Mobile DPF cleaning and regeneration in Watford and Hertfordshire
DPF light on, or the van has dropped into limp mode? We come to you, anywhere across Watford and Hertfordshire, plug in with dealer level equipment and read what the filter is actually doing. Then we force a regeneration on the vehicle, on your driveway, and road test it to prove the result. Around £60 for the visit, the regeneration and a written report. We work on cars and vans, and if the regeneration does not clear it, the report tells you why and what to do next. Diagnosing diesels around Watford since 2000.
- Price
- Around £60
- Call-out
- Mobile
- Vehicles
- Cars and vans
Tell us the make, model, year and what the car is doing.
We will give you the price and tell you whether a regeneration is likely to be the right call. Quickest answer is by phone.
- UK warrantyHardware support we own
- Free on-site demoWe come to your workshop
- Training includedReal vehicles, real work
- Phone-first supportSpeak to Andrew, every time
The signs a DPF is blocking up
Most people ring us with one of these.
Those last two matter, because they mean the car is trying to regenerate and not getting there. Catch it at that stage and it is usually a straightforward job. Once the filter is fully loaded the options narrow.
- The DPF warning light, on its own or with the engine management light
- Limp mode, where the car cuts power and will not rev past a set point
- A general loss of power, or the turbo feeling like it has gone soft
- Fuel economy dropping off for no obvious reason
- A regeneration that starts and never finishes, usually on short local trips
- A smell of hot exhaust, or the cooling fans running on after you park
What we actually do
Four steps. The first is the one most places skip.
- 1
We read the filter, not just the light.
Soot load, ash load, differential pressure across the filter, exhaust temperatures, and the live data around them. That tells us how blocked it is and whether a regeneration is going to work at all. A warning light on its own tells you almost nothing.
- 2
We find out why it stopped regenerating.
This is the part that decides whether you see us again. A DPF that will not regenerate is usually a symptom. It can be a differential pressure sensor reading wrong, an exhaust temperature sensor, an EGR valve stuck open, a leaking injector putting too much fuel through, a thermostat that never lets the engine get hot enough, or simply a driving pattern of short cold trips that never gives the car a chance. Clear the filter without finding that and it blocks again. Where the cause sits elsewhere on the car, that becomes a full mobile diagnostic, and we tell you before we go further.
- 3
We force a regeneration through the diagnostic software.
Run on your driveway, with the car under our control instead of waiting for it to decide to do one itself. If the filter also needs a chemical clean, we can arrange one and quote it separately.
- 4
We road test it and show you the numbers.
Before and after readings, in writing, so you can see the soot load come down for yourself.
What it costs
Around £60.
That covers the mobile visit, the forced regeneration through the diagnostic tool, and the report.
The other prices you will see quoted locally run from roughly £180 to £320, and those normally include a chemical clean. Ours is the regeneration and the diagnosis, which is why the number looks so different. If the filter turns out to need chemical cleaning as well, we will tell you, arrange it and quote for it on its own. We would rather sell you the £60 job that fixes it than the £300 one that was never needed.
When a regeneration will not fix it
You should hear this before you book. A filter that is ash loaded rather than soot loaded has reached the end of its service life, and burning it will not bring ash out. A cracked or melted monolith, usually the result of a regeneration that ran too hot, is damage rather than blockage. And where there is a fault upstream, an injector, a sensor or an EGR problem, that has to be sorted first or the filter simply loads up again.
In every one of those cases you still get the diagnostic report: what we found, why the regeneration did not clear it, and the sensible next step, whether that is a repair we quote for or a replacement filter. That report is what we stand behind. We do not guarantee the outcome of a regeneration, because the result depends on the cause, the fuel and how the vehicle gets driven, and anybody promising otherwise is guessing on your behalf.
We do not remove DPFs, and here is why
We will not take a DPF out, and we will not help you find someone who will.
Driving a vehicle on the road with the filter taken out is illegal. DVSA's own wording is that "it's illegal to drive a vehicle that's been modified in that way", and the penalty is "fines of up to £1,000 for a car or £2,500 for a light goods vehicle". Since February 2014 the MOT tester has had to check the filter is physically there when they inspect a diesel exhaust, so removal means an automatic fail on a visual check. On top of that, an undeclared modification of that kind puts your insurance at risk exactly when you would need it.
A blocked filter is a fault to diagnose, and that is the job we quote for.
Where we come to
Bushey, Rickmansworth, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Borehamwood and Harrow, plus the rest of a roughly twenty mile radius around Watford. Home or workplace, cars and vans both. Not sure you are in range? Ring and ask. We also do ECU remapping across the same area, though that is a separate job and we would not mix the two on one visit.
- Watford
- Bushey
- Rickmansworth
- Kings Langley
- Hemel Hempstead
- St Albans
- Borehamwood
- Harrow
- Hertfordshire
Questions we get asked about DPFs.
- How much does a DPF clean cost?
- Around £60 with us, covering the mobile visit, a forced regeneration through the diagnostic tool and a written diagnostic report. Most local prices sit between roughly £180 and £320 because they include a chemical clean. If yours needs one we will say so and quote it separately.
- Can a fully blocked DPF be cleaned?
- It depends what is blocking it. Soot burns off, so a soot loaded filter can usually be cleared with a forced regeneration. Ash does not burn, and an ash loaded filter has reached the end of its life and needs replacing. We read both loads before we start, which is how we can tell you which you have.
- Is a blocked DPF an MOT failure?
- A missing DPF is an automatic failure, because testers have had to check the filter is present on a diesel since February 2014. One that is fitted but blocked usually shows up through the emissions test or visible smoke. Best dealt with before the test.
- Can I keep driving with the DPF light on?
- Briefly, and carefully. The light on its own often means the car wants to run a regeneration and has not managed one, and a longer steady motorway run sometimes clears it. Do not ignore it for weeks. Once the car drops into limp mode the filter will not self clear, and the longer it runs blocked the more you risk a bigger bill.
- How long does it take?
- It depends on the vehicle, how loaded the filter is and what we find when we read it. We would rather give you a realistic time on the phone than quote a figure here that turns out to be wrong for your car.
- How long does a regeneration last?
- There is no fixed answer. It depends on the cause, the fuel, and how the vehicle is driven afterwards. Fix the underlying fault and break a pattern of short cold journeys and a filter can run normally for a long time. Leave the cause in place and it loads up again, which is why we diagnose first.
- Can you help if the van is in limp mode?
- Usually, yes. Limp mode is often the point where the car has given up trying to regenerate on its own, which is exactly what a forced regeneration through the diagnostic tool is for. We come to the van, so you do not have to drive it anywhere. Cars and vans both.
- Do you remove DPFs?
- No. Driving on the road without the filter is illegal, it is an automatic MOT failure on the visual check, and it can invalidate your insurance. DVSA put the fines at up to £1,000 for a car and £2,500 for a light goods vehicle. We diagnose and regenerate. If it is past saving we will say so.
- Do you guarantee it will work?
- No, and we would rather say so. The outcome depends on the cause, the fuel and how the vehicle is driven, so anyone promising a result is guessing. What you get either way is the diagnostic report: what we found, why the regeneration did or did not clear it, and what to do next.
Ring first
Tell us the make, model, year and what the car is doing. We will give you the price and tell you whether a regeneration is likely to be the right call, before you commit to anything.
Call 07725 464610, or send the details through the form.
