Ford Mondeo's with 1998cc diesel + DPF
Information for those of you towing with the Mondeo Diesel engine and fitted with DPF system. I have a 2009 and had it since new. Now has 72000 miles and has had a full service history. On my way home with caravan from Carlisle, the warning light (Orange)
, engine management, came on. A quick phone call to my servicing garage confirmed that in "orange"mode it was safe to continue driving home. Later, the garage put the diagnostics computer on to the plug-in connector of the engine and told me the DPF was the
cause of the warning light coming on. In the ensuing inspection, the two pipes at the DPF unit were choked up and one pipe had actually burst. The DPF itself was also choked to a degree with the soot particles which crystallise and restrict flow. It is law
that this unit must work and cannot be removed as it incurs a fine of £2000. The garage changed the two pipes for new and chemically treated the internals of the DPF unit itself. As it is thought that during the non caravanning months of the year my car is
not often out of town so the temperature generated in the DPFs not reaching a high enough temperature to " self burn off" the accumulated particles of crystallised soot and it builds up to such an extent that it affects the running efficiency of the engine.
It can be dealt with by say every couple of weeks, taking the car on a motorway trip of about 20 miles at 60 mph and in 4th gear. This enables a much higher temperature to be reached so enabling the system to self regenerate and clear out the soot. If however
the build up is so great as to be beyond self regeneration then a chemical treatment may be next option but failing that a new DPF has to be fitted costing about £1100. So it is vital that unless you are a rep., doing a lot of motorway driving, it is important
to take remedial action to keep the system clear of soot build up. It is also worth putting a bottle of Wynns DPF treatment in the tank before fuelling up with diesel, and do this with every third fill.