DPFs have been fitted to diesel vans in the past twenty years to help with the fight against emissions from diesel vans. Their role is to both capture and stores exhaust soot, which periodically will need to be burned off (basically emptied) through a regeneration process (often called a “regen”). This process cleanly burns off accumulated soot and helps to protect the environment from the harmful black smoke which otherwise be seen from diesel van exhausts. Regular motorway driving is great for regen as it will burn much of this soot off naturally.

When the DPF becomes clogged an orange dashboard will display indicating the filter needs to be cleared. For city only, drivers this can become problematic as “regens” will become all too common as the van won’t be able to clear due to short, low-speed city journeys. DPFs are particularly affected by irregular servicing as this exacerbates the issue of soot accumulation. In situations where the van won’t regenerate itself naturally, most garages will be able to “force” a regeneration through specialist equipment.

A diesel van will run without a DPF, but it will fail its MOT and it’s also illegal to remove a DPF! Older vans with higher mileage are more likely to need DPF repairs and replacement and with the expensive cost of replacement of a DPF (Often £1,000 – £3,000), affordability can be a problem. With DPFs often costing more to replace than the value of this van this is often a reason to write a van off and replace with a newer model.

There is no real option, if you have a DPF failure you need to fix it or sell your van to a company like ours who buy vans with known DPF faults. As we have said the cost of a DPF replacement varies, but for certain models can be over £3,000. In many cases, it pays “to cut your losses” and sell to a company like ours rather than invest more money into the van for a repair which won’t increase the value of the van before the DPF faults arise.