Stranded with a dead engine, I now blame diesel filters for more harm than good

I think diesel particulate filters cause more problems than they solve. From what I've seen, they clog up all the time and the fixes are too expensive for most owners.

3 comments

3 Comments

blairstone9d ago

My old diesel Jetta's DPF was always clogging. Running it hard on the highway once a week cleared it out for me.

keith_taylor309d ago

That highway run method really does work. Figured out my old Passat needed the same fix, but I had to keep it in a lower gear to really get the RPMs up for a solid twenty minutes. Pretty much cleared the light every single time.

wyatt_fisher412d ago

Yeah, the lower gear trick is key. It forces the engine to work harder and gets the exhaust way hotter. That extra heat is what actually burns off the soot in the filter. Just cruising in top gear often doesn't get it hot enough, especially on older cars. You gotta really load the engine up for a good stretch. It's a solid fix for a temporary clog.