Lexus Is Diesel Particulate Filter Dpf Problem / Solution

CGorner · March 24, 2015

I wish the car would say when the dpf is being regenerated! So because I do so much motorway miles does that mean my dpf will be regenerating every day?

Matus · March 25, 2015

I wish the car would say when the dpf is being regenerated!

me too!

So because I do so much motorway miles does that mean my dpf will be regenerating every day?

no.

If the system runs correctly, then it won't be regenerating every day (unless you do ~300 miles per day).

TheDreamer · March 25, 2015

I've started to do a force regeneration every 2 months now, using my laptop (software method) this confirms that its has been done. I've started to drive the vehicle more in town centre so I've got into a habit of driving off when vehicle temp reaches about 40 C take about 10 mins depending on outside temp but i've come to realise the engine sound much better when its slightly hot and also within couple of mintues engine reach 70 C. I do tend to drive at high rev's and never drive in 4th gear inside town center always keep it in 3rd gear..its slightly ineffecient but so far its kept the dpf at bay. I use shell V power fuel and stick 5ml of Archoil AR6200 once a month. The OBD2 ELM 327 Bluetooth adapter and Torque Pro software on my phone is a Godsend, IMHO every lexus is220d owner should have one.

Matus · March 25, 2015

in such driving conditions I definitely recommend forced regeneration.

KC14 · March 25, 2015

Hi Thedreamer,

Which software are you using to do the force regeneration if you don't mind me asking please as that's also something I would like to do with my is220d as recently I had issues with my dpf being blocked.

Thank you in advance

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

mrr1 · March 25, 2015

Unfortunately nowadays it is quite usual, that people (like you) post their thoughts as facts - without an argument. It is very dumb to accept everything said on the Internet as a true.

Do you have any idea how ironic your statement is?

Are you actually trying to be pompous or is it just a natural trait? Try any harder and you'd be better off in a BMW.

For your information my advice came from Lexus Leicester.

"2500 - 3000 rpm for a good half hour at full temp will pretty much guarantee a regen. When we do forced regens in the 'shop it can sometimes take a good hour or so to hit the temps needed - 60 degrees engine temp is barely warmed up."

Hence it is YOUR advice that appears to be incorrect. However, as you say "it is very dumb to accept everything said on the internet as true" therefore I shall respectfully ignore your advice.

Hope you don't mind, I corrected your grammar although no doubt your grammar will be more correctest than mine.

KC14 · March 25, 2015

Hi Thedreamer,

I just read one I your previous post in regards to the software, best not to discuss any further :)

Thank you

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

CGorner · March 25, 2015

I'll start doing a forced regen then every month, so what's the verdict then? 2500rpm for 5-10 mins? Seems to be a dark area that not many people can give accurate info on haha

Matus · March 26, 2015

No.

You need to connect via OBD and turn on the regeneration in the diagnostic software. It will also show you when it is finished.

Here you can also watch temperatures in the DPF, so you will clearly see, that it is not necessary to run on 2500rpm or higher - for keeping the temperature high you need constant revs - around 2000 is enough.

mrr1 · March 26, 2015

cgorner - ooooof!

My advice would be to phone the nearest Lexus dealership and see what their workshop manager says. However as you shouldn't follow internet advice this infers that you should NOT phone them.

Actually if the advice (on the internet) is that you SHOULDN'T follow what you read on the internet does this mean that, actually, you SHOULD.......?

Damn, I'm confused. The more this thread goes on the lower the engine temps and lower the required revs seem to become. Basically provided the pipes aren't frozen and you can get the car to the end of your drive you should be ok..........

zoran · March 26, 2015

I would think constant revs at full engine temperature would do the trick over around 15mins or more.

Surely the idea is that on a run on the motorway the car regenerates its DPF?? motorway driving would be classed as 70mph in 5th or 6th gear

I always (in this country) drive at 70MPH ish in 5th with cruise on if possible on motorways on average twice a week and ive never had a DPF issue at all.

blackcts · March 27, 2015

@Matus - I take it you are turning on the forced regeneration option in the software then taking it for a run? In this case what you are saying is correct, you don't need a high rev run as the software is intervening to force a generation.

That said for anyone that doesn't have the software, high revs will help get the car nice and hot which is always a good thing. Head lexus mechanic told me at operating temp - 2,500rpm in 4th gear is perfect for helping with a regeneration.

blackcts · March 27, 2015

That said, the D-CAT system has a 5th injector, which operates when the ECU detects a partial blockage of the dpf, so as long as the engine is at operating temp and there is plenty of diesel in the tank, the D-CAT system should sort itself out, regardless of revs. Running it at high revs would do no harm though.

mrr1 · March 27, 2015

I would think constant revs at full engine temperature would do the trick over around 15mins or more.

Surely the idea is that on a run on the motorway the car regenerates its DPF?? motorway driving would be classed as 70mph in 5th or 6th gear

I always (in this country) drive at 70MPH ish in 5th with cruise on if possible on motorways on average twice a week and ive never had a DPF issue at all.

I did around 60k on motorways at 70ish and ended up in limp home mode..........

As has been said above if you don't have access to OBDs etc (eg 99% of us) a hefty toodle at decentish revs for a decent while should do the trick. 70 in fifth is about 2000 rpm (ish ?) meaning the dpf won't get hot enough. hence my earlier rudely responded to line about a motorway blast at 3000 rpm. If the Lexus guy above says 2500 then take that as the number. 2500 rpm in fourth equals about motorway speed so there you go.

Matus · March 27, 2015

That said, the D-CAT system has a 5th injector, which operates when the ECU detects a partial blockage of the dpf, so as long as the engine is at operating temp and there is plenty of diesel in the tank, the D-CAT system should sort itself out, regardless of revs.

exactly

Running it at high revs would do no harm though.

yes.

The point is that you can be running in high revs for 100 miles, but the system will not start the regeneration. Because, as you said, the ECU decision is dependable on the blockage % of the filter, not on the revs you are currently running on.

70 in fifth is about 2000 rpm (ish ?) meaning the dpf won't get hot enough.

now you either lie, or don't know what you are talking about.

If you don't believe me, let the lexus technician connect to your car with the Denso Techstream and go for a ride. And watch the temperatures in the DPF. If you are a man, you will return here with apologies.

mrr1 · March 27, 2015

Matus this thread is full of people whose cars are going into limp home mode. Therefore the system DOES NOT ALWAYS LOOK AFTER ITSELF WHEN THE BLOCKAGE % IS HIGH. Period. They are asking for ways to help force a regen. People do not know when a regen is needed. They just want to know that IF one is needed they can do SOMETHING ON A REGULAR BASIS THAT MAY JUST FORCE A REGEN AND SAVE THEM A LOAD OF HASSLE. Re-read the damn thread if you don't believe me.

I covered about 60 000.miles in my 220 in conditions covering the ones that you are indicating are "the holy grail". A huge amount of that 60k were spent at 2000rpm for 30mins or longer.Guess what? My dpf blocked.

It got physically cleaned with a £100 jet wash and has done 40k since with no issues. Once a month I drop it into fourth at seventy(ish) and leave the cruise on.

One line of advice appears to be to connect to a laptop to force a regen which 99% of us cannot do. The alternative is to force a regen by some other means. The question that is being asked repeatedly is "HOW DO I DO THAT?" Your pompous arrogant and frankly rude responses betray either the fact that you are not listening or that you cannot hear.

Numerous people on here (and elsewhere) are saying go for a spin at 2500 rpm and above for 20 to 30 mins. Me included.

Don't bother asking for an apology, you don't deserve one. Who the hell do you think you are?

TheDreamer · March 28, 2015

That said, the D-CAT system has a 5th injector, which operates when the ECU detects a partial blockage of the dpf, so as long as the engine is at operating temp and there is plenty of diesel in the tank, the D-CAT system should sort itself out, regardless of revs.
exactly
Running it at high revs would do no harm though.
yes.
The point is that you can be running in high revs for 100 miles, but the system will not start the regeneration. Because, as you said, the ECU decision is dependable on the blockage % of the filter, not on the revs you are currently running on.

70 in fifth is about 2000 rpm (ish ?) meaning the dpf won't get hot enough.
now you either lie, or don't know what you are talking about.
If you don't believe me, let the lexus technician connect to your car with the Denso Techstream and go for a ride. And watch the temperatures in the DPF. If you are a man, you will return here with apologies.

Matus this thread is full of people whose cars are going into limp home mode. Therefore the system DOES NOT ALWAYS LOOK AFTER ITSELF WHEN THE BLOCKAGE % IS HIGH. Period. They are asking for ways to help force a regen. People do not know when a regen is needed. They just want to know that IF one is needed they can do SOMETHING ON A REGULAR BASIS THAT MAY JUST FORCE A REGEN AND SAVE THEM A LOAD OF HASSLE. Re-read the damn thread if you don't believe me.

I covered about 60 000.miles in my 220 in conditions covering the ones that you are indicating are "the holy grail". A huge amount of that 60k were spent at 2000rpm for 30mins or longer.Guess what? My dpf blocked.

It got physically cleaned with a £100 jet wash and has done 40k since with no issues. Once a month I drop it into fourth at seventy(ish) and leave the cruise on.

Guy's lets keep it civil please!!, no point insulting each other.

Back to the topic. Let me say you both are correct but we must understand that dpf regeneration takes place depending on certain conditions. We know that engine temperature has to be at optimum, best around 87 C. I have read in lexus data manual you can start force regeneration at 60 C but i'v come to a conclusion the process takes little bit longer to complete under software condition starting at this temperature. Anyway like Matus pointed out correctly that you can be running in high revs for 100 miles, but the D-CAT system will not start the regeneration as this is down to the ECU, this could be down to many reasons like blockage % of the filter, Egr etc..

Now going back to what mrr1 stated correctly that he has done over 60k miles and still dpf blocked and i'd like to state i was pretty much doing the same driving conditions as mrr1 and found out the reason why my dpf was not regenrating in normal conditions by the D-CAT system was due to the EGR valve being coked with carbon and was not functioning correctly. This in result caused dpf to become blocked and D-CAT system couldn't rengerate by itself without force regenerating by software method.

When i go for a drive to check dpf status, i tend to drive at around 75-80 MPH between 2.5-3k i monitor the exhaust tempertures B1S1 and B1S2 and also DPF Differential Pressure reading. If the D-CAT system is operating correctly these temperatures B1S1 & B1S2 should rise over 600 C and the Differential Pressure should drop to acceptable levels, this will confirm D-CAT system is working correctly without the need of force regenerating the system as there is not need.

blackcts · March 28, 2015

@The Dreamer - good stuff, what software do you use? Pm if you want.

TheDreamer · March 28, 2015

The software is Toyota's official diagnostic tool. The easiest way to obtain legally would be to subscribe to Lexus' online service, the 1 year sub includes the software for around £2000 + VAT.
http://www.lexus-tech.eu/OnlineSubscriptions.aspx

blackcts · March 28, 2015

No worries, cheers might invest in that android diagnostic, can't go wrong for £2.99 in the play store

mrr1 · March 28, 2015

@dreamer - thanks, good stuff.

When vehicles are designed in the first instance there will be DFMEAs highlighting that dpf blockages WILL occur when a certain variety of conditions occur. In the designers world the "system" looks after itself. However the cost of making the system fully self cleansing would be too high, especially if the failure mode happens outside of the warranty period.

I've got a Saab that diagnoses oil condition and tells me how far I am off an oil change. It's got loads of other clever touches as well. They went out of business cos they weren't making enough money.

Its understandable why people want a nice simple routine to follow to avoid what could easily turn into a horror story. I think the general theme is "get the damn thing hot for a while every so often and then one day when the system is ready you may just blow the muck out".

As an engineer in the auto industry (honestly) the lengths that auto companies go to in order to highlight and address potential failure modes would blow people's minds. However with five or six thousand components working together at the same time in widely varying conditions some failure modes WILL get through. This dpf issue is just one of them.

mrr1 · March 28, 2015

Just to add my egr was dirty but not blocked but then throw in other variables such as cheap supermarket diesel and so on it starts to get difficult to blame any one thing for the ultimate system failure.

When you start to add up what you actually need to "properly maintain" a 220 (low ash oil, low whatever diesel, regular egr cleans etc, etc, etc) combined with frankly not great mpg it's quite easy to turn back to petrol....... (although they did give me a free engine thanks very much)

Jedgemund · May 31, 2015

I just wanted to write a quick note to thank Kev B for his initial suggestion of using Car Surgeon all that time back.

I encountered the hideous engine management light issue and the DPF code only last week and found this site to be the most informative on the matter. I called Imran at Car Surgeon on Thursday, who sorted the problem out within 3 hours on Friday. EGR valve cleaned and DPF regenerated.

He also said that running the car at high revs to induce regeneration once limp-home mode is activated is a piece of folklore which wasn't helping us Lexus drivers at all. Apparently there was a VW Passat with which you could have some success trying this option but it never worked for a Lexus and he wished people knew more about this. All we are likely to do with our cars is melt our EGR valves!

A very nice, no-nonsense guy, clearly very knowledgeable, reliable and helpful, even though he did tell me Lexus diesel engines are all "sh1te"! Sometimes I guess the truth hurts!

He told me, now that the car is fixed, to keep it in 5th gear if (like me) you drive between 70 and 80mph on the motorway, and to avoid supermarket fuel. Was well worth the trip to and from Birmingham (from Herts).

To update you all, the price is now £309 for the two-part process. Not only did Imran have to put £15 of diesel in (for which he only charged me £10), but he even sent me a text later in the day to see if everything was ok. He was so confident in his work that he said if the problem arises again within 3 months he would be regenerate the DPF for free. Top man, very highly recommended indeed. And no, we're not related! :)

Just thought this page might benefit from the update.

Cheers all!

CAR SURGEON LIMITED

Fault code P2002 VSC Solution / DPF Regeneration / DPF Removal / DPF Rejuvenation

07853355415

Ryanis220d · July 19, 2015

To save starting another dpf thread, im desperately stuck with a smoke issue on my 220d. I think dpf removal is the way forward. My quwstion is if i gut out the dpf & cat will I need to have the ecu remapped?

TheDreamer · July 22, 2015

To save starting another dpf thread, im desperately stuck with a smoke issue on my 220d. I think dpf removal is the way forward. My quwstion is if i gut out the dpf & cat will I need to have the ecu remapped?

ECU can not be remapped on lexus is220d becuase its locked. You will need to install a emulator.