DPF's on current C Class
Discussion
I'm looking at a 2011 C250 CDi to replace my 2006 E320 and notice it has a diesel particulate filter. Most of my driving these days is relatively short, say 10 to 15 miles and I'm concerned by the horror stories I hear of other cars fitted with a DPF and which go into limp home mode due to not getting hot enough to burn off the particulates.
Is this a potential gotcha with Mercs as well?
Is this a potential gotcha with Mercs as well?
WHAT you have to remember is that the DPF was introduced by the Goverment NOT the car makers.
and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
MURRAY007 said:
WHAT you have to remember is that the DPF was introduced by the Goverment NOT the car makers.
and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
I think you would be hard pushed to find an engineer in the government!and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
DPFs were developed and designed by motor engineers under pressure from the government to solve the problem of heavy particulate emissions from diesel engines.
It is probably the worst device invented and imposed on the motoring public. They are extortionately priced to the point of robbery, and it is quite common to have them fail at 20K.
I have just replaced one on a VX Signum at 42K. £514.80!
There is no way a manufacturer can justify this kind of price on a component for a mass produced car. As they say, they have you by the balls!
J
SFO said:
DPFs mean diesel cars are not as nasty in cities as they are.
They are a great idea.
Just take your diesel out for a long run ocassionally, and you should be fine.
I'm afraid your notion is as naive as it is simplistic. They are a dreadful idea; the concept of the design is seriously flawed because it attempts to shove carbon with a large molecular structure through tiny holes: and by the time it gets to the filter the exhaust gas has cooled down exacerbating the problem even more.They are a great idea.
Just take your diesel out for a long run ocassionally, and you should be fine.
The Vauxhall technical manual tells you to run the car at a set speed of 32 MPH on the motorway for 10 miles to cure the problem! Are they serious? Where in Britian can you drive at exactly that speed and hold it for 10 miles without interference from other traffic? You would have to get up in the middle of the night and drive to a deserted stretch of motorway to do this. Or to put it another way, why the hell should you have to perform this ridiculous act becasue the design is so flawed?
You have to run a repair shop in this era to realise how bloody stupid it's getting with modern cars, believe me.
J
eybic said:
Are you sure they dont say to run it at a minimum of 32mph? That's normally the case that there is a minimum speed/heat it needs to achieve.
I'm only repeating the information I have from Vauxhall. I haven't tried it and, quite frankly, I have no intention of trying it because I don't think it works.The location of the filter on this Vauxhall guarantees it will air cool constantly, causing early failure.
J
jith said:
MURRAY007 said:
WHAT you have to remember is that the DPF was introduced by the Goverment NOT the car makers.
and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
I think you would be hard pushed to find an engineer in the government!and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
DPFs were developed and designed by motor engineers under pressure from the government to solve the problem of heavy particulate emissions from diesel engines.
It is probably the worst device invented and imposed on the motoring public. They are extortionately priced to the point of robbery, and it is quite common to have them fail at 20K.
I have just replaced one on a VX Signum at 42K. £514.80!
There is no way a manufacturer can justify this kind of price on a component for a mass produced car. As they say, they have you by the balls!
J
I wouldn't go as far to say they are rubbish and fail at 20k.
they do the job it was invented for, but yes there has to be some input from the customer to burn off the particulates. i think on Merc its and average of 60mph for 10 miles. (being in London very hard to do)
But not all Car makers are charging customers to replace it if the car is under warranty.
jith said:
I'm only repeating the information I have from Vauxhall. I haven't tried it and, quite frankly, I have no intention of trying it because I don't think it works.
The location of the filter on this Vauxhall guarantees it will air cool constantly, causing early failure.
J
We have a Chevrolet Captiva (GM Engine) and when the warning light came on it was due to the DPF not getting a clear out. The garage told me to give it a good run along the motorway or similar. They charged me for that bit of information The location of the filter on this Vauxhall guarantees it will air cool constantly, causing early failure.
J
but after owning quite a few diesel cars I didnt have a clue that one of these was fitted. I guess I should have read the book. Anyway, we just try and make sure it gets a decent run now and again to keep the warning light off.
MURRAY007 said:
jith said:
MURRAY007 said:
WHAT you have to remember is that the DPF was introduced by the Goverment NOT the car makers.
and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
I think you would be hard pushed to find an engineer in the government!and it should state (does with mercs) in the handbook, how to burn off the particulates.
as of yet Merc are not charging customers if this happens (if car under warranty) BUT im not sure how long this will last.
DPFs were developed and designed by motor engineers under pressure from the government to solve the problem of heavy particulate emissions from diesel engines.
It is probably the worst device invented and imposed on the motoring public. They are extortionately priced to the point of robbery, and it is quite common to have them fail at 20K.
I have just replaced one on a VX Signum at 42K. £514.80!
There is no way a manufacturer can justify this kind of price on a component for a mass produced car. As they say, they have you by the balls!
J
I wouldn't go as far to say they are rubbish and fail at 20k.
they do the job it was invented for, but yes there has to be some input from the customer to burn off the particulates. i think on Merc its and average of 60mph for 10 miles. (being in London very hard to do)
But not all Car makers are charging customers to replace it if the car is under warranty.
My own Mercedes, an '86 500 SEC has covered 137K. It still has all the original major components in place with the exception of the radiator, and that was only replaced because it was physically damaged. The engine, transmission and rear axle are perfect.
3 years ago I replaced both front pipes and the centre pipe on the exhaust. Both main and rear silencers are totally original and perfect: 25 years on!!
And this is the good bit. This car has an economy gauge on the dash; yes, on a 5 litre! If I drive with an eye on this gauge the car will return 30 MPG!
The technology we have now is totally unreliable, desperately short lived, and in many cases almost impossible to diagnose in the event of faults or breakdown. The cost of many items, remember these are items that are mass produced, is absolutely outrageous.
The Vauxhall I spoke of shares the same DPF as the Vectra, Movaro, and other models with the 1.9 engine. In other words they make millions of them, quite literally. The whole concept of mass production is that the more you make the cheaper it gets. Why is that filter then priced at over five hundred pounds? Because the law determines that you cannot do without it, so you have to pay up.
If you honestly believe that vehicle manufacturers do not take advantage of this, I'm afraid you need to take a reality check.
Electronics are the best example of this. I replace MAF sensors almost on a daily basis on many vehicles. These are items that are very cheap to manufacture, of simple design and manufactured using tiny amounts of material. They are priced at between 80 to 250 pounds. I will absolutely guarantee that they cost less than a pound to manufacture. Jaguars and Land Rovers positively devour them. They are extremely sensitive to any kind of airborne pollution. You would not believe how many are fitted in the airstream next to an oil breather.
The cost of technology to the public on motor vehicles is now completely disproportionate to any advantage gleaned from it: and it's getting worse!
I will stick to my old Mercedes thank you.
J
SFO said:
DPFs mean diesel cars are not as nasty in cities as they are.
They are a great idea.
Just take your diesel out for a long run ocassionally, and you should be fine.
However, if they clog up I've been advised to take the car for a long motorway blast at high revs - which in turn uses lots of diesel and shoves lots of emissions back out through your exhaust into the countryside - kind of goes against the point of them surely!They are a great idea.
Just take your diesel out for a long run ocassionally, and you should be fine.
Also, the addition of Mercedes' rather annoying stop start system further prevents the car and exhaust from heating up properly by cutting the engine every time you stop - in this colder damp weather I disable it to allow everything to get up to a good working temperature before I get to work.
Thanks for the replies. I did wonder if Mercedes use of Adblue made the likelihood of DPF blockage any less likely. Reason I ask this is that at work, we run 2 types of commercial vehicle, Iveco that uses Adblue and the newer ones are Isuzu which don't. The Ivecos suffer from many problems, but blocked DPF's arent one of them. The Isuzus, on the other hand, are generally far more reliable, but the drivers do occasionally need to stop and perform a manual DPF regeneration. Mostly the Isuzus do an automatic regen whilst driving, so it is never a problem anyhow.
As far as I know, most other car manufacturers don't use Adblue (which is basically, piss!) injected into the exhaust manifold, so was kind of hoping it negated any potential DPF problems.
Any ideas on this?
As far as I know, most other car manufacturers don't use Adblue (which is basically, piss!) injected into the exhaust manifold, so was kind of hoping it negated any potential DPF problems.
Any ideas on this?
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