A recent survey of 100 independent garages carried out by GSF Car Parts has found that there is a strong aftermarket demand for DPF treatments with half of the respondents undertaking DPF work on a weekly basis, and some carrying out as many as three DPF jobs per week. Sadly the work being carried out by some garages may lead to the DPF not doing the job it was put there to do, or costing the customer an unnecessarily large amount to fix.

DPFs were developed 30 years ago and became compulsory parts on all new diesel vehicles six years ago in 2009, as part of new ‘Euro 5’ emissions standards. A fully functioning DPF will capture between 80 to 95% of the harmful particles contained in diesel exhausts fumes, and from February of 2014 a visual inspection to check a DPF is present became part of the MOT test. But, like so many elements of modern cars, just having a DPF fitted does not necessarily mean the part is functioning properly.

DPFs can self ‘regenerate’, meaning that the soot containing the harmful particles gets burnt away, but this only occurs on long runs with the associated increase in exhaust temperature and not if a vehicle is being used for short trips or mainly urban ‘stop-start’ journeys. If the DPF cannot regenerate, it will often become blocked, set off warning lights in a vehicle or even cause it to go into limp mode. This can lead to vehicle owners trying to remove and clear the DPF themselves, sending their vehicle back to the manufacturer or taking it to a garage who may attempt to clean or change the DPF, but do not investigate or educate the driver as to why the part failed.

High quality diagnostic equipment is key in finding out why the part has failed, and here at EEC we have developed a hand-held diagnostic tool which enables garages to regenerate the DPF while the vehicle is static, identify fault codes and replace the filter. Make sure you are giving your customers the best service, and get in touch with us today to find out more.

https://eurocats.co.uk/products/dpf-tool/