diesel particulate filter
Critical component of your exhaust system, reducing emissions.
What is a diesel particulate filer?
Don't confuse this with your traditional catalyst converter which is still present on BMW diesel engines.
The job of the diesel particulate filter is to trap the soot that is created from diesel combustion so that it does not enter the atmosphere thereby reducing emissions. The collected soot is then burnt off at extremely high temperatures through a highly controlled process known as “regeneration”.
How does “Regeneration” work?
The on board engine control unit (DME) is always looking for the ideal conditions to initiate the “regeneration” cycle which burns off the soot collected in the filter. By altering the fuelling and ignition timing of your engine, the DME increases the exhaust temperature to over 550 degrees celsius which burns off all the soot and the ash passes through and out the tail pipes.
How do I know if my DPF is faulty?
You will experience loss of engine performance to varying degree, and eventually an alert message will appear on your dash and/or the idrive system (if your vehicle is fitted with an idrive) advising you that there is a fault with your particulate filter.
Can I do anything to prevent it?
Most DPF filters get blocked because of consistent short distance commutes and driving. The engine needs to fully warm up in order to kick start the “regeneration” process to burn off the collected soot.
If you do lots of short distance driving, then we strongly advise that you take your vehicle for a good run to clean out the filter. You need to be driving for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes whilst keeping your engine rev above 2,000rpm.
On certain vehicles you can tell when the “regeneration” process begins. There is a noticeable power deficit and the exhaust note is slightly different. This is all due to the increased temperatures and altered exhaust flow.
DPF light has come on! Now what?
We can diagnose the exact problem with your DPF filter as there could be several reasons for its failure. It maybe your driving style in which case we may be able to save your DPF filter by initiating a “forced regeneration” program via our BMW dealership level diagnostic and programming equipment.
The problem could also be down to one of the temperature or pressure sensors attached to the DPF filter, in which case we can replace the faulty part and initiate a “forced regeneration” program to clear out the soot.
If your DPF filter is severely blocked, it may not be possible to unblock it through the “regeneration” process and therefore we must replace the BMW DPF filter or the other component attached to it (pressure and temperature sensors) in order to rectify the issue.
parts & cOMPONENTS
We only use and recommend genuine BMW parts if a replacement component is required to repair your faulty DPF system. Majority of the components can only be sourced from BMW directly and in our opinion they supply the best quality components for your DPF system at this point in time.