Posted 16 October 2021
Clogged dust particulate filter warning light coming on.
I recently bought a Citroen C4 Picasso, diesel, 2011 car - this one has a dust particulate filter fitted (my last diesel - Citroen Xsarra Picasso didn't have one). I usually run it around town, to work and school drop-offs, etc. However, I do drive it down the motorway twice a week - about 24 miles each way per journey.
I've read that if the light comes on, I have to drive the car at a high speed, lower gear for around 20 minutes or more down the motorway, or similar. The first time that I tried this, it seemed to sort the issue out, as I believe that a regeneration took place, where it burns off the excess soot. However, the same message has come up twice again over the past couple of weeks.
I'm just wondering if using the more expensive diesel would help - I always use the standard cheaper diesel? I'm also looking at additives such as a diesel particulate filter cleaner (maybe this one - STP GST66200EN Diesel Particulate Filter Cleaner 200 ml - this one says it is for regular or bio-diesel, so does that mean it can't be used with a super diesel, the more expensive type?), which claim to unclog blocked DP filters and help particularly for cars used for city driving.
I'm just wondering if changing to the higher priced diesel and/or using an additive would actually help with this issue? I'm not sure if the additive would be required if using the other diesel, as I don't know if it has additives built into it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
I've read that if the light comes on, I have to drive the car at a high speed, lower gear for around 20 minutes or more down the motorway, or similar. The first time that I tried this, it seemed to sort the issue out, as I believe that a regeneration took place, where it burns off the excess soot. However, the same message has come up twice again over the past couple of weeks.
I'm just wondering if using the more expensive diesel would help - I always use the standard cheaper diesel? I'm also looking at additives such as a diesel particulate filter cleaner (maybe this one - STP GST66200EN Diesel Particulate Filter Cleaner 200 ml - this one says it is for regular or bio-diesel, so does that mean it can't be used with a super diesel, the more expensive type?), which claim to unclog blocked DP filters and help particularly for cars used for city driving.
I'm just wondering if changing to the higher priced diesel and/or using an additive would actually help with this issue? I'm not sure if the additive would be required if using the other diesel, as I don't know if it has additives built into it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Community Updates
40 Comments
sorted byA blocked DPF on these engine causes backpressure and and cause problems with the EGR valve, Turbo, Injectors (and/or seals), so I would get it checked as soon as you can.
Regarding cleaning, check out prices for a new DPF before you pay for that one to be cleaned, when mine needed doing, it cost me £17 more for a new one supplied and fitted, than getting the existing one cleaned!
is dead right that lots of places don't have a clue about the technology.
I'd start with getting the codes read. All sorts of stuff can stop the regen working properly. Anything from a duff thermostat or glow plug through magnet fallen off the fuel cap to run out of eolys or duff injector. The problem is finding somewhere that actually understand it.
It amazes me that garages will spend upwards of £2-3k on a diagnostic kit and don't spend any time actually learning how to use it. If all they are going to do is use the read codes, reset codes and replacement parts menu then they might as well just buy something for a couple of hundred quid rather than buying a snapon or similar!
Best bet is take it to a garage that specialises in DPFs, it’s amazing how may garages don’t understand how the DPF system actually works. I see lots of DPF faults and people book in and want the DPF cleaning but 90 percent of the time it doesn’t need cleaing
If it has an adblue or Eloys system it would tell you if it was low on fluid so unlikely to be anything to do with those.
If the light eventually goes out and no engine warning lights trigger then it's completed the regeneration process successfully. So unlikely to be any of the sensors at fault, as the process would likely fail.
It could be that the Dpf is probably nearing the end of it's life, after every regeneration it will leave a little bit of ash, eventually the ash fills the dpf so it requires more and more regenerations because it is still full of Ash after burning the soot off etc so it fills quicker each time.
Or it could be that it's burning oil or running rich for whatever reason. I, e faulty egr, dirty injectors etc. Most faults would trigger the engine warning light though.
If it's got more than 90k on it then I'd put money on it being the dpf at fault.
Really what you need to do is have it hooked up to diagnostics machine and see what what's going on with the dpf and how full it still is after regerating. Also you could use the diagnostic equipment to trigger a static regeneration, sometimes that will clear the dpf better. I've done that on a friends Mondeo a couple of times and he hasn't had any issues with his since. His vaporiser was clogged but the forced regerations helped clear that.
To help clear the dpf manually, and/or trigger the regeneration it's ideal to drop into a low gear and get the revs between 3-4k rpm for 10 minutes or so.
If it is your dpf then you could remove it and have it professionally cleaned out. I'd always recommend having it removed and cleaned rather than the static options. They will usually give you a before and after readout too etc. Somewhere like this.
Or get rid of it, diesels really aren't good for lots of short journeys.
Quite!
Its going to be interesting as the move to ev continues and garages are going to need to understand a whole new set of stuff with battery tech, bms systems, etc.
Shouldn't cost a grand for your car
ebay.co.uk/itm…9wk
That possibly fits, £140. Probably about £50 fitting.
Get the DPF fluid level checked too, I think your's might be the bag
ebay.co.uk/itm…280
but thats something you would have to get checked as to which it is.
The ECU needs telling it's been refilled too, so you need a garage who has more than a cheap code reader to do it.
What I would say is, if an injector has gone, and you are getting DPF blocked error messages, it is possible they are connected. Get it checked quickly or you might find you need another injector before long.
How many miles does your car have on it?
Exactly, but they are happy to just throw parts at a car, making more money, than actually diagnose the problem. For example, it's rare an injector will just fail on these engines, there is usually an underlying cause, and if that isn't addressed they will keep failing.
Yes appreciate this but there is no defined mileage of where DPF’s need to be replaced and that is my point. It’s not like say a cam belt which has a defined life span. This will only occur as you said based on driver behaviour and lack of/poor maintenance. A lot of blockages happen around the EGR valve.
Changing the DPF isn't part of Ford's service schedule.
That Ford agent is wrong. However I can understand how it may be misunderstood. Some Ford's use eolys fluid like Peugeot/Citroën and as part of the 75k service schedule the fluid needs topping up/changing etc.
I decided to go ahead and put in a whole bottle of Redex DPF cleaner on Monday afternoon and in the evening I did a 34-mile trip back down the motorway from Tiverton - I drove there via countryside back roads as half the distance (drove between 55-65 mph in gear 4 until I came off). I couldn't feel any difference whilst I was driving at all and when I got home the Service light was still on. The next morning, I started the car and the Service light came back on with the DPF clogging warning (this has never actually stayed on permanently, it just came on for a few seconds each time I started up the car - but the Service light did stay on permanently). I thought that it hadn't worked, so drove the car to my daughter's about a mile away and parked it up. In the evening when I left, on turning on the engine, the Service light was not showing and the DPF clogging warning did not come on either. This morning, I drove to work and again, no Service light or DPF clogging warning message, so, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the issue I had has now cleared after using the Redex DPF cleaner.
Does your car have an additive injection system, it's called eolys and was used on Citroen's around this time. I have a Citroen and although no probs so far I've had a thought. As I understand it eolys is injected each time you refuel. I understand this is triggered by the fuel cap (magnet). If you go for a good drive try stopping occasionally and removing and replacing the fuel cap. This is only my musings and may be rubbish. Just Google your car and eolys and fuel cap dpf/fap blockage (french term, fap)and see what comes up.Good luck
Stick at 70 mph and drop a gear or two, so you are doing 2500 revs for 20 mins or miles.
Come off turn round and go back doing the same thing.
I had a Vectra estate 1.9 cdti and did a lot of local runs, one day while drinking the glow plug light came on and stayed on.
The car run like crap and fuel gauge was dropping like a stone.
I found out later the car was doing a forced regeneration.
Thats when the Vectra forum advised a 20 min run at 2500 revs.
40,000 more miles and never a forced regeneration.
One clear out a month kept it going fine.
Plus responded better after the run.
You need to drive above 40mph for 10 mins solid so a motorway or a dual carriageway would be the ideal place to clear it. It doesn’t need to be in low gear at all.
If the car requires any diesel additive such as adblue it could be that this has run out and needs topping up.
If you want to give the DPF a one off clean get some cataclean for diesels, follow the instructions, you will notice a difference very quickly.
Forget higher priced fuel, having run several cars with particulate filters now I’ve never used it and they have been fine. I have used cataclean though 1-2 a year depending on mileage. (edited)
Took it to ford garage where they replaced sensor relating to problem area (costing us just over £500).
Few months after that it happened again so went back to Ford garage & they said sensor faulty so replaced for free.
Few weeks after that it happened again & then they said its the DPF that needs changing.
At that time, we would travel about 300 miles in 1 journey approx 7-8 times a year which should prevent DPF from clogging up in fiirst place.
We asked another garage & they confirmed that DPF needs replacing at x miles (i think 70000 cant remember now but our car was well over that at about 90000).
Ford garage maintained that Sensor did need replacing as could not find other fault, they were not even willing to knock off that money against cost of replacing DPF.....utter cowboy antics. We were so fed up with car that we just ended up buying new.
Btw we AlWAYS put in Shell/Esso or BP fuel & NEVER supermarket fuel yet we still had DPF problems.
We have another car with a DPF since 2016 & never had DPF issues with that (touch wood). (edited)
The ammonia tank thing was indeed common and the official line from Peugeot and so on was that it needed topped up anywhere from ~70k miles on, but was dependent on the style of driving changing when it needed done.
We stopped doing the correct type of mileage during 2020, so changed out 1.6 diesel for a 1l Toyota Yaris for local runarounds, and at the same time became eligible for Motability, which has become the family car - so got a petrol hybrid for that.
Where can I check the chassis number on my car - I have already looked at my car's registration documents but I can't see anything mentioning the chassis number on it? Thank you.
Sorry, I've just checked and didn't realise the chassis number is also called the VIN number. I have found mine and it's a mixture of of 17 letters and numbers, so I think the EOLYS product above is not for my car as that chassis number is FWD I UD_
I will have to google this a bit more to see if my car does have EOLYS to be used which is activated by the magnetic fuel cap.
i bought a 2006 307 2.0 hdi 136 was driving fine somehow for a few days then a load of lights came on and no power, turns out the dpf was so badly blocked the turbo was also damaged due to back pressure.
I replaced the turbo and dpf, refilled the eloys fluid which was over £100 for a little bottle then it was fine for a few weeks then blocked again whilst driving on a 100 mile motorway trip.
I gave up with it in the end and ripped the dpf off, drilled the centre, got it remapped to delete dpf
and it drove great from there on (edited)
Sorry to hear about the problems that you had. I don't know yet if my car does run on an Eolys system, so I have to find that out first. Somebody mentioned to try Cataclean which I'm now looking at. It says it's for all diesels, but I'm not sure if that means all diesels not using an Eolys system? Thank you for you comments though.
This is the first car that I've had also whereby you open the fuel cap from inside the car. When I refill it, once open, there is a small round metal cover that I have to push the fuel holder through to fill up - just wondering if that is an Eolys magnetic one? I suppose I'd like to try an additive first, but I need to find out first if my car requires Eolys fluid or not. Thank you.
I thought it was a stratght MOT fail if a car manufactured with a DPF had it removed?
You remove the inside and leave the dpf outer shell there
DPF’s don’t need replacing after 70k, what utter garbage you were fed.
My 1.6 diesel fiesta did 160k and was still on its original DPF when I scrapped the car.
As someone posted above a forum, this one I have found useful, you may have to join, free, but you can ask questions or browse related topics, it's appropriate for your car.
frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ (edited)
Totally depends on driving style and where. If 70k mainly driving around town it's going to do lots of regeneration's and fill up with ash a lot quicker than it would if you did lots of motorway miles. Most DPF issues from experience usually start around 90k-130k but they can last a lot longer. My mates Sprinter has done over 300k and still on it's original DPF. Motorway driving keeps the DPF clear and it passively regenerates etc.. (edited)
Agreed.
Had also seen it written on ford service schedule "DPF replacement at 7?,000 miles". Did a bit of research before when deciding to go for new car.
Maybe Its not now but was a few years ago. Cant find it but heres a link where its being chatted about on a forum
honestjohn.co.uk/for…902
That Ford agent is wrong. However I can understand how it may be misunderstood. Some Ford's use eolys fluid like Peugeot/Citroën and as part of the 75k service schedule the fluid needs topping up/changing etc.
ffs, why is a garage saying that. Don't do a forced regen without knowing what the problem is first.
If it comes on again, just ring the dealer to find out what fluid it uses, they will ask for your VIN or reg and tell you 100% from that.
You will need it checked properly though as has been said above, and don't let a garage do a forced regen if they don't know whats wrong. If the ash is too full, or you need the fluid refilling, all a forced regen will do is cook your oil, and you will still have the same problem.