Fleets and dealers
How can a delivery fleet avoid particulate filter and DEF (AdBlue) faults?
Urban delivery, with short trips, many stops and idling, keeps the particulate filter from regenerating and is hard on the DEF (AdBlue) system. It helps when drivers can recognize a regeneration and do not interrupt it, when you use the DEF and oil the manufacturer specifies, and when vehicles are scanned as soon as a warning appears, before they go into limp mode.
Reviewed by Daniel Morales, founder of Reprorace SL, on
Why do they suffer so much in delivery work?
The particulate filter cleans itself by burning off soot at high temperature, and for that the engine needs to run for a while under load. Urban delivery rarely allows it, regenerations get interrupted and the filter clogs.
The DEF system works less well with a cold exhaust and suffers with contaminated or old DEF; its faults can end up limiting restarts when the countdown reaches zero.
What can drivers do?
Recognize a regeneration (fan running after stopping, slightly higher idle, a hot smell) and, if they can, not switch off at that moment. When the filter light warns, follow the owner's manual, which often asks for a few minutes at a steady speed.
Not ignore the DEF warning or the countdown, and fill up with good-quality DEF, with no mixing and no containers left open for months.
What should the fleet watch?
Filter and DEF warnings, pending codes for those systems and, if the control unit reports them, the soot load and the number of regenerations. A vehicle that regenerates far more than the rest flags a problem before it fails.
Oil to the particulate filter specification the manufacturer requires, and the causes of extra soot: EGR, injectors or turbo.
What does remote diagnostics add?
Your shop sees the code and the data as soon as the warning appears and decides whether the right driving is enough, whether the vehicle needs a service regeneration or an inspection, without sending it in blind.
Which service functions can be done remotely depends on the vehicle and on what the platform has reviewed; many filter or DEF repairs still need the shop.
The devices are in pre-production or presale: figures may be adjusted after validating the first units. Whether a given tool, program or make works depends on that tool, program or make.
Read more
On this site
- Fleet remote diagnostics: decide before you take a vehicle off the road
- Remote diagnostics for trucks and 24 V vehicles
- Car symptoms: what they mean and what to do
Step-by-step guides
Solutions
The devices to do it
With one ECO-LITE per vehicle, your shop reads particulate filter and DEF warnings and codes remotely as soon as they appear, and decides with you before the vehicle is stranded.
ECO-LITE · Presale price: €129 · US$129. No subscription.
Presale: no stock and no delivery date yet. Reserve your unit in the shop.
Frequently asked questions
Can the particulate filter be removed?
No: disabling emissions control systems is prohibited where the rules forbid it, and the Diaglana terms of use exclude it.
What do I do if the vehicle goes into limp mode because of the filter?
Have your shop read it as soon as possible: depending on the soot load and the code, it decides whether a regeneration is enough or it has to come in.
Does DEF (AdBlue) go bad?
It degrades with heat and time. Keep it tightly closed and out of the sun, and do not use it if it has been open for a long time.