A particulate filter is a key piece in combustion cars, especially in diesel ones, since it is responsible for purifying the smoke that comes out of the exhaust pipe, trapping the largest soot particles and ensuring that the polluting emissions of the car are inferior.
They began to be implemented from 2006 and its correct operation will depend on whether you pass the ITV: if it breaks down you will have to go through the workshop and we already anticipate that it is not exactly a cheap repair.
How does the particulate filter work?
The concept of the particulate filter is quite simple. You have to think of it as a network that traps the solid particles that are produced in the combustion of the engine. It retains them so that they are not expelled through the exhaust pipe and, from time to time, incinerates them to make them disappear or at least decompose them.
In fact, it is the filter itself that detects when it has been filled (depending on the type of driving, it usually happens every 1,000 or 1,200 km) and automatically carries out regeneration: it increases the temperature of the exhaust gases to produce the incineration and clean of solid particles.
How to clean the particulate filter?
It is not something that you can do, because, as we have said, it is the vehicle itself that does it on its own. However, you can help the process to be completed correctly.
When regeneration occurs, the usual thing is that a pilot on the dashboard warns that it is taking place: at that moment what you cannot do is stop the car. What you should do is continue circulating and, if possible, at lower gears than normal, so that the temperature increases and the cleaning is more effective.
Tips for preserving the particulate filter
Keeping the particulate filter in shape depends, to a large extent, on the type of driving you do. As spending little is one of the main virtues of diesel cars, it is common for these vehicles to drive smoothly, at low revolutions and that can be fatal for the filter.
Relaxed driving or low speeds, such as that carried out in the city, makes the engine operate at relatively low temperatures, so not all the soot that should be burned is burned, it accumulates more than necessary and the filter forces regenerations to be carried out less often, forcing its operation more than it should.
Precisely for this reason it is advisable to leave the city and enter the motorway, so that the car circulates at a higher rate and combustion is at higher temperatures. Not only that, it is also recommended, from time to time, to circulate in gears lower than normal and at higher revolutions, to “burn carbon”.
In relation to this, it is also convenient, as far as possible, to avoid short journeys. In these, the engine does not reach its optimum temperature, nor does the filter, more soot accumulates and, again, the frequency with which it is forced to carry out its regenerations can be shortened,
Another aspect that is very useful is to use an additive. It mixes with the fuel, burns in the engine and helps to incinerate the soot, reducing or at least slowing down its build-up in the particulate filter.
How much does it cost to change a particulate filter?
You should try to avoid having to change the particulate filter by any means possible, so try to follow all the tips we’ve given you above. And it is that if it finally breaks down, your visit to the workshop will mean a considerable outlay: between 1,000 and 1,200 euros on average.