Can I drive with the DPF light on?

The simple answer is that you can drive with the DPF light on, but the car is giving you a warning that cannot be ignored. If the DPF light is on, but the vehicle is running well, the normal advice would be to take the vehicle on an extended run, probably on a motorway, running at around 3000 revs per minute for at least twenty minutes. This will allow the vehicle DPF to get to a sufficient temperature to be able to burn off the diesel soot that has been building up over time, and turn it into ash which blows out of the exhaust. In doing this, it is highly likely that the DPF warning light will go off because the soot in the DPF has been removed.

If this action isn’t undertaken, and only short distances are undertaken in the vehicle, then soot will just continue to build up in the DPF affecting the efficiency of the engine and eventually the car could go into ‘limp’ mode with its performance severely impaired. The only course of action at this stage would be forced regeneration, which we can provide at Darwen Diesels using our highly effective ‘reverse flush’ DPF cleaning system. A water-based liquid is shot through the DPF in the opposite direction to the flow of the exhaust and soot, ensuring that the soot is dislodged most effectively. We continue this process of reverse flushing until the DPF is virtually as clean as brand new; we take it back to 98% of its original state. After each flushing cycle it’s cleanliness is tested until it reaches a virtually brand – new state.