Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) Information 

Diesel particulate filters (DPF) are installed in most modern diesel engine powered vehicles made since 2005.
They operate by trapping soot that burning diesel produces (resulting in cleaner exhaust) and regenerate (burning off the collected soot) at set intervals and depending on readings from the sensors, so the DPF does not become blocked.

Once it is over the blockage limit your car will go into limp mode (reduced power) to protect your engine and to prevent a fire - as the blocked filter can generate 600-700c degrees of heat.

If you see one of these your DPF may be blocked and will need to be cleaned or replaced

How to take care of your DPF.

In this system it is imperative that you use the correct low ash engine oil. For example in VW/Audi/Skoda vehicles it is VW 504/507 specification oil.
Using oil that does not meet the specification will produce excessive ash which over time will clog the filter.

It is important that all the sensors monitoring the diesel particulate filter operation are fully operational.

If you do mostly short distance city driving, it is important that your vehicle is taken on a continuous freeway drive of over 15 minutes at the minimum speed of 80kph (or at the speed stated in your owner’s manual) at least once a week to initiate the regeneration process.

When you have a problem.

If the filter becomes too blocked for a automatic regeneration process then it has to be cleaned manually by putting it into the regeneration mode using our specific diagnostic software and our proven and tested on car DPF repair methods. All other faults like faulty sensors, EGR valves and many other possible issues will have to be repaired before this can work. The regeneration process can be very lengthy and may not clean the filter efficient.

Genuine DPF’s from your car manufacture can be very expensive, in some case +$5000. At Hillside we can sourced high quality 3rd party filters which can surpass the performance of genuine DPF’s and are significantly less expensive.

This will be at a fraction of the above costs and in most cases can be done the same day - Bookings are essential.