Diesel-engined vehicles on the road today are required to have special treatment systems to reduce the amount of harmful material that can flow out of the exhaust. One of the most important parts of these systems is known as the "diesel particulate filter", which is fitted within the exhaust mechanism. If you're considering buying a diesel car or truck for the first time, you need to know more about these filters, as they will need to be serviced from time to time. What do you need to learn?
How the DPF works
The DPF is quite a sophisticated device that is meant to trap soot before it can find its way into the atmosphere. Motor-vehicle manufacturers fit a device that can automatically service itself by burning off most of this residue at certain intervals. Typically, this will happen when the vehicle reaches a certain set speed and maintains it for a specified distance, such as may happen when the vehicle hits the motorway. Then, the central computer will increase the temperature through the exhaust system to burn off the residue and reprogram the filter.
However, issues can arise if you do not drive your vehicle in open road conditions but use the car or truck for short journeys within the city. In this case, residue can build up more quickly if the DPF does not automatically clean itself. In these situations, you may need to take your vehicle in more often for a DPF service.
Risks of Inattention
If you don't service these filters, the ash can become quite hard, making it difficult to clean the mechanism in any situation. Should this happen, you may need to replace the entire device rather than service it, which can be much more expensive than cleaning it.
Typical Servicing Procedures
The mechanic will use some cleaning equipment and solutions when you take your vehicle in for a professional service. They may use a process known as "bake and blow", which will loosen the material to oxidise the soot and then blow it out as ash. They may also use a deep cleaning process where they surround the ash particles with water. This will also loosen the soot and enable the machine to remove the residue from the DPF.
Keep up with Service Visits
So make a note in your diary to schedule a DPF service visit. If you do so, you can avoid any performance issues associated with a clogged filter and also avoid the need to replace the device at an unnecessary cost.
Contact a professional for more information about car servicing.
Share19 December 2022
My name is Donna, and I love my toys! I have an ATV, a caravan, a boat and a range of other "toys". I find that there is a lot of information online about auto service but not that much about servicing fun types of vehicles. Inspired by the phrase "be the change you want to see in the world", I decided to start a blog full of information that is usually hard to find online. I will write about servicing toys, vintage cars, sports cars and a range of other topics. I hope that you like these posts and that you learn from them. Thanks for reading and enjoy your toys.