 ford focus 2.0ltr TDI which has only 14k miles on the clock. It is ex mobility with a full service history.

I have just noticed it is the dpf model and based on the various info I have now seen on the internet I am Worried that because of the age of the vehicle (5 years) and the low mileage the dpf could be at risk of future problems. I will be using for long journeys at speed but can anyone advise if they think its history of low miles means it is a risk that would be silly to take. I would rather lose the deposit than buy a future problem.

Any advice would be great please.

ford focus estate 2.0tdi powershift - DPF advice - craig-pd130

What's the service history like? If it's been serviced as per the schedule it's probably worth a gamble. If there are gaps in the service history, I'd probably avoid due to the risk of oil dilution, not using the correct low-ash DPF friendly oil etc.

I ran a Mondeo IV 2.0 TDCI for 3 and a half years with no DPF problems at all, and a majority of journeys were less than 6 miles (commuting, dad's taxi etc).

Ford's DPF implementation seems pretty robust compared with some other manufacturers.

ford focus estate 2.0tdi powershift - DPF advice - Peter.N.

If the DPF is not showing signs of distress already and you are going to be doing 40k per year and I would assume some of that at quite high speed, I would think it likely that the health of the DPF will improve.

ford focus estate 2.0tdi powershift - DPF advice - pork_pie

Just make sure that for a 15-20 minute portion of your journey, once the engine is warm and that there will are risk of interruptions from jams, use manual override to select the correct gear so that you are doing between 2500 and 3000 rpm at at least 60 mph. This will drive off the soot. I have been told by Ford that a DPF needs replacing every 75000 miles though I am sure thats not the case with every car.

ford focus estate 2.0tdi powershift - DPF advice - guyhes

Thanks for all the advice. As the car has a full dealer history and the fact that I will be doing motorway driving a lot I think its worth a punt. Many thanks