Most diesel vans and commercial vehicles now come fitted with a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) from 2006. The Mercedes Sprinter 311 Series (both the 2.2CDi and 3.0CDi) have the DPF system fitted. For some van drivers it’s okay, a lot of these are used on long motorway runs quite frequently so it’s not much of a problem until it reaches the service life of the DPF (yes, they have a service life) and that’s when the shock comes from the replacement Diesel Particulate Filter bill – they’re not cheap to replace and could cost up to £3000!
Owners of commercial vehicles like the Mercedes Sprinter need a good balance of reliability and economy. A Mercedes Sprinter DPF system requires you to do frequent long trips (preferably motorway miles) to help aid the cleaning process of the filter – also known as regeneration and if you’re not using your van for long trips, then this is adding not only mileage to the vehicle with added wear to other components but also burning a lot of diesel.
To learn more about the DPF system, please see our Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) Problems & Solutions article
Why Has My Mercedes Sprinter 311 CDi DPF Blocked Up?
There are many reasons why the Mercedes Sprinter DPF system can get blocked up, we’ve seen 2010 model Mercedes Sprinters (311 CDi) come in to our workshop with less than 40,000 miles and the DPF was almost completely blocked up. Below are some of the main reasons why the DPF system will block up quickly on a Mercedes Sprinter.
Even if you do daily motorway mileage, use the correct grade of oil, service the vehicle regularly and use high quality diesel i.e. Shell V-Power Diesel – there is still no guarantees and eventually the DPF will block up and require replacing or removal.
The root problem is the design of the DPF system. On the Mercedes Sprinter the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is located in the centre of the exhaust, after a large catalytic converter. The DPF system requires very high exhaust gas temperatures to achieve successful regeneration and aid the cleaning of the DPF brick. EGT’s (Exhaust Gas Temperatures) are at their highest as they exit from the turbocharger and the further down the exhaust they travel, the more heat is lost. Before even reaching the DPF, they have to travel half way down the exhaust and through a large catalytic converter – only then they can reach the DPF, in which time you can expect the EGT’s (Exhaust Gas Temperatures) to drop by around 200c.
Once the Mercedes Sprinter DPF has blocked up and failed to regenerate, the DPF warning light and/or flashing coil light and engine light will not go out without having the ECU reset by a mercedes dealership whilst carrying out a “forced regeneration” – normally at the cost of around £250.00 +VAT. However, each time you attempt to regenerate the filter, you will be damaging critical elements of the filter which would normally aid it to self-clean. This means that each time you regenerate the filter, you are further decreasing the life expectancy of the DPF and can expect it to block up again sooner than you may think.
Below are some of the most common problems when the DPF fails on a Mercedes Sprinter.
How Will SINSPEED Remove My Mercedes Sprinter DPF?
When your Mercedes Sprinter arrives at our workshop, we will begin by making notes of the fault codes stored on the ECU. We then delete the codes and download the ECU map files to begin manually deleting all the DPF file structures and de-activating the DPF Regeneration system. We offer a CUSTOM DPF Removal session, not using any type of automated software in the process – this will eliminate any possibilities of encountering problems as many people will experience when using mobile tuners.
Whilst the software is being manipulated, we simultaneously remove the exhaust from the vehicle and physically remove the diesel particulate filter from the exhaust system and carry out a full and thorough visual inspection of all related mechanical components of the vehicle to ensure there are no other faults and bring you peace of mind that when your vehicle leaves our workshop, there will be no other faults and if there are, we can notify you and quote you accordingly – Yes, we do carry out general mechanical repairs & we’re very cost-effective!
We then go ahead and program the engine ECU with your new Custom DPF Removal Software and carry out a FREE Smoke-Correction service to ensure the vehicle won’t smoke and it will continue to pass an MOT – This is our guarantee and something that currently NO other company in the UK can offer!
What Can I Expect After My Mercedes Sprinter DPF Is Removed?
After having the DPF removed from your Mercedes Sprinter, you will not experience any error messages and the car will not go into LIMP mode. Also, you will never experience any Regeneration messages where the ECU normally attempts to clean the DPF – this is because the DPF is no longer existing.
Finally, you will experience an overall increase in performance, smoothing out any flat spots and safeguard the life of both your engine & turbocharger.
A new DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) for the Mercedes Sprinter ranges from £900.00 – £1500.00 (+Labour & VAT). We can remove the entire DPF for a fraction of this cost and you’ll never have to worry about it ever again.
A DPF Removal programming session and ECU Remap are slightly different, the ECU remapping session is more targeted towards power/fuel economy gains whereas the DPF removal session is aimed at resolving DPF issues. We offer Mercedes Sprinter ECU Remapping sessions if this is what you would be interested in. It can be combined with our Mercedes Sprinter DPF Removal service as well.
For more information, please call us on 0203 815 9441.
