Diesel particulate filter (DPF) warning

The diesel particulate filter has collected more soot than it should be holding and needs to regenerate — to burn that soot off at high exhaust temperature. Diesel engines only.

• A pattern of short, cold journeys where the exhaust never gets hot enough
• Regeneration interrupted by switching the engine off partway through
• A differential pressure or temperature sensor fault
• An EGR or additive system fault loading the filter faster than normal

Check what your handbook says about driving regeneration — most ask for a sustained run at steady speed in a lower gear than usual, for fifteen to twenty minutes. That is what the light is requesting.

Do not simply ignore it and carry on with short trips. A filter allowed to load completely stops being a service item and becomes a replacement part.

If the light stays on after a proper run, if it changes colour or is joined by other warnings, or if the car drops into reduced power.