DPF Warning Light Astra Estate

[Rogerout]

Got a 2012 1.7d Astra estate from sister in-law who kindly donated her car to me last month.
Today the diesel particle filter light came on with the warning message keep driving. I therefore went home a longer way, managed to get to about 60mph for a few miles and the light then cleared.

Is this anything to worry about? My normal commute to work is 28 miles each way, I get to use some B roads which are national speed limit and big enough to do 60mph on.

Is it a sign that the filter needs cleaning , by a garage? Is this a common thing?

[GreenV8S]

DPFs essentially catch soot. If you avoid laboring the engine it will not usually produce soot. If you do labor the engine or there's a problem with it causing it to produce soot then the DPF will eventually become blocked. Most cars will automatically clean the DPF if it needs cleaning and certain conditions have been met. That seems to be what has happened in your case. It seems to have been effective this time. In that case there's no particuilar need for concern. If you find it keeps happening, consider whether you're treating the engine properly.

[Belle427]

I wouldnt say thats a kind donation but just try using it and see what happens really. They do prefer a nice long run now and again not short stop start trips all the time which is what most do.

[Rogerout]

Hi again. It’s come on probably 3 times in the last month. I carry on driving if it comes on , however is this is a sign of something if it comes on more regularly? How often does it need to come on to be a problem, as opposed to a routine action ?

[Tony1963]

Have you been driving it as advised in the first reply?
Did the previous owner have this light? Did they do lots of short journeys?

[LivLL]

It cannot be diagnosed remotely. You need to have a competent garage check the pressure and temps to see if it's a blocked, damaged DPF or other sensors that have failed.

Out of interest how is the oil level on the car?

[Rogerout]

Oil level seems ok. I take it on a 28 mile journey to work each day and get 60 mph on a stretch of the road so feel this gives it a chance to clear.
My sister in law had it before me, I haven’t asked her yet if this happened to her.

[Tony1963]

60mph won’t do much if you’re in top gear. You’ll probably need to be at least a gear lower, get the exhaust temperatures way up.

[CanAm]

Tony1963 said:

60mph won’t do much if you’re in top gear. You’ll probably need to be at least a gear lower, get the exhaust temperatures way up.

An "Italian tune-up" as it used to be know. A garage mechanic posted on here years ago about a little old lady who used to "Drive like Miss Daisy" (who we all know didn't drive at all) and would complain about the car not running well when it came in for its annual service. They would just razz the arse off it for a while, and she was always amazed by their tuning ability.

[A500leroy]

It's fine, our post vans have them on twice a week, just drive it when it requests.

[oakdale]

The DPF blocks up very easily on these but also clears very easily, leaving the car to idle for only a short period seems to cause the problem.

Don't leave it idling to warm up and don't let it idle for long in traffic.

[Rogerout]

The car has a stop start battery, I guess that’s to stop the car idling when stationary.