What does cleaning exhaust filter mean?
The Drive to Clean Exhaust System or Drive to Clean Exhaust Filter message appears on your vehicle, this means that the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is blocked up and must be cleaned as soon as possible.
Diesel exhaust fluid, commonly known as DEF, is a colorless liquid that puts out particles that are harmful to the environment. The fluid helps remove harmful exhaust emissions from diesel trucks and buses.
To clean the DPF, continue driving the car above 30mph for at least 20 minutes. Do not stop and start the car frequently, do not drive in stop go traffic or perform any hard acceleration while cleaning the DPF.
If you turn off the engine while driving, it will restart under its own power when you come to a complete stop.
The cleaning exhaust filter message is a common message which appears in Ford F250, Ford F350, Chevy Trucks, vehicles with 6.7 Powerstroke, and many other vehicles.
Cleaning Exhaust Filter Continue Driving for How Long?
If the “Cleaning exhaust filter continue driving” message appears, here is how long you should continue driving:
- We recommend you drive no less than 20 minutes above 30 mph (48 km/h) for each cleaning attempt after the first one. The conditions of your driving style and traffic vary with each attempt which results in varying degrees of success.
If possible to force more exhaust fumes through the DPF and help clean it.
After driving, the message should disappear from your dashboard display. If cleaning is not possible immediately, you can continue driving until it is possible to take your vehicle to a Kia dealer.
If the message does not disappear after driving, contact your Kia dealer as soon as possible because this may be an indication of a more serious problem with your vehicle’s powertrain control system.
Some customers may need more than one attempt before their DPF is completely clean again.
When the DPF is clogged, it may cause the car to fail its MOT. To pass an MOT, the DPF must be cleaned or replaced.
DPFs are designed to stop particulates from entering the atmosphere by trapping them in a “melt” of soot and carbon. This prevents these harmful fumes entering the environment.
If this filter becomes blocked, it will cause your car to emit thick black smoke, like a diesel engine driving without a DPF fitted.
Why is my diesel so dirty?
You might be thinking that your diesel car should not get dirty very easily since its exhaust pipe is designed in such a way that no dirt or grime can enter it.
However, one of the main reasons why your diesel becomes dirty is because of a large amount of unburnt diesel fuel which gets deposited on the inner walls of the exhaust pipe. This happens when the engine’s temperature is below normal levels.
This happens because at low temperatures, there are not enough nooks and crannies for all the fuel to burn completely within the combustion chamber and this causes some fuel to become trapped in these pockets.
How to clean diesel exhaust filter?
The diesel particulate filter (DPF) is designed to remove excessive soot from the exhaust system. While it does an admirable job of cleaning the air, it cannot eliminate all the particulates from the exhaust.
Diesel particulates are dangerous to humans, and can cause cancer. The DPF is designed to capture these particles, but eventually they will fill up the DPF and cause the light on your dashboard to turn on.
If you ignore this warning, your engine will eventually stop running altogether. To clean your DPF, follow these steps:
1. Watch for the DPF symbol, which indicates that it needs cleaning. Check the dash panel for a small, yellow or orange rectangular warning symbol with circles around it.
2. Drive for approximately 15 minutes until the warning symbol disappears. Continue driving after this point if necessary to keep your engine running.
If possible, do this in an area with little traffic and few other vehicles around you so that you can keep going without slowing down or stopping.
But what if you don’t have time to drive for more than 15 minutes?
Well, what if you have one of those cars with a DPF that does not come with a warning light?
There are other ways to check whether or not your DPF needs cleaning. For instance, when you turn on your car, if you hear a whistling noise coming from underneath the car then this is an indication that your DPF needs cleaning.
3. Find a place to park your vehicle where you have easy access to both a source of water and electricity for running a hose or power washer.
4. Set up a hose or power washer near your vehicle and turn on the water supply.
5. Turn off the engine and wait for a few moments before removing the cover from the DPF and gathering your tools in order to clean outside of the diesel exhaust filter as well as inside.
6. Use a shop vac to remove all collected dust from inside and outside of your diesel exhaust filter and place it inside of a heavy-duty trash bag. Your concern should be to collect all dust without damaging anything by using too much force.
The DPF symbol is displayed on the dashboard to warn the driver that their diesel particulate filter needs cleaning.
The warning symbol will disappear once you have driven the vehicle for 15 minutes, but if it does not, you should take your vehicle to a reputable workshop for further inspection.
Driving advice:
- If the message, cleaning exhaust filter warning appears, continue driving the vehicle for up to 30 minutes. You may notice a slight drop in performance and fuel economy.
- Avoid driving at full throttle and high revs as this will generate more soot particles which could lead to excessive soot build-up in the DPF.
- Once the warning symbol has been removed from the dash, continue driving normally until the next time you need to perform a DPF regeneration cycle. This will ensure that soot levels do not exceed the maximum allowable level of 2g/km before your next service.
When should you clean your DPF?
When the check engine light comes on and flashes “check emissions system.”
If you notice that your engine is starting to run a little rough and has a lack of power.
If you have started feeling or hearing excessive exhaust smoke or smell.
In addition to being able to smell or see the exhaust smoke, there may be other symptoms that indicate your DPF needs some attention:
You experience problems with your car accelerating.
The Check engine light flashes on and off repeatedly.
How do you reset a DPF filter?
Resetting a DPF filter is a simple procedure that can be carried out in the garage. It requires minimal tools and equipment, and is straightforward if you follow the instructions in the manual.
Resetting a DPF can clear a blocked or malfunctioning filter, and help to improve your vehicle’s fuel economy.
It’s important to make sure the engine is running when you reset the filter, otherwise it won’t work.
There are three parts to a diesel particulate filter (DPF): an outer casing, an inner liner and a layer of heat-resistant carbon particles.
This process works by directing exhaust gas into a dedicated chamber where it passes over the carbon particles at high temperature.
The heat burns off most of the soot from the particles, which is collected in a special container. This controlled process is known as regeneration because it cleans the filter by burning off accumulated soot.
When you start your engine for this procedure, your car’s computer tells the DPF to begin burning off the soot.
If you have an active fault with your DPF light on, this device will not reset it, but will still improve fuel economy once you have sorted any other problems with your vehicle.
The diesel particulate filter (DPF) contains a catalyst which burns off the soot produced by diesel engines. The problem is that this process can produce temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius.
The failure of the DPF is caused by a build-up of this soot on the catalyst. When this happens the diesel engine will become unable to deliver sufficient power and at the same time it will consume more fuel in order to achieve the same results.
The DPF is used in modern diesel engines to reduce the level of harmful emissions produced by diesel engines. The heat generated during this process can be sufficient to cause a fire in the vehicle if it is not adequately cooled.
In order to prevent such fires, vehicle manufacturers fit a cooling system into DPFs and also carry out regular inspections of these systems.
If there are faults in any of these systems then it is necessary to carry out repairs before any damage can occur to the vehicle or its occupants.
An example of one such fault would be water leaking into the DPF from either faulty seals or damaged hoses etc.
About DPF
A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device in diesel engines, the purpose of which is to remove the soot particulates that would otherwise accumulate in the engine and cause damage. It is part of a vehicle’s emission control system.
The DPF filter consists of a honeycombed ceramic substrate through which the exhaust gases pass. The substrate can be made from cordierite or stainless steel.
In most vehicles with a DPF filter, the substrate is constructed as a cylindrical shell with a central pipe that extends from the exhaust manifold to near the front of the vehicle where it connects to a cyclone for collecting the soot particulates.
DPF stands for diesel particulate filter. It is used to filter the exhaust gas of diesel engines, especially in vehicles working on polluted areas.
The accumulated soot in the diesel dpf filter is burned by heating the filter and filtering it through a regeneration process. The DPF filter is generally installed in the exhaust pipe of a diesel engine.
The Diesel Particulate Filter or Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is a filter designed to remove diesel particulates and soot from diesel engine exhaust gases.
It works as a passive device that can be placed downstream of an engine’s exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, catalytic converter, turbocharger, or other emission control device.
DPF is used as part of an emissions system on a vehicle to meet governmental regulations on exhaust emissions in many jurisdictions.
The size of exhaust pipe should be chosen depending on engine displacement and type of vehicle.
A particulate trap mounted upstream of the catalytic converter is known as a Pre-Catalytic Converter (PCC), which acts as another layer of filtration for contaminants larger than soot.
