DPF - advice needed

[dereksouter]

hi, I have a 2013 308 Diesel (1.6L)

went in to limp mode a week ago.
local garage has advised me that the DPF needs to be replaced - £400
they did also offer to drill it out and remap the ECU for £250 - appears this may be illegal, and would almost certainly invalidate my insurance even if not illegal

since gone to National Tyres Autocare, they checked and the error the showed me shows "P1445 Additive Adding. The Quantity of additive injected into the FAP has exceeded the maximum threshold. The FAP must be changed"
he said that it need a regeneration - and said to go to one of the other branches, as they had a better system.
their website says that they do a maintenance clean, or a flush - £35 or £85

I have an ODB reader, and the software is showing what appears to be good figures for soot load, etc...
the one that appears to be causing the issue is marked as "M-04-06 - Theoretical distance remaining before replacement of the Particulate Filter" - which shows 0 miles.

now, it would appear that there is a built-in lifespan on the DPF - but does that mean that I do need to get it replaced, or can I simply have the ECU reset to think it has been replaced?

[GiveMeABreak]

Look, at the end of the day, you made the right decision - it IS illegal to tamper with or remove any part of the emissions systems for vehicles using a public road. Your garage should not even be offering you that advice as it can leave you with an even bigger bill to put right and it can invalidate your insurance as the vehicle no longer meets the standards it was certificated for when made.

A DPF is a service item and it's one of the things that has to be factored in if choosing to own a later diesel where one has been fitted. They are designed to last any where up to 150k miles, so that's not too bad.

I have explained this a million times on the Forum and I'm going to have to put something up that I can point people too, to save repeating, so thanks for reminding me to do this. The filter has a limited life because there are elements in the additive fluid (Cerine) that cannot be burned off when the filter regenerates. These, along with engine deposits like carbon and ash cannot be burned off and so ultimately block the filter. The soot is what is trapped (including the very small harmful particulate matter that can damage young lungs) in the filter and this is what gets burned off, leaving ash.

The engine ECU calculates the amount of additive that has been pumped into the fuel tank over the years and records the Cerine deposits as a weight in grammes. When this figure reaches a certain level it means that the filter is coming to end of service life and either needs replacing or proper cleaning.

So those are your two choices. There is no resetting it - only telling the engine ECU the filter has been replaced. But of course if you do that and you haven't then the differential pressure sensors which are a safety measure will still trigger the warning when the pressure gets to much and you vehicle will go into reduced performance mode. So at best it is temporary.

This should be seen as an operating cost of a diesel and factored in at some point.

[dereksouter]

Thanks

looking at the readings, it doesn't look as though the filter actually needs to be replaced (to my untrained eyes at any rate)

As the garage has offered an illegal option, I am highly suspicious of them (had a few other instances where they appear to have ripped me off a bit) - so am worried that I pay to have the DPF replaced, and they don't. I assume that if it is professionally cleaned, they would tell the ECU that the filter has been replaced, so that would clear the fault.

[GiveMeABreak]

I'll need your VIN to check the theoretical weights of the particle filter (please post your VIN in full without spaces - it will be automatically masked from public view after submitting your post & will only be visible to staff). The soot loading shown means it's ready for a regeneration any time now and the theoretical life of the filter based on the weight of deposits (non-burnable that I mentioned) is 43grammes, so depending on which system you have that could be about half. But remember this is theoretical calculated value and other factors may need to be taken into consideration.

There are places that can do a professional clean for you - heck, even Halfords do a few different levels of DPF cleaning at some of their centres, so that may be your best bet. Of course once you have this done, you will need to tell the engine ECU that the DPF has been changed so that it can factor this in to the calculations going forward, otherwise it won't know.

[dereksouter]

the VIN is VF3**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]

I am aware of the cleans that Halfords offer - I mention them in my first post - but it is unlcear if they tell the ECU that the DPF has been replaced/cleaned - and I doubt that I could do that myself.

when I called them this morning and mentioned the error message, they said that I would be better going to a Peugeot specialist.

[GiveMeABreak]

That sounds like a Halfords response!

I suspect that they only involve themselves in the cleaning aspect and nothing else, probably to avoid liability.

Anyone with a Lexia / Diagbox kit could do this for you, as it's a case of going into the replacement parts and advising of DPF replacement. That should do everything that is needed.

Have a look at our list of members who have offered Lexia / Peugeot Planet / Diagbox Diagnostics help if you haven't already seen it - link below:

At the end of the list is a link to a Google Map, showing the geographic locations of members and details. Just use the Private Message or Email links on the member's profile to contact anyone suitable.

List of Lexia / Diagbox Owners with Kits Offering Help

Bear in mind, although we update the list as often as we can, not all members are active on the Forum all the time, so it may take a while for a reply.

[RichardW]

If the pressures are OK, and it's still regenerating, it's fine to tell it it's been replaced, and it will go away happy. Yes, it's temporary, but that's like at least 40k miles of temporary.... I know what I would be doing (have done more than once!). However, I think you have other issues - normally at end of life you just get a permanent Risk of DPF Clogging warning, and no limp mode, and yours is saying soot load is 100% (which means it won't regen). I posted a vid a while back about DPF cleaning - they can be cleaned, but it needs to come off and be soaked in acid to dissolve the Cerine deposits, plus some other cleaning - just a bit of gunk in the pipe on the car won't fix it. In your case, need to see what else it is upset about, to form a plan of action.

Whereabouts are you in Scotland?

[GiveMeABreak]

So try and avoid driving it at present as once it reaches anything over 75% it can be difficult or impossible to regenerate the filter. If yours won't regenerate then the worst thing is to keep driving it as it will get to the point where it will throw a major wobbly and reduce power to prevent component damage of other engine parts.

[dereksouter]

If the pressures are OK, and it's still regenerating, it's fine to tell it it's been replaced, and it will go away happy. Yes, it's temporary, but that's like at least 40k miles of temporary.... I know what I would be doing (have done more than once!). However, I think you have other issues - normally at end of life you just get a permanent Risk of DPF Clogging warning, and no limp mode, and yours is saying soot load is 100% (which means it won't regen). I posted a vid a while back about DPF cleaning - they can be cleaned, but it needs to come off and be soaked in acid to dissolve the Cerine deposits, plus some other cleaning - just a bit of gunk in the pipe on the car won't fix it. In your case, need to see what else it is upset about, to form a plan of action.

Whereabouts are you in Scotland?

Hi Richard - I PM'd you

I am just north of Airdire.

I've got it booked in to a Peugeot specialist on friday, to see if he can do anything (or suggest a fix)

it originally gave the fault when I was up in Aberfoyle - but I stopped the car and restarted, and it cleared - and it did a regen on the way home that night (going by the miles since regen figure)
I honestly don't think that the filter needs cleaned - I think that it's a built-in obsolescence - but if it needs cleaned/replaced, then I will get that done (whichever is the cheaper/more cost effective option)

[dereksouter]

So try and avoid driving it at present as once it reaches anything over 75% it can be difficult or impossible to regenerate the filter. If yours won't regenerate then the worst thing is to keep driving it as it will get to the point where it will throw a major wobbly and reduce power to prevent component damage of other engine parts.

I've been avoiding driving as much as I can - but I do need the car to get around, as there is very limited public transport where I stay.

[dereksouter]

Just an FYI - I just saw a local Peugeot Specialist, and he pointed out that there was another fault showing "P0493-28 - Fan Overspeed (clutch locked)" - and that this was what was putting the car in to limp mode, he cleared and reset the counters on the other codes, and that is the only code still showing.

interestingly enough, I stopped off on my way home, and when I started the car, it never went in to limp mode during the last stretch home (until I stopped and put it into reverse to get back in my drive)

so looks like I need the radiator fan fixed instead of the DPF replaced (probably need to get the DPF cleaned/replaced fairly soon though - within the next 3000 miles)

[dereksouter]

in fact, just checked a few things - the fan runs at high speed, but doesn't run at low speed - so looks like it is just the fan controller that needs to be replaced - a much simpler, faster and cheaper job!

[likea]

That sounds like a Halfords response!

I suspect that they only involve themselves in the cleaning aspect and nothing else, probably to avoid liability.

Anyone with a Lexia / Diagbox kit could do this for you, as it's a case of going into the replacement parts and advising of DPF replacement. That should do everything that is needed.

Have a look at our list of members who have offered Lexia / Peugeot Planet / Diagbox Diagnostics help if you haven't already seen it - link below:

At the end of the list is a link to a Google Map, showing the geographic locations of members and details. Just use the Private Message or Email links on the member's profile to contact anyone suitable.

List of Lexia / Diagbox Owners with Kits Offering Help

Bear in mind, although we update the list as often as we can, not all members are active on the Forum all the time, so it may take a while for a reply.

Thanks to this forum. This thread gives info about the tricky "Additive Adding" procedure. The list of Diagbox owners looks useful, but not for anybody who just registered, like me I am looking for a way to connect with @feef and @Chris570 and asking for help. I am living not so far.

[xantia_v6]

You should be able to contact other users now.

[likea]

You should be able to contact other users now.

Not yet. Probably after some of my messages here I will unlock PM.