ACC UK Ltd, Winners of The Independent Garage of the Year 2015 & Inspire Customer Service Excellence 2016 Award, are Servicing, Repair & MOT Specialists
based in the heart of Farnborough, Hampshire. We like to give you hints and tips on maintaining your Volvo or Toyota to help reduce breakdowns and
expensive car repair bills.
The blog this week is about what is the Diesel Particulate Filter on your Volvo or Toyota? Few people actually take the time to go through their Volvo
or Toyota owners’ manual and familiarise themselves with what the various lights on their dashboard mean and what exactly various parts on their cars
are. They seek assistance only when an issue arises. However many people ignore warning lights and noises, loss of power etc, possibly in the hope
they may just go away. There can be expensive consequences to ignoring some of these warning signs along with safety issues. Please don’t ever ignore
a warning light or noise!
The Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is in the exhaust system of all new diesel-powered Volvo’s and Toyota’s manufactured since 2009. It is a vital component
in the Volvo or Toyota that is designed to enable cars to pass increasingly tough emissions legislation. So what exactly does it do? Well the DPF’s
job is to trap soot particles to prevent harmful smoke from being pumped into the atmosphere. Your Volvo or Toyota is designed to clean the filter
as it becomes clogged up with the soot particles through a regeneration process approximately every 300 miles, and usually occurs when you are travelling
at speed down the motorway (because of the heat generated). However this is not always done, usually when you make small journeys, or don’t do much
motorway driving this process either doesn’t start or doesn’t have time to be completed. Then over time the filter becomes more and more clogged and
a regeneration cannot happen because the filter is just too clogged. Sometimes when you take your Volvo or Toyota to your local independent Volvo or
Toyota garage they may be able to do what is called a forced regeneration. However this is not always possible if the filter is too blocked, and then
you are looking at a very large garage bill sometimes in the region of £1000 if you have to have the DPF changed! So if you see your DPF light on your
Volvo or Toyota dashboard take your Volvo or Toyota out onto a faster road like a dual carriageway or motorway where you can drive at speed for at
least 10 minutes – this may force the regeneration and clear the soot if not then take your car straight to your local independent garage where they
may be able to force the regeneration! Much cheaper than having to replace the entire filter! Do not ever be tempted to remove the DPF (there are companies
that advertise this), since February 2014 this has become an instant MOT failure, and may also invalidate any warranties on your Volvo or Toyota. So
it is definitely worth considering whether to purchase a diesel or petrol based on the type of journeys you will take. If there is little or no motorway
driving then it may be worth avoiding a diesel Volvo or Toyota! As a DPF problem will be very expensive to rectify!
Here at ACC UK Ltd, Winners of The Motor Trader Independent Garage of The Year 2015 & Inspire Customer Service Excellence 2016 we pride ourselves on
offering an outstanding customer experience for a fraction of the cost of a dealership. Give us a call and let us quote you for your next service or
repair on your Volvo or Toyota. We service all areas around Farnborough, Fleet, Aldershot, Farnham, Guildford, Frimley, Camberley, Hook, Sandhurst,
Crowthorne, Yateley, Hampshire and Surrey. We offer free collection and drop off services. We also have a fleet of courtesy cars to allow you to get
on with your schedule whilst your Volvo or Toyota is with us. Happy Motoring from all at ACC UK Ltd – Independent Volvo & Toyota servicing, repair
and MOT specialists based in the heart of Farnborough, Hampshire.
