Today, almost each and every new diesel car owner in India is tired of DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) clogging issues. This is especially a huge problem for BS6 vehicles. Now, most authorised dealerships recommend replacing the DPF, which costs lakhs. However, now there is a new solution in the market which is nearly 20 times cheaper than a full DPF replacement. Recently, a video showing how this process works has been shared online.
This video showing the DPF cleaning process has been shared on Instagram by Raja Auto Workshop on their page. In this short clip, we can note that a DPF of a Kia Seltos diesel was being cleaned using a machine which has been created specifically to clean DPFs. This machine uses pressurized and extremely hot air to clean the carbon- and soot-clogged filters.
A DPF is designed to clean itself via regeneration. However, it needs high exhaust temperature and sustained highway driving. But when the vehicle is primarily used in the city during such conditions, there is incomplete regeneration and soot builds up beyond the safe limit. So, to clean the DPF, a special machine is used to provide sufficient heat, inject cleaning agents, and push pressurized air.
As it is well known by most diesel car owners, whenever the DPF is clogged up, it causes the vehicle to go into limp mode, where all the power is cut. Now, if the vehicle is taken to the dealership, in most cases a DPF replacement costs in the range of Rs 1.2–1.5 lakh. However, the diesel service shown above costs only Rs 4,000–6,000.
This makes it 20 times cheaper than replacing the entire DPF. It has to be noted that dealerships do not offer DPF cleaning services, as they have a replacement-first approach. So, it makes a lot of financial sense to take a diesel vehicle to a local shop which is equipped with the DPF cleaning machine to clear the clogged filter.
Dealerships also do not offer DPF cleaning services because it is a slightly tedious process. It takes around 4–5 hours to uninstall, clean, and then reinstall the DPF filter, all of which a dealership does not have the time and equipment to facilitate. Hence, they recommend replacing the DPF, which, as mentioned, costs a lot of money.
This particular service offers a big relief to the owners of diesel cab fleet operators. For such operators, changing DPF filters for each car is not a viable option. However, regularly cleaning the DPF using the service shown above makes a lot of sense. This service extends the life of their existing DPFs and delays the replacement by a few years.
If you are a diesel car owner and want to know what to do in order to avoid clogging up the DPF, then here are some tips. The most crucial one is to never ignore when the DPF light gets turned on. Also, avoid short city drives in BS6 diesel cars. If you are city dwellers, then try to take your car out periodically on highways to burn off the soot build up.