Except that a pollen filer or air filter doesn't cost £2000 for a new one.

Get it gutted and deleted then it'll never happen again and you'll have better mpg.

what about the environment and peoples health ?

The dpf does little to help the environment or peoples health , its a sticking plaster to fix the fundamental problem that diesels (all cars) produce too high emissions, the dpf was a quick and easy way for the manufacturers to meet higher standards.

 

During the regen phase the emissions of the car are far far higher than then running with no dpf at all.

 

All a dpf does is remove a small amount of soot ie particulates from the exhaust, not all,  and it doesnt really do a great job of that.

The dpf does little to help the environment or peoples health , its a sticking plaster to fix the fundamental problem that diesels (all cars) produce too high emissions, the dpf was a quick and easy way for the manufacturers to meet higher standards.

During the regen phase the emissions of the car are far far higher than then running with no dpf at all.

All a dpf does is remove a small amount of soot ie particulates from the exhaust, not all, and it doesnt really do a great job of that.

But not all particulates are equal. Modern diesel engines emit more of the hazardous size range than older diesels. That is what the dpf removes.

CO2 is not really a health concern, but it is an environmental concern.

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The most dangerous ones are trapped by the DPF so its not as simple as that.

 

There is a school of thought backed up by ongoing research that suggests DPF equipped cars provide a greater risk to public health but its clear that fundamentally if you really care about peoples health or the environment you shouldnt drive a diesel.

 

There have been quite a few independant studies which have findings like this

 

Quote (1)

 

"NOx, a major source of air pollution, can as much as double during regeneration due to late fuel injection and increased engine temperatures. If this happens in town and city environments rather than on the motorway, it could have an even greater negative impact on human health"

 

Quote (2)

 

The particles not trapped by the DPF (released into the air) are mostly ultrafine nanoparticles. These are precisely the particles that present the greatest threat to human health. The mucous membranes of the lungs are better at dealing with larger particles than ultrafine ones. Ultrafine nanoparticles pass easily through the lung's mucous membranes, carrying toxins and carcinogens directly into the bloodstream and circulating them throughout the body.

The DPF does not have a significant effect on nitrogen oxide emissions. NOx is the second of the two most harmful constituents of diesel exhaust. NOx has a toxic effect on red blood cells, and it combines with moisture in the lungs to form nitric acid. Exposure to nitrogen oxides can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems. NOx adsorber catalysts to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions are still in the development stage.

 

(1) http://emissionsanalytics.com/dpf-regeneration-mysteries/

 

(2)http://www.trolleycoalition.org/dpf.html

The most dangerous ones are trapped by the DPF so its not as simple as that.

 

There is a school of thought backed up by ongoing research that suggests DPF equipped cars provide a greater risk to public health but its clear that fundamentally if you really care about peoples health or the environment you shouldnt drive a diesel.

 

There have been quite a few independant studies which have findings like this

 

Quote (1)

 

"NOx, a major source of air pollution, can as much as double during regeneration due to late fuel injection and increased engine temperatures. If this happens in town and city environments rather than on the motorway, it could have an even greater negative impact on human health"

 

Quote (2)

 

The particles not trapped by the DPF (released into the air) are mostly ultrafine nanoparticles. These are precisely the particles that present the greatest threat to human health. The mucous membranes of the lungs are better at dealing with larger particles than ultrafine ones. Ultrafine nanoparticles pass easily through the lung's mucous membranes, carrying toxins and carcinogens directly into the bloodstream and circulating them throughout the body.

The DPF does not have a significant effect on nitrogen oxide emissions. NOx is the second of the two most harmful constituents of diesel exhaust. NOx has a toxic effect on red blood cells, and it combines with moisture in the lungs to form nitric acid. Exposure to nitrogen oxides can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems. NOx adsorber catalysts to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions are still in the development stage.

 

(1) http://emissionsanalytics.com/dpf-regeneration-mysteries/

 

(2)http://www.trolleycoalition.org/dpf.html

 

But there is a sort of sweet spot in terms of particle size, larger particles don't get deep into the lungs where they could cause a problem in the first place, very small particles are inhaled and then exhaled again, so don't pose a significant risk, in between is a range of particle sizes which you inhale but don't exhale, these are the roughly the ones a DPF aims to remove.

 

This is exactly the same reason why asbestos is so nasty.

 

As regards NOx, the DPF is accompanied by a separate NOx catalyst on newer cars exactly to address this issue.  The second website you linked appears to be quite old and all of the references are 10+ years old.

Another vote for the sensor, the sensor tells the car how full the DPF is, and failure means wrong info sent to the car. The car may believe the DPF is full, in reality its probably fine. First thing, replace the pressure sensor and run the adaption cycle. One the adaption cycle is complete you'll have a true picture of how full the DPF really is. If the DPF were truly full the engine will struggle to run as it would not be able to get the exhaust gasses out fast enough.

Hey Guys! It turned out the sensor was the problem and it has been replaced. The DPF has been cleaned so its fine now. Thank you everyone for the help, and the advice.

 

ELSE:

After all this nightmare, it seems i've got an electronic problem. I've got the "check light bulb" light on sometimes and the car lists all the bulbs, one after another. They all work fine, but this is weird. The mechanic changed a failed bulb but the problem is still on. Any idea??

 

Paul

Hey Guys! It turned out the sensor was the problem and it has been replaced. The DPF has been cleaned so its fine now. Thank you everyone for the help, and the advice.

ELSE:

After all this nightmare, it seems i've got an electronic problem. I've got the "check light bulb" light on sometimes and the car lists all the bulbs, one after another. They all work fine, but this is weird. The mechanic changed a failed bulb but the problem is still on. Any idea??

Paul

Where did you get the dpf cleaned?

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Where did you get the dpf cleaned?

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I live in Hungary, Budapest, Im not sure if it helps you if i tell you the local garage I'm going to. If you want i can ask the guy about the chemical, which he used to clean it.

Edited 6 October, 201411 yr by nepsterke

That sounds like De-Ja-Vu to me ! DPF issues and now bulbs. My bulb warning was intermittent , then indicated both brake lights but the l/h dipped headlight had gone ! Then brake lights again so changed them and now the problem has gone - will hopefully enjoy some issue free motoring now !!

I live in Hungary, Budapest, Im not sure if it helps you if i tell you the local garage I'm going to. If you want i can ask the guy about the chemical, which he used to clean it.

Oops, can't see locations on my phone.

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That sounds like De-Ja-Vu to me ! DPF issues and now bulbs. My bulb warning was intermittent , then indicated both brake lights but the l/h dipped headlight had gone ! Then brake lights again so changed them and now the problem has gone - will hopefully enjoy some issue free motoring now !!

Mine is intermittent too! I turn on the ignition, its on, and listing all the lights(dipped beams, turn signals brake lights even the licence plate light) but they all work fine after i turn on the motor, and sometimes its not showing up at all. Once i checed the brake light and it didnt work, i turned off the ignition and then on again, then it worked fine... I dont understand it.

Oops, can't see locations on my phone.

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I find that one of the irritations of using Tapatalk on here, the other being that I can't see the car details in people's sigs so sometimes have no idea whether they're talking about a petrol, diesel etc.

He was concerned his dpf did have an issue whereas in fact it's likely the USA sensor. See above.

 the sensor is the first point of call for fault diagnosis  and an easy fix ,  this is not the only cause of dpf failures and to suggest such if just wrong , do yourself a favour speak to a vw engineer they are all skilled in forced regenerations they can all tell you how common failed dpfs are , the cost to replace is far more than the cost to remove , removal transforms the performance and mpg , no one in there right mind would replace in a vehicle 3-4 year any mayby 130000m . the cause of failed regenerations is mostly switching the engine off during regeneration and it logs in the ecu as a failed regeneration , do this a few times and the light will come on requiring a forced regeneration to clear . this is an every day occurance for us in all the different models we look after .it is not just common to vw /skoda ,Mercedes , bmw , most main brands ,using a diesel on short runs ie school runs ,taxis, in general any short low speed city travelling will cause premature dpf failure  .

I've just had my differential pressure sensor changed at the dealer - was USA previously

£170 inc VAT fitted

Yeah I'm fairly sure this is the cause of mine. Just waiting till I come back from my holiday to get it done. I guess £170 ain't too bad