The Truth About DPF Removals & Newbie So-Called Experts
All new modern diesel vehicles are being built with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) in the exhaust systems and are very problematic. They are rapidly getting blocked up and cost a fortune to replace. More and more people are becoming aware that it’s possible to remove these DPF filters from the exhaust system providing you’ve had the engine ECU reprogrammed to run without a diesel particulate filter in place.
For more information on Diesel Particulate Filters and DPF Removals please check out our article on What Is A DPF.
Due to the increasing demand in this service, we’re seeing a growing number of companies nationwide popping up with DPF related company names offering a “DPF Removal Solution / Service” at incredibly cheap prices. We found most of these companies are charging between £149.00 – £399.00 for a “FULL DPF REMOVAL SERVICE” which would include having the DPF Software “deleted” and the filter completely removed from the exhaust system and in some cases replaced with a “straight-through” pipe.
Firstly, straight-through pipes are not road legal so any companies offering this service with such options stating that the vehicle will be road legal and will still pass an MOT is falsely advertising an illegal service, however, as the owner of the vehicle you will be liable to ensure any work/modifications carried out to your vehicle will meet the standards required to pass an MOT and be deemed legal for road use.
Newbie So-Called Experts
A tuning company has newly introduced a piece of equipment which has allowed many people/companies to set up their very own mobile income stream. With this you can connect to the vehicles ECU and download data which is use to remap the engine for enhanced performance and/or economy but also it will show data strings relating to the DPF so experienced tuners can then modify these files to delete the DPF data strings – this is all good providing it’s an experienced tuner with the capabilities of editing the files correctly knowing what they’re editing and what effects it will have on other components as well as long term effects.
The problem is this equipment is available to anybody who wishes to become a tuner/programmer with zero experience. For a small fortune you can equip yourself with this equipment and other programming tools to download ECU files and then modify them for purposes such as DPF Removals. Downloading the files and reading the files is the easy part.. understanding what you’re reading and how professionally to modify these data strings is much more complex and even tuners with 15yrs experience will tell you they haven’t seen everything in the game.
To help newbies, other companies have produced automated software which will at the click of a button scan through the downloaded ECU files and delete all traces of the DPF file structure, however, every piece of equipment and software will have it’s parameters and so there is only so much the automated software will find and delete. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is a small portion of the DPF data strings which are found embedded deep in the ECU coding interlinked with various related sensors such as:
- Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensors
- Lambda (o2 / Oxygen) Sensors
- MAF (Mass Air Flow) Sensor
- Differential Pressure Sensor
- And More…
You cannot just delete the DPF data strings here otherwise you will delete and/or corrupt the data strings directly relating to and used to calculate signals from those sensors. We’ve seen many cases where the automated softwares available have on some cars deleted these files and caused data corruption but even if it doesn’t delete these files you will find that eventually the engine ECU will throw the vehicle back into limp mode noticing there is a problem and the DPF light will soon be back. The symptoms of incorrect programming is not instant and in some cases it will seem that everything is okay and going to plan.
Common symptoms of file corruption & poor programming are:
- Limp Mode
- DPF Light
- Engine Light
- Coil Light Flashing
- Vehicle Not Starting
- Excessive Smoke
What you have to understand is two identical vehicles with the same engine/horse power manufactured in the same year can STILL have alterations in their ECU file structures especially where vehicles have had recalls or since manufacture been back into dealerships for file updates. So you can never be 100% certain copying files from one ECU to another, each DPF removal session MUST be custom and no automated softwares should ever be used.
As you can imagine this type of work can be VERY time consuming and we haven’t even begun to physically remove the particulate filter (DPF) from the exhaust system yet, so how a professional legitimate company can afford to do all this in the cost of £149.00 – £399.00 including putting the vehicle up on a ramp and physically removing the particulate filter and then FULLY guaranteeing and upholding their warranty policies is beyond me. Unless they are cutting corners of course and lets face it if you could get your hands on automated software which would allow you to at the click of a button imitate a DPF Removal software deletion and opening a new revenue stream.. I think it’s safe to say many people/companies would steer to this idea but it’s unfair for you as the owner of the vehicle to have to pay the final price when warranties are not upheld and further damage is caused to injectors, turbochargers and other mechanical components from wrongly programmed sensors.
As you can see we are strongly against the idea of using these automated softwares or copying files from one ECU to another to save time. Each DPF deletion we carry out is done a fresh, each vehicle is custom programmed and we even carry out a FREE smoke-correction service to ensure your vehicle will continue to run optimally. – This is something NO other company in the UK offer.
This article was written to raise awareness of the cowboys and Newbie So-Called Experts which have just this year begun removing DPF’s from vehicles. We’re currently seeing 2-3 vehicles every week being booked in with us to have DPF Removal programming corrections where other companies have messed up. The customer ends up paying over the odds for what was meant to be an affordable & cost effective DPF removal service.
Please share this article to help raise awareness and help protect the community. If you’ve had your DPF removed from a professional company like ourselves, then please mention it in the comments section below or alternatively if you’re on any forums, do mention it there and help spread a more positive source of information.
Will DPF Removal Cause Me To Fail An MOT?
From February 2014, the law is changing to include the visual inspection of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) during your MOT inspection. Although our DPF Removals are very discreet and our smoke-correction ensures the vehicle won’t smoke come MOT time, we are offering our DPF Removal sessions as an “Off-Road Use Only” service.
For a quote on having your DPF removed from your vehicle, please call us on 0203 815 9441 or alternatively scroll up to send us an email.
Ajaz is a seasoned automotive electronics engineer with deep expertise in remanufacturing vehicle electronics. He has developed skills in all areas of the automotive field, from rebuilding hydraulic steering components, and mechanical gearboxes and reworking intricate vehicle electronics. Ajaz also acquired Bodyteq, a London-based vehicle bodyshop where he has developed extensive knowledge in automotive refinishing.
Alongside his automotive career, Ajaz has built a career in the IT industry, gaining accredited certification as an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Cloud Architect, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialist.
hi i would like to get a price for removing my DPF from a BMW530d
thanks 07766468166
Hi Ryan
Please call our office for details on 0203 815 9441 or alternatively if you send us a email, we will get straight back to you.
Best Regards
Support Team
Sinspeed Ltd
Hello, what is the price to remove dpf filter from bmw e60 2006? 525d
Hi Gytis
Thanks for the enquiry,
We have sent you an email – kindly respond with your postal code for a customised quotation.
Kind Regards
Jason
SINSPEED