Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

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Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by boristhespie »

C5 06 hdi exclusive 135bhp 2 litre

Got a depollution system faulty warning the day after a long journey in bad show. The cqr seems to be running ok, just went over 100,000 miles on Friday. Just wanted to ask, I have driven 4 days with warning.

Will I have damaged the car or is is ok to drive it until the garage takes it in? Need if for work.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by Peter.N. »

Its just warning you that something needs attention, I don't think it will do it any harm but it may go into limp home mode then you will have to get it attended to.

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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by boristhespie »

Thanks. When I mentioned it to garage he implied it could cause further. Just hoping it aint something serious. One thread mentioned turbos!

Engine light on. So will book it in tomorrow for ?
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

If you haven't already had it done, your eolys may be low (the additive that gets injected into the diesel to increase the engine temperature to aid Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) regeneration. Or, if you've been driving relatively slowly and in the higher gears for a longish trip or for short trips, the car may not have had a chance to reach a high enough temperature to undertake a regeneration of the filter (where it burns the harmful particles and turns these to soot) Over time the soot piles up in the filter and it can become blocked if the car can't regenerate often enough. If it gets too blocked it will seriously impede the vehicle's operation. A good run with the engine between 2-3000 rpm for 15 minutes once it's warmed up will generally trigger a regeneration. If your still having issues then you'll need to get it hooked up to someone with a diagnostic kit (Diagbox/ Lexia) to troubleshoot further - this will also tell you the estimated levels of soot and Eolys fluid in the system.

So try and get it warmed up and take it for a spin keeping the engine revs as said above and see if that clears the light. If not, then you know what to do.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by Stickyfinger »

I would agree with the above. A good thrash up a motorway in 4th (or locked down in auto) for 15 mins with revs always above 3000.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by osx »

Where can i see the level of EOLYS in Diagbox?
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by Stickyfinger »

I don't think you can, the amount used is an estimate based on the number of times the fuel cap is opened and the miles covered.
(open to correction) I think its a manual inspection job.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by Clogzz »

I’ve had the anti-pollution warning for months and don’t worry about it.
It’s caused by the exhaust gas recirculation valve being stuck shut.
The car goes better without EGR.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by boristhespie »

Have had Eolys done before a year or so ago. Drove about 130 miles with abour half of that slow but did do 70 for a fair bit. Good to know I can drive in it though. Thanks
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by swervoKnows »

I'm having a very similar experience with my C8. I had the Eolys fluid replaced 14 months ago on my 2006 C8 and just recently I've been seeing the 'depollution system faulty' warning on start-up. Only on start-up though then it goes away.
The car seems to run OK - I typically only do longer runs of around 100 miles 2 or 3 times a month and then occasional urban cycle stuff locally. Car is very nearly at 100K miles and has been mine since new and been well maintained.

@boristhespie how did this play out for you in the end? Did gunning it on the motorway resolve it OK. I need to do a 200 mile round trip and I just want a heads up as to whether this should be OK before I get the garage to take a look.

Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Clogzz wrote: 22 Feb 2016, 02:09 I’ve had the anti-pollution warning for months and don’t worry about it.
It’s caused by the exhaust gas recirculation valve being stuck shut.
The car goes better without EGR.
Not really any good for the UK with our new MOT rules. Any warning light on and it wont pass. Better to fix it, but a good clean out of the EGR will help and using some EGR cleaner spray will likely help if you can’t get to the valve easily. Worth a try for the price of a can.
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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by crapday69 »

I have only ever had the 'depollution system faulty' on my old C4, never in my C5 X7. I always thought it was a generic saying for a lot of fuel/exhaust problems. I changed my fuel filter twice on my C4 and that seemed to get rid of the problem.


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Re: Got a depollution system faulty warning is it safe to keep driving for a day or two?

Post by crapday69 »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 21 Feb 2016, 23:54 So try and get it warmed up and take it for a spin keeping the engine revs as said above and see if that clears the light. If not, then you know what to do.


Ah the old Italian tune up, worked in the olden days with all that carbon stuck to the valves with the only other way to get rid of it was to get the head done.

I always feel a bit better after a little thrashing, the car I mean.

Gary.
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