First DPF 'Moment'

shake rattle and roll as they say

Just read this in the news paper about removing the DPF
The experts have issued a warning about changes to the MOT rules which came in last month. They say that as a result of the changes, thousands of motorists will find themselves with a bill of at least £1,000 when they take their car for a test.

But what is the change, and who is affected?

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<H4>Rule change</H4>The warning has been issued by Halfords Autocentres, which says that the rule in question relates to emissions tests on diesel cars.

In the past your car would have just been tested to ensure it meets minimum standards for emissions. However, it will now include a check on whether there is a diesel particulate filter in place. These have been fitted into all diesel cars manufactured in the past five years - and reduce emissions by about 80%.

If your car should have one of these fitted and there isn't one present, the vehicle will automatically fail.


<H4>Missing?</H4>The reason why they are missing on some cars is that over time these filters tend to become clogged. This is particularly the case when the cars are used for short journeys – because the filter doesn't get hot enough to burn off the particulates that build up over time.

It's not a major issue if the filter becomes blocked, because there are products that can be used to clean them - for about £30. Cars can also be fitted with a preventative exhaust system cleaner costing as little as £20 .

Rory Carlin from Halfords Autocentres says that the problem is that instead of cleaning the filters, some garages have simply removed them - despite the fact that it's illegal.

The government got wise to this practice, so the Department of Transport introduced this check. Announcing the change, Roads Minister Robert Goodwill, said: "I am very concerned that vehicles are being modified in a way that is clearly detrimental to people's health and undoes the hard work car manufacturers have taken to improve emissions standards. It has become apparent the government had to intervene to clarify the position on particulate filter removal given the unacceptable negative impact on air quality. This change to the MOT tests makes it clear – if you have this filter removed from your car it will fail the test."

Unfortunately, if your car has already had the filter removed there is nothing you can do: you'll need to pay for it to be refitted.

Interesting read that Brian, A lot of people have already had the DPF removed and are in for a expensive time at the next MOT. i wonder how many testers will really fail cars though? I would have had mine removed if it was not a mot fail now. I wonder also how (and if) the preventative exhaust cleaner works, a cheap fix at £20!

The 'preventative exhaust cleaner' is called cataclean and is available on ebay from £12 to £16. Sounds like the dogs conkers but it will do wont it? I suppose its worth a try when all else fails tho

I know of several garages that would pass a car with the DPF removed.




Small back street type ones.

chrisg said:

I know of several garages that would pass a car with the DPF removed.

Small back street type ones.

Click to expand...

Aye up here they would bunch of chancres

Hi
Anyone out there used Cataclean as mentioned above and noticed any difference ?

As I am aware if you remove the inwards of the DPF and refit an MOT tester at present will have no way of knowing if the DPF filter is working or not as it does not affect the emissions.
there are always ways to get round the MOT test especially if you know the test centre / tester, in a previous life I worked as a quality engineer for a well known French manufacturer and all the tech guys ran re-mapped Clio & Megane sports without CATS never mind Dpf fitted and always passed the MOT.

The problem is these office boundlaw makersbringin new regulations that don't always work in the real world, I remember when the first diesel emission tests were introduced suddenly old diesels that had pottered around for years with no trouble were expected to be ran at 3 or 4000 rpm cannot remember exactly now for several minutes to complete the emissions test were literally being blown to bits due to the stresses involved - the dept hurriedly came out with new guidelines in regard to the diesel emission test.