I am having problems with my zafira. The engine management light comes on and the engine goes into “limp mode”.the computer says something like,“excessive pressure differential across particulate filter.” Investigating this on the web, I come across replies saying they had this trouble when they used supermarket fuel and now that they use she/BP etc they have no prob. I always use Sainsbury.
Q. Is supermarket fuel the same as branded fuel?
I have a feeling most of it comes from same place. Maybe BP and Shell have separate refinery’s but supermarkets running own oil refinery’s not so much.
The added additives vary slightly, but it’s all much of a muchness.
Regardless of what fuel you use, a dpf filter will fill up and block, causing limp home mode if you don’t regenerate it often. If the car only does short journeys, it will happen more often.
It needs a good 30min blast down a motorway with high revs to burn the ash out. If it’s fully blocked it might be too late to recover, so brace yourself for a nice big bill for a new dpf.
I’d be more concerned about the type of engine oil you use rather than the fuel. The wrong oil can cause more problems for your DPF than supermarket fuel can. Make sure you are using a quality low SAPS oil.
Euro:
Q. Is supermarket fuel the same as branded fuel?
A. no.branded fuel has addatives in it.
BP regular petrol/diesel has addatives
BP ultimate has more addatives. and is dearer
Euro:
I am having problems with my zafira. The engine management light comes on and the engine goes into “limp mode”.the computer says something like,“excessive pressure differential across particulate filter.” Investigating this on the web, I come across replies saying they had this trouble when they used supermarket fuel and now that they use she/BP etc they have no prob. I always use Sainsbury.Q. Is supermarket fuel the same as branded fuel?
No.
All fuel sold in this Country has to meet a set standard. The Supermarket fuel meets this standard.
The Fuel Companies, BP Shell Esso etc, use addatives and those addatives are the difference.
In the South East of the the Country almost all of the companies load from Vopak in West Thurrock. The exception to this is Esso. They have their own Storage Facillity in Purfleet
Asda also load out of Esso Purfleet.
I buy my fuel from Esso garages.
I remember reading somewhere that the supermarkets buy the fuel that the big companies like Shell and BP turn away.
Seeing as I only use my car on the motorway to get to and from the lockup for work, it’s always got shell or BP in it, but my previous car ran like a c u next Tuesday once when I filled it up at tesco. Ended up making the local news that it’d been contaminated and mucked up quite a few cars in the area.
Hammy747:
I remember reading somewhere that the supermarkets buy the fuel that the big companies like Shell and BP turn away.Seeing as I only use my car on the motorway to get to and from the lockup for work, it’s always got shell or BP in it, but my previous car ran like a c u next Tuesday once when I filled it up at tesco. Ended up making the local news that it’d been contaminated and mucked up quite a few cars in the area.
Well - that would be a local problem wouldn’t it.
I used to see all kinds of tankers queuing up to load at Kingsbury oil terminal - Tesco, Sainsbury’s and all the oil companies.
Why are you asking tanker drivers? Would you ask a durex driver if the ribbed johnnies on his pallets vs the smooth would be better if you had a small Johnathan Thomas?
We had loads of problems with my girls fiesta Zetec-s tdci,too do with dpf filter,she was just doing short journeys ,I would take it and give it a Italian tune up but the problems soon came back ,car had only done 26 k.
Got fed up and changed it for fiesta St 180 and had that a year and not had any issues at all .
Used the same garage for fuel ,shell,but obviously one used diesel ,one petrol .
Euro:
I am having problems with my zafira. The engine management light comes on and the engine goes into “limp mode”.the computer says something like,“excessive pressure differential across particulate filter.” Investigating this on the web, I come across replies saying they had this trouble when they used supermarket fuel and now that they use she/BP etc they have no prob. I always use Sainsbury.Q. Is supermarket fuel the same as branded fuel?
Have you checked that your vehicle hasn’t run out of elyos fluid? If it is empty your vehicle won’t be able to regenerate the particulate filter.
The type of fuel being used is not causing the problem, it’s the anti pollution system that’s causing it, biggest cause is either stop start urban driving, or an empty elyos tank.
James the cat:
Why are you asking tanker drivers? Would you ask a durex driver if the ribbed johnnies on his pallets vs the smooth would be better if you had a small Johnathan Thomas?
:lol::lol:
It all comes from the same place or it did in the 80’s and I am sure it still does now.Where else can it come from?
Do not believe there are separate additives for supermarkets.
For all those with diesels that have DPF problems - this has been well aired on several different forums and in the newspapers so I am surprised that there is anyone who doesn’t know.
This from the Daily Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/motoring/gre … a-DPF.html
“The worst thing you can do is to stop if the light comes on. You need to put your foot down and go for a good blast along a dual carriageway or motorway so the DPF will clear itself.” Driving at more than 40mph for longer than 10 minutes should initiate regeneration and solve the problem. Ignore the warning light and things are likely to get more expensive.
I would also remind you that taking the DPF off is an MOT fail.
thanks for advice.
what is
low saps oil?
elyos fluid?
Elyos fluid must be a bit similar to ad=blu.It can only be replenished by a garage AFIK.Maybe if you went on a petrolheads forum you would get better advice.
DPFs capture soot in the filter, which they turn into ash via a regeneration process. Eventually the ash blocks the filter completely, though this only happens at extremely high mileages on a system that is working properly.
The majority of DPF problems on cars are DPFs that become blocked with soot because they never regenerate. If the car detects that the DPF needs regeneration, you need to drive for around 10 minutes at high speed whilst the vehicle raises the exhaust temperature to burn off the soot. If this isn’t done, a workshop can trigger a forced regeneration.
DPF equipped vehicles that are rarely used for anything other than short journeys are especially prone to blocked DPFs.
Low SAPS oil is mandatory for all DPF equipped vehicles. It lowers the amount of ash from engine oil that burns in the DPF.
Eolys fluid (or similar) is used on some Ford, Peugeot and Citroen engines to lower the exhaust temperature needed for a DPF regeneration cycle. The fluid is not designed to be replenished by the driver. I don’t believe Vauxhall have ever used this system.
Adblue based systems are becoming more common on cars, especially Euro 6 cars. There is at least one Vauxhall engine that uses Adblue - certainly the latest 1.6 diesel Zafira Tourer uses Adblue and has an Adblue filler adjacent to the fuel filler.
Vehicles with the DPF removed are likely to pass the MoT emissions test so long as the DPF removal is done is a way that is not easily visible.
However, removing emissions control systems from an engine, be it removal of a DPF or disabling an Adblue injection system, is likely to contravene the Construction and Use Regulations which make it illegal to modify a vehicle in a way that it no longer meets the emissions standard it was designed to meet (DVSA have produced a guidance note on this issue). The consequences for a fleet of deliberately disabling emissions control systems could be serious, including action against the O licence.
I know modern emissions control systems are unpopular - they’re complex, they can lead to reliability issues and expensive repair bills, also there is the ongoing cost of buying Adblue if you run a SCR equipped vehicle. However, it is unfair to run a purportedly Euro V or Euro VI vehicle, with the corresponding benefits from emissions based taxation, when you know that the vehicle cannot meet the standards it was built to as equipment has been removed or disabled.
Euro:
thanks for advice.
what is
low saps oil?
elyos fluid?
Elyos fluid is added to the fuel every time you fill the tank up, the fluid is used to increase exhaust temperature to burn off the soot build up in the particulate filter.
A full elyos tank, which contains 5 litres or there abouts, can last any were between 50000 and 75000 miles depending on the vehicle, as some one has already pointed out, the fluid top up needs to be done by some one who can reset the counter ECU.
The particulate filter can be manually cleaned out with a jet wash, obviously it needs taken off the car first though, but I doubt you would get that done at a dealers, its not enviromentaly friendly to do so! they would want to sell you a recon filter, which is basically your old one washed out.
Although it is an MOT failure if particulate filter is removed, its isn’t a failure if the insides only are removed, and the DPF system is switched off via the ECU.
There is a difference between a car using adblue (SCR) same system as the trucks use, and a car using elyos DPF with a particulate filter.
No idea what yours is, dealer will though.
Euro:
I am having problems with my zafira. The engine management light comes on and the engine goes into “limp mode”.the computer says something like,“excessive pressure differential across particulate filter.” Investigating this on the web, I come across replies saying they had this trouble when they used supermarket fuel and now that they use she/BP etc they have no prob. I always use Sainsbury.Q. Is supermarket fuel the same as branded fuel?
u
My wife has a 1.9 CDTi Zafira, always uses Sainsburys diesel and had the same problem this time last year.
It’s either the DPF sensor needs cleaning at least, if not replacing, or the pipes that go from the sensor to the DPF have degraded and collapsed.
The sensor is buried a bit down the back of the block, behind a large black canister type fuel filter, the pipes you can get at from underneath.
Swap the pipes with the same bore fuel line, rather than pay dealer prices for them.
I did this, cleaned the sensor, problem solved. Zafira’s don’t use the Eolys fluid.
Santa:
For all those with diesels that have DPF problems - this has been well aired on several different forums and in the newspapers so I am surprised that there is anyone who doesn’t know.This from the Daily Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/motoring/gre … a-DPF.html
“The worst thing you can do is to stop if the light comes on. You need to put your foot down and go for a good blast along a dual carriageway or motorway so the DPF will clear itself.” Driving at more than 40mph for longer than 10 minutes should initiate regeneration and solve the problem. Ignore the warning light and things are likely to get more expensive.
I would also remind you that taking the DPF off is an MOT fail.
The problem we found was we were taking her tdci out for long runs ,giving it a good thrash etc ,which defeats the object of buying a diesel too save money ,if your taking the 10 mile detour home instead of the 2 mile commute too keep the filters clear ,you just end up using as much fuel as a petrol .
My girl now just does 2 miles too work in her petrol ,instead of 10 miles some night and has no problems ,and as she says her mountuned fiesta St is loads more fun than the fiesta to Tdci ( I can vouch for that 
)