If your vehicle's diesel particulate filter (DPF) warning light has come on you've come to the right place, we offer a number of services to help get you back on the road in no time including Forced DPF Regeneration and our popular Advanced DPF Cleaning service.
If your vehicle's DPF warning light is on the first step is to identify the cause, that's where our DPF Diagnostics service comes in, this will help us identify why the warning light is on and recommend the best course of action.
Our lines are open 9:00am - 5:30pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays and Christmas).
During office hours you can contact us using our websites new Live Chat feature.
Here's an overview of the various services we offer, please contact us if you have any questions.
There are many different faults that can cause a vehicles DPF warning light to come on, sometimes it may just be caused by DPF soot accumulation but in most cases, there's usually an underlying fault, that's where our DPF diagnostics service comes in.
Priced to include 30 minutes of labour, our technicians will work to identify the cause of the fault, should we be unable to identify the root cause within 30 minutes, we'll contact you for authorisation before continuing.
Depending on the condition of your vehicles DPF and assuming there are no other underlying faults, we may be able to complete a forced DPF regeneration.
This is a short term solution that can help extend the life of the DPF by burning off excess soot, this process is activated using our diagnostic equipment and usually takes a couple of hours to complete.
Our advanced DPF cleaning service is a three step process that involves injecting a specialist cleaning solution from JLM Lubricants directly into the DPF filter, a second flushing agent is then passed through the filter before completing a forced DPF regeneration.
This service is suitable where the cause of the DPF issue is purely down to soot accumulation or may be required following a repair to another part of the emissions control system.
Once you've had your vehicle's DPF cleaned there are some basic steps you can take to maximise the life of your DPF;
Servicing - You should ensure your vehicle is regularly serviced with good quality engine oils, cheaper garages tend to use lower quality oils and filters, this may save you a couple of quid on annual servicing but cheap oils with higher ash content can cause premature DPF soot accumulation.
Driving Style - Try to avoid short stop/start journeys, from time to time your vehicle will want to enter passive regeneration mode but this can only happen on longer journeys where the DPF can get up to the required temperature.
Fuel Additives - It's important you understand when you should and shouldn't use in-tank DPF fuel additives as they can be harmful if used incorrectly but once you've had your DPF cleaned by us, we recommend you periodically use JLM DPF Regen Plus as a preventative measure to help prolong the life of your DPF, we carry this fluid in stock, please contact us for more information.
You can book an appointment online or by phone using the following link.
Diesel particulate filters (known as DPF's) became a legal requirement for diesel vehicles in 2009, their function is to help reduce harmful exhaust emissions by trapping soot particles. If you own a diesel vehicle what you may not realise is that by design, the DPF is not meant to last the lifetime of your vehicle, with proper maintenance and good practice a DPF can last around 100k miles but many diesel owners start to encounter issues at around 50k miles, the lifetime of the DPF can be further shortened by improper maintenance, poor quality engine oils and short journeys.
The thinking behind the DPF is that as your use your vehicle, soot will accumulate in the filter and once it's full, you'll return your vehicle to the main dealer where they'll fit a new DPF, that sounds reasonable in theory but in practice, new DPF's can cost thousands, fortunately there are a range of cost effective aftermarket solutions now available to us.
Firstly, don't ignore it, if the DPF warning light has come on it doesn't necessarily mean there's a fault, it could be that your vehicle just needs a little help entering it's passive regeneration mode, this typically involves driving your vehicle on a longer journey of 20-30 minutes whilst maintaining an engine speed of approximately 2,500rpm, this will vary from vehicle to vehicle so you should consult your vehicle hand book for more information about the DPF regeneration procedure for your vehicle.
If your vehicle is unable to self regenerate and the DPF warning light has remained on, it's time to contact us.
Before you go putting anything in your vehicle's fuel tank, speak to us first, some in-tank DPF fuel additives can cause harm if used incorrectly, many of the DPF additives for sale work by creating a chemical reaction which increases the temperature within your vehicles DPF, however, if your DPF is partially blocked, the temperature within the DPF will already be heightened, in such circumstances increasing the temperature further by using an additive will likely damage the DPF beyond repair.
If you ignore the DPF warning light, in time additional lights and symbols may become illuminated on your vehicle's dashboard and your vehicle will likely experience a reduction in power.
Eventually the DPF will become completely blocked, if this happens your vehicle will require a new DPF which can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds, a blocked DPF can also cause significant harm to other engine components.
No, you should not remove the DPF from your vehicle, the act of removing the DPF from a vehicle is not by itself illegal which is why you'll see many companies offering this service, however, using a vehicle on the road with the DPF removed is illegal with penalties of up to £1000 for cars and £2500 for vans.
It's easy to spot a diesel vehicle with the DPF removed as they emit visible exhaust smoke and there are usually signs the DPF has been tampered with, since 2018 MOT testing rules have become much more stringent with MOT testers now required to check for evidence the DPF has been cut open and welded, should the tester believe the DPF has been tampered with, they will refuse to issue an MOT test certificate for the vehicle as a missing or tampered with DPF is a major failure.
Payment Assist allows any invoice over £149 to be spread over three months with no interest, no fee and no credit check (under £1000), you just pay a 25% deposit by debit card with the next three payments taken in monthly instalments.
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