2005 Vauxhall Zafira power loss

Best to get car scanned and stored fault codes read .


Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF)
Reducing diesel soot emissions by 80%

Changes to new car emissions legislation scheduled for 2009, the so-called 'Euro 5' standards, will make particulate filters as commonplace in diesel car exhausts as catalytic converters are on petrol cars.

The goal is an 80% reduction in diesel particulate (soot) emissions but the technology's not without problems – AA patrols are already being called to cars with the particulate filter warning light illuminated (indicates a partial blockage).

It's clear that changes to driving style may be required too for maximum benefit from these systems.

How do they work?
Diesel Particulate filters (DPF) or 'traps' do just that, they catch bits of soot in the exhaust.

As with any filter (think of the bag in your vacuum cleaner) they have to be emptied regularly to maintain performance. For a DPF this process is called 'regeneration' – the accumulated soot is burnt off at high temperature to leave only a tiny ash residue. Regeneration may be either passive or active.

Passive regeneration
Passive regeneration takes place automatically on motorway-type runs when the exhaust temperature is high. Many cars don't get this sort of use though so manufacturers have to design-in 'active' regeneration where the engine management computer (ECU) takes control of the process.

Active regeneration
When the soot loading in the filter reaches a set limit (about 45%) the ECU can make small adjustments to the fuel injection timing to increase the exhaust temperature and initiate regeneration. If the journey's a bit stop/start the regeneration may not complete and the warning light will illuminate to show that the DPF is partially blocked.

It should be possible to start a complete regeneration and clear the warning light simply by driving for 10 minutes or so at speeds greater than 40mph.

If you ignore the light and keep driving in a relatively slow, stop/start pattern soot loading will continue to build up until around 75% when you can expect to see other dashboard warning lights illuminate too. At this point driving at speed alone will not be sufficient and the car will have to go to a dealer for regeneration.

Expensive repairs
If warnings are still ignored and soot loading continues to increase then the most likely outcome will be a new DPF costing around £1000.

Mainly town based driving
If your own car use is mainly town-based, stop/start driving it would be wise to choose petrol rather than risk the hassle of incomplete DPF regeneration.

DPF additives
The most common type of DPF features an integrated oxidising catalytic converter and is located very close to the engine where exhaust gases will still be relatively hot so that passive regeneration is possible.

There's not always space close to the engine though so some manufacturers use a different type of DPF which relies on a fuel additive to lower the ignition temperature of the soot particles so that the DPF can be located further from the engine.

The additive is stored in a separate tank and is automatically mixed with the fuel whenever you fill up. Tiny quantities are required though so a litre of additive should treat around 2800 litres of fuel, enough to cover 25,000 miles at 40mpg.

With this type of DPF regeneration will be initiated by the ECU every 300 miles or so depending on vehicle use and will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. You shouldn't notice anything other than perhaps a puff of white smoke from the exhaust when the process is completed.

AA experience
We're seeing some evidence of these systems failing to regenerate too, even on cars used mainly on motorways. It seems that on cars with a very high sixth gear engine revs are too low to generate sufficient exhaust temperature. Occasional harder driving in lower gears should be sufficient to burn off the soot in such cases.

Check the handbook
If you buy a car with a DPF fitted it's important to read the relevant section of the vehicle handbook so that you understand exactly what actions to take if the warning light illuminates and how, if at all, your driving style may need to be adjusted to ensure maximum DPF efficiency and life.

my car is 2003 zafira 2.0dti with y20dth engine.
i ave loss of power at about 3000rpm but not all the time and sservice light comes on. sumtimes it goes straight off again and then drives normal, sumtimes however i ave 2 pull over, switch engine off then restart, this cures prob till the next time.
i ave had it on dianostic and it pointed 2 glow plug relay which i changed. i ave also replaced air flow meter, egr valve, all filters, put a fuel additive in2 tank and still no diff. i ave also changed the engine, can anybody help me cos no fault codes are being stored

once a fault code is stored it will stay in the memory regardless of the warning light being on or off,the light will only come on when fault is present,with regards to fault check all the vacuum pipes to egr valve,throttle housing,swirl flaps and turbo waste gate,make sure they are all secure and they are not damaged or worn through,also check the inlet and egr are not carboned up - common fault on 2.0 dti engine,also check fuel leak off pipes for contamination with oil residue in fuel