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****in marvellous! Apparently it's also an indicator on the Mazda 6 for when the service is due..
If you've been doing lots of short journeys, get out on the motorway for an hour for a blast, keep the revs higher than normal (don't use top gear) and see if that clear the filter. Modern diesels do need long runs fairly regularly. The DPF works by heating up to clear deposits and can't do that on a short trip, the light is to warn you but doesn't mean it's knackered.
Just had the DPF replaced on the better halfs Ford Kuga - £1k. Due to too many short journeys.
A regular thrash on the motorway is now on the cards.
I had this on my Focus last year,it was a total bugger! Ford quoted £1250 to replace it. If its bad and yourbcar goes into "safe mode" there will be no way you can get the revs up to generate enough heat for the DPF to go into regeneration successfully. You can buy DPF cleaning fluids they may help.
My local Bosch garage quoted £850 to replace the DPF or£650 to cut it out of the exhaust system & reprogram the ECU,which is what I did.
Good luck with yours.
Skoda TDI here. Advice is much the same; go for regular long drives, and keep the revs higher than normal.
When the warning light comes on, the engine has entered it's "regeneration" cycle. The car will adjust it's fuel map and ignition timing in order to generate higher temperatures in the exhaust. This will in turn clean the DPF.
I can only speak for my Skoda, but the indicator light coming on shouldn't indicate anything is wrong...
I got my Mazda 6 DPF regenerated for £150 by the mazda dealer.
According to the manual if light is flashing then you should not drive it.
I dont know what can be cleaned/regenerated and what cant. Mine had a funny episode with the cruise control earlier in the journey so I think the blockage was fresh - rather than built up little by little.
To clarify the Mazda light sequence is slightly different from others.
The light is solid to begin with where you should try to regenerate it then it goes to flashing when you should stop.
According to the forums on the 2.2 engine regeneration is done by pumping extra fuel through and some of this can find its way into the sump.When the sump reaches a certain level it needs an oil change as there is too much diesel in it.Possibly the source of the warning light ?
Try these guys if you're close:
Did you follow the DPF care instructions in the manual?
The Mazda system is different to the VAG one afaik.
Quick Q: why keep the revs higher than normal? Isn't the idea to get the engine/oil up to temperature properly for a decent length of time? Higher revs isn't going to make the engine run any hotter than normal unless your cooling system is pooped.
Quick Q
Higher revs wont heat up anymore but the higher flow of exhaust gases through the engine and dpf will help it to regenerate quicker.
Ahh, cheers.
Quick Q: why keep the revs higher than normal? Isn't the idea to get the engine/oil up to temperature properly for a decent length of time?
No. The DPF is in the exhaust, so to clean it out you need the exhaust to be as hot as possible. When you burn fuel in an engine, usually it's still burning when it exits the cylinder. The harder you drive it, the more burning fuel exits the exhaust and the hotter it gets.
Driving at higher revs means more burning fuel comes out of the exhaust and therefore EGTs are higher.
The engine temperature you see on your dash is the coolant temperature, which is well regulated by the thermostat. EGT varies all over the place, but you never see that statistic.
If you consider the removal route then consider this first:
It is illegal remove the DPF under EC Type Approval and Emissions regulations because it modifies the car not to meet its certified emissions. This is basis on which it is taxed.
VOSA does not currently enforce this in the MoT, but this does not mean that it will not in the future. Also you could be stopped in a roadside VOSA check and have your car taken off the road
for not complying.
You would need to declare to your insurer that you car is a modified car, after removing DPF. The car's manufacturer warranty may also be affected (ECU normally needs to be reprogrammed).
Also you could possibly be pursued for tax evasion by HMRC (unlikely but in theory possible) You pay tax based on emissions, higher emissions higher tax, therefore lower tax rate when your actual emission are higher due to removing DPF could be seen as tax evasion.
Tax is based on CO2 emissions isn't it?
Yes, good point....
I was actually regurgitating information gained from a well known broad sheet motoring expert.
This is definitely a grey area. There are loads of places offering DPF removal, who will all say it's fine. But cars are 'type approved' to meet certain emission requirements, this does include particulate size I believe.
It really is a minefield for those of us with DPFs!
You should be chasing HMRC for a rebate if you remove your DPF as you should see an increase in mpg!
😆
I've done a bit of searching on Google and there is mention of same model cars with and without DPFs being taxed differently. This would around be when they first came to cars and you could get them as an option e.g.
Take my car. MK4 Ford Mondeo 2L TDCi. Road tax is £50 cheaper for the same model with a DPF - £115 vs £165 I pay.
[url= http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?s=a0b04e6f57dd60efd435bfb0ad7ecbb0&t=3849763&page=3 ]Link[/url]
It is illegal remove the DPF under EC Type Approval and Emissions regulations because it modifies the car not to meet its certified emissions. This is basis on which it is taxed
It is also illegal to speed, use the phone whilst driving, park on double yellow lines and jump red lights. Based on 25 years of driving, most motorists don't seem to give a f*** about the law, so I can't see anyone worrying about removing the DPF.
FWIW: Some DPF removal companies do a before-and-after smoke test to make sure that the emissions post-removal match what it was beforehand. That way the car passes the MOT as its emissions are in the correct range.
Hi
58 plate Mazda 6 TD Sport here.
Light came on last year and car was due a service anyway so banged it in to dealer.
When it came back the light was off and been running fine for the last 9k miles.
Don't know the science behind it but they didn't seem to think its a big deal.
They said if I get service done by them it's included if I get it done elsewhere they would charge £30 ish
Cheers
Steve
most motorists don't seem to give a f*** about the law
... until one day they're caught and prosecuted for an offence. Personally I think most motorists are law abiding.
Thing is DPF removal is offered by lots of places. If it is illegal then why haven't VOSA taken any action against these companies?
Thing is DPF removal is offered by lots of places. If it is illegal then why haven't VOSA taken any action against these companies?
because it's "on-highway" emissions only. You can do what you like to your car, bike, tractor etc if it's off-road. VOSA would have one hell of a problem trying to determin if the car was on or off highway.. Also VOSA are only the inspectorate, HMRC are still the prosecutors and they are too busy being muppets..
The manual does state flashng light "can" mean service, plus there's been no loss of power. Booked in for service, it has literally just done 12.5 k since the last service so hopefully oil and filter change will sort it, this also includes the re gen. Cars done plenty of hot miles whilst I've been in it so hopefully it'll be ok!
Back on topic.
If you have a DPF and the vast majority of the cars use is in town for short trips then, say, once a week drive the car in a lower gear to keep the revs high (say second gear instead of fourth, third gear instead of 5th, fourth instead of sixth). It'll use less fuel and time than making a specific trip for a motorway run to clean it out.
I believe the VAG DPF system is similar to the Mazda one. My Seat has cost £1300 so far in new DPF (that's a pattern part too, not genuine) and sensors. Hope the OP's doesn't go the same way!
If you have a DPF and the vast majority of the cars use is in town for short trips then, say, once a week drive the car in a lower gear to keep the revs high (say second gear instead of fourth, third gear instead of 5th, fourth instead of sixth). It'll use less fuel and time than making a specific trip for a motorway run to clean it out.
The DPF regen cycle on my car (VAG/Seat) also requires speed to be above 40 mph for 10-15 mins. If you slow down it restarts the cycle and dumps a load of fuel in the sump apparently
It's had the service and the light is off! I'm now going to spank it up and down the a38!
The DPF regen cycle on my car (VAG/Seat) also requires speed to be above 40 mph for 10-15 mins. If you slow down it restarts the cycle and dumps a load of fuel in the sump apparently
True, but my suggestions are aimed at delaying the regen cycle from starting.
Just heard my car isn't fixed. VAG specialist couldn't fix it so today it went to a Seat dealer. Seems all Seat have done is change an exhaust temperature sensor and they're using their get out of jail free card i.e. "Must be the new DPF as it's non-geniune". All sensors have been geniune ones.
Something is definitely not right, both garages have said the soot level won't go below 20% and then pretty quickly gets up to 50% load.
Modern diesels do need long runs fairly regularly.
can anyone define "long runs" and "regularly" ?
I'm currently driving a petrol car, Baildon (north of Bradford) to Darton (north of Barnsley) maximum twice a week (just switched to WFH so now only need to be in the office once or twice a week instead of mon-fri).
The journey is approx 8-10 miles urban, 16-20 miles motorway, but said motorways are M62 & M1, the former currently restricted to 50mph but frequently this is an ambition, not a limit; they're just about to start work on the latter. If I know the M62 is particularly busy I'll head west for 1 junction, then cut cross-country, average speed 40mph.
If I switched to a diesel car, would I die? Or would I need to go for a blast up the A650/A629/M65 to Blackburn & back (for example)?
You need to drive to Blackburn, then come for a pint with me. HTH.
John, that is plenty. When people talk about regular short trips they mean only doing 3 miles to school and back all the time.
Re dmorts's dodgy Seat dpf.. if it is reporting that it's filling up to 50% quickly, maybe the engine is producing a lot of smoke?
From what the VAG specialist said it seems to be climbing to 50% way too quickly to be actually filling up.
How full the filter is measured by the difference in exhaust pressure before and after the DPF. Big difference = full filter. This sensor has been swapped for new one (a couple of times to double check the new ones weren't faulty)
Pretty sick of it now.
All these stories frankly worry me! We do 6000 a year but in that 6000 are some long trips (family visits/uk hols) if that makes sense so went for the diesel. The car is ex lease and has every tick/stamp going and has done 57k in 3 yrs so its been busy. I just hope the dpf was flashing because of the oil service requirement, which was showing high on the dipstick and not because of actual dpf issues!
cheers folks. I do like the extra economy & being able to get 550+ miles out of a tankful of diesel
I'm sure I have read that unless you're doing over 20k miles a year modern diesels just don't make sense anymore due to higher servicing costs and issues such as diesel particulate filters and dual mass flywheels etc.
Personally I have experience to show that!
An old 1.9 VW Golf or Peugeot 306 diesel would be a different story
Tis the joke of a service light on a Mazda 6 assuming that 1) its due 2) you do the motorway journeys that will cause the regen to work frequently. However don't leave it as it does change the way that the engine works and until its serviced it won't regen on motorway journeys and you will get build up that might result in needing a dealer forced regen. I never managed to get a Mazda dealer to openly admit this but the fact that I only ever did motorway miles and it came on at around 12000 mile intervals meant that it does act as a service light. Funny japs eh?
I'm sure I have read that unless you're doing over 20k miles a year modern diesels just don't make sense anymore due to higher servicing costs and issues such as diesel particulate filters and dual mass flywheels etc.
Servicing costs aren't higher. And DMFs and what not are not disposable items. How you drive has a lot to do with how well these things last, so there's a lot you can do to preserve them.
I do like the extra economy & being able to get 550+ miles out of a tankful of diesel
I can get 800 miles.. ok so it's a big tank 🙂
Couple of links on resetting the service/DPF light on Mazda 6's
It worked for me anyway
[url= http://www.cdn.dk/mazda6/tips.htm ]http://www.cdn.dk/mazda6/tips.htm[/url]
[url= http://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/general-tech-6/dpf-service-indicator-resetting-27440/ ]http://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/general-tech-6/dpf-service-indicator-resetting-27440/[/url]
Servicing costs aren't higher. And DMFs and what not are not disposable items. How you drive has a lot to do with how well these things last, so there's a lot you can do to preserve them.
Reckons 20k to 30k miles here - [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/festival-of-motoring/10031419/Should-I-buy-a-petrol-or-diesel-car.html ]Petrol or Diesel[/url] I think this is where I originally read it.
My credit card definitely shows evidence of the potentially large bills facing buyers of second hand diesels they mention
That's assuming you buy new, or choose the same spec nearly-new car.
In reality though, most of us will have a set budget and choose a slightly older diesel for the same price. Which scuppers their argument.
And they seem to be assuming you're changing your car every three years, which is madness. They say you should do 20-30k miles PER YEAR - that makes no sense unless you have a limited time in which to recoup costs.
Honest John points out that buyers of second-hand diesels might have cause to be more wary, arguing that somebody who spends £3,500 on a high-mileage diesel could face bills of £4,500 in maintainance.
That's cobblers, you'd have to be extremely unlucky. You could get two new engines for £4.5k, or another whole car.
Yes quite unlucky! But e.g. DPF and then DMF going would easily top £4500 in two shots at dealer rates.
Guess I'm one of the unlucky ones!
Slightly OT but related. My wife's Mazda 3 has burnt through the pipe that goes to the DPF. The part is on back order at Mazda apparently, could be months. The garage (non Mazda but trusted local chap) suggests getting the DPF removed and the ECU remapped,etc for £500 rather than waiting for the part. Given the discussion ^^ about the legality or otherwise what do folks think?
Too late last night to ask.
Paul4stones... it depends on which engine your wifes mazda 3 has.
Ive struggled to find anyone that can remove the dpf on the newer 2.2 diesel engines.
The older 2.0 deisel was a piece of wee wee so Im led to believe.
Wrightyson, your car sounds a bit like mine to be honest. mine is a 60 plate and has just clocked over 58k. the previous owner was lex although it was a lease car to a company director and it spent most of its life so far sat on the motorway.
Touch wood its not missed a beat yet and hopefully the new owners will have a lot of fun in it(when I finally find a buyer that is)
1.6 57 TS2
Back to the OP I discovered that the flashing DPF light on my Mazda 6 2.2 meant the cam chain had 'stretched'. Luckily replaced under warranty, partly funded by Mazda . . .