Everyone has heard of the term diesel particulate filter, also known as DPF. What is it exactly, and what is its purpose? Can this part wear out and be regenerated? What are the costs of regeneration, and how long does it take?

The diesel particulate filter is a very important and environmentally friendly part of our vehicle that we often neglect or even deliberately remove. Many of us have seen the warning light on the instrument panel indicating that DPF regeneration is in progress. This issue is thoroughly discussed in this article (link). Unfortunately, as the kilometers accumulate and more regeneration processes burn soot from the diesel particulate filter, our filter simply begins to lose its effectiveness and eventually needs professional regeneration or replacement with a new one.

Regeneration of the DPF filter should only be performed by professional and authorized workshops with special equipment. It is important to remember that the diesel particulate filter contains soot that must be handled properly and not simply discarded in the trash. Another practice often used in amateur workshops is to use half-baked solutions that provide temporary results. One such "trick" is, for example, drilling holes in the filter so that all exhaust gases begin to "escape" through the hole. This practice was used on older cars that did not have such advanced electronics. It was enough to ensure that the total cross-sectional area of the holes amounted to around 80% of the diameter of the outlet opening on the filter, and the car's computer displayed the correct parameters. It only took 30 minutes of work with a drill, and you could count it as a full regeneration. Fortunately, this scam is now rare, but it is still practiced.

We start the regeneration of the diesel particulate filter by checking if the car even has a filter. It often happens that there simply is no filter, and why this happens, you can read about in this article (link). The second step is to check the condition of the filter and look for both mechanical and chemical damage. It is worth noting that our filter may seem perfect externally, but regardless of the condition of the outer shell, the filter insert must be removed before it can be diagnosed. It often happens that cars imported from the west have spent 90% of their lives on highways, where the outer shell has not had the opportunity to be damaged. However, the situation looks different inside the diesel particulate filter, where every kilometer has left traces on the inner filter insert.

If we are sure that our diesel particulate filter is suitable for regeneration, we seal all the holes and place it in a machine that functions like a leaf blower. This "leaf blower" removes all contaminants that have accumulated in our filter over the years using high air pressure. During the regeneration of our DPF filter, all deposits are also removed, which are essentially dirt and unwanted substances that have accumulated. This is important for later use because if these deposits had remained, the filter would not have been evenly heated, and as a result, it could have cracked.