DPF Failure @ 27k Miles

[Rusty PW]

Either way, you shouldn't see this message when cruising down the highway. I don't even see this message with all the in-town driving that I do.

I've never seen these messages pop up on my dash. I watch my iDash gauge SL%. It will sit in the 40% range for a long time. Then slowly go up to 60%, then jump to 80%. At that point, the iDash will flash between ACT/PASS. When I see that. I will keep driving until it goes back to PASS/OFF and the SL% is 9. Then I know the regen is over. This happens at 700 miles or so.

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[Lost1wing]

So they are saying the honey comb filter inside cracked? And somehow it could be your fault?

If it were me, I'd ask "what did I do wrong?" And "what can I do differently in the future to prevent this?" Ask them in all sincerity. As if your really are interested in the answers, because you don't want this to happen again.
I've done this in the past. It will either educate you if there is any thing to learn, or call out their BS if there is any. Without sounding like your calling BS on them. But be prepared to say "oh, I must of miss understand what you where saying" when they say they didn't say that.
Honestly though, this should help you out either way.

My understanding is the internal filters only crack from overheating, or being hit. Unless there is a defect, which would be pretty rare I believe. Overheating wouldn't be caused by your driving and pulling a SxS.

Overheating is how it cleans itself, so I doubt it is from overheating. How hot can you burn diesel fuel? I think they are getting it as hot as possible already. Now then again, if during a regen and you drive in water to cause is to cool off rapidly, that could cause it to crack. But that would not be the fault of the owner. That should have been thought of during the design process.

 

[biodiesel]

@biodiesel Are you tuned in anyway with the Jeep that you are only driving daily?

All three of our EcoDiesels are bone stock. The truck that I'm daily driving is a 2015 Ram EcoDiesel. We bought it brand new, and it's been daily driven ever since. Plus, it's towed from coast to coast and many states in-between. At that last oil change, it had 405 hours of idle time and 3,099 hours of driving time.

Just seems like TOO many active regens would shorten the life of the DPF. Would that not be the case?

Running a low SAPS oil will extend the life of the DPF exponentially compared to a High SAPS oil. But yes, frequent short commutes, high idle times, and lots of cold weather operation will shorten DPF life. With that said, there are stock tuned EcoDiesels with over 300,000 miles on their DPFs. I'm hoping to get at least 150,000 miles out of mine.

 

[UTDieselRubi]

I can understand the factory not displaying it. It stresses too many people out. Even you're stressed watching it on the iDash.

Lol I guess thats true. Although I'm only now paying attention since my dpf failed so early. No stress going forward though.

 

[biodiesel]

Folks without a way to monitor their soot level have no idea when their engine does the approx 700 mile regen (regardless of soot level) and may interrupt it without even knowing about it (yes, you have a regen approx every 700 miles regardless of current soot load).

That's correct. I have no idea how often my vehicles regen nor do I know how many times I've shutdown the engine in the middle of a regen. It seems silly and wasteful to drive around with no purpose just to complete a regen. Don't get me wrong, I don't fault anyone for choosing to do so. It's just not a practice that I'm willing to subscribe to when I've seen no evidence that doing so is beneficial. I pull oil samples at each oil change interval on all three of my EcoDiesels. I've never found fuel dilution to be an issue.

 

[biodiesel]

I've never seen these messages pop up on my dash.

And you shouldn't see those messages unless you're doing a lot of high idle time, short commutes, and cold weather operation. Eventually, we will all see the DPF dash message once our DPFs become full of ash.

Also, make sure you run a fuel additive. When the injectors get dirty, the combustion becomes dirty and the DPF clogs quickly. There have been instances in which the dealer has diagnosed the DPF as needing replaced, but the issues were dirty injectors. Running Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Extreme will oftentimes restore DPF function and owners will get many more miles out of their DPF despite the dealer diagnosing as a DPF failure. You can read more about this scenario here. ------->https://www.hotshotsecret.com/blog/how-edt-and-diesel-extreme-can-correct-dpf-and-regen-issues/

 

[biodiesel]

Lol I guess thats true. Although I'm only now paying attention since my dpf failed so early. No stress going forward though.

I don't blame you. As they say, knowledge is power, but sometimes the details can be nerve-racking. At least you're taking the time to understand the DPF function and how it will impact your driving habits.

 

[Rusty PW]

And you shouldn't see those messages unless you're doing a lot of high idle time, short commutes, and cold weather operation. Eventually, we will all see the DPF dash message once our DPFs become full of ash.

Also, make sure you run a fuel additive. When the injectors get dirty, the combustion becomes dirty and the DPF clogs quickly. There have been instances in which the dealer has diagnosed the DPF as needing replaced, but the issues were dirty injectors. Running Hot Shot's Secret Diesel Extreme will oftentimes restore DPF function and owners will get many more miles out of their DPF despite the dealer diagnosing as a DPF failure. You can read more about this scenario here. ------->https://www.hotshotsecret.com/blog/how-edt-and-diesel-extreme-can-correct-dpf-and-regen-issues/

I've read where a bad injector was the root cause of a clogged DPF. But the dealer never detected it. Changing the DPF a few times until a different tech looked at it.

 

[biodiesel]

I've read where a bad injector was the root cause of a clogged DPF. But the dealer never detected it. Changing the DPF a few times until a different tech looked at it.

That would make sense. Whenever injectors don't spray fuel properly, it will cause incomplete combustion and excess soot, which overwhelms the DPF system.

I made the mistake early on to not run a fuel additive in the EcoDiesel. I was using biodiesel, which was great for lubricity, but can also lead to injector deposits. Sure enough, within a few years, I started getting the regen dash message every other week during the winter months. I ran a bottle of Hot Shot's Diesel Extreme through the tank and haven't ever seen the message again, and that was probably 6 years ago. Since then, I've been using fuel additives in every fill-up.

 

[Sweetums]

Hello fellow diesel owners. This last weekend my DPF failed, cracked internally they said, while returning from a long trip in MOAB back to Salt Lake while towing a SxS, the literal most optimal conditions for normal regen. Though under warranty, and the dealer is already working on a replacement, I am just curious to know what has caused your failures of the DPF if you have ever had one? The dealer is kind of trying to say its was improper maintenance related, however, I have my records of maintenance with in spec, ie, oil every 7500 with the initial one at 2500, Air filter every 10k, and fuel filter every 10k. I also take 3 hour highway trips every weekend, which should be good enough for regens.

Yes, I have researched this extensively, but from what I find, I have done everything right. So this is just a curiosity check to see what known causes, or rather what your were told the "why" was that have resulted in failures so I can hopefully avoid future pre-mature DPF replacements. Maybe mine was just a dud form the factory, idk. Maybe some of you have seen failures that are not from common no nos.

MOAB fact: The GBU-43/B is too large to be dropped by any current US bomber. Delivery was intended to be by C-130 Hercules.

Or did you mean the town, Moab, UT (not capitalized, it's not an acronym)?

 

[Treader]

@biodiesel Maybe I have missed it then, but what oil do you run? I know when I switch to T^ just for a test, my DPF would fill up quickly. This was more quickly than when I ran QS Euro. QS was no longer carried at Walmart and I needed to do a change and nothing else had the Chrysler MS spec.

I like the idea of not worrying about it, but it seems I can't leave well enough alone.

 

[UTDieselRubi]

MOAB fact: The GBU-43/B is too large to be dropped by any current US bomber. Delivery was intended to be by C-130 Hercules.

Or did you mean the town, Moab, UT (not capitalized, it's not an acronym)?

M.O.A.B also means mother of all burritos here in UT... might have meant i was on the way to pick one up

 

[biodiesel]

@biodiesel Maybe I have missed it then, but what oil do you run? I know when I switch to T^ just for a test, my DPF would fill up quickly. This was more quickly than when I ran QS Euro. QS was no longer carried at Walmart and I needed to do a change and nothing else had the Chrysler MS spec.

I like the idea of not worrying about it, but it seems I can't leave well enough alone.

I run Pennzoil Platinum for now, but I'll be switching to Amsoil MS once my Pennzoil stash is used up.

I find it fascinating that you saw an increase in regens with Rotella T6. I reached out to an oil expert to find out why. He said it was most likely due to volatility and poor ring seal. We know that the Gen 3 engine uses low tension piston rings, which leads to more oil consumption. My guess is that Rotella T6 exhibits poor volatility for the Gen 3 EcoDiesel ring seals. Thank you for sharing that!

 

[Treader]

I run Pennzoil Platinum for now, but I'll be switching to Amsoil MS once my Pennzoil stash is used up.

I find it fascinating that you saw an increase in regens with Rotella T6. I reached out to an oil expert to find out why. He said it was most likely due to volatility and poor ring seal. We know that the Gen 3 engine uses low tension piston rings, which leads to more oil consumption. My guess is that Rotella T6 exhibits poor volatility for the Gen 3 EcoDiesel ring seals. Thank you for sharing that!

Thank you for your knowledge on the the subject. I'm a wrangler guy, but at least we run the same engine. Have to go back and forth to learn. Interesting about the rings. Hopefully that is not a different issue that is starting to manifest.

I was either thinking the Amsoil MS or Motul X-Clean 8100 (which the Motul is mid-sap AND gets the Chrysler MS stamp). When you start the Amsoil, are you going to do longer drain intervals or stick with a 5,000 mile change?

 

[biodiesel]

Thank you for your knowledge on the the subject. I'm a wrangler guy, but at least we run the same engine. Have to go back and forth to learn. Interesting about the rings. Hopefully that is not a different issue that is starting to manifest.

Low-tension piston rings are designed to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency, but they also have a greater tendency for blow-by. It's important to have a good oil that can hold up to these high-pressure conditions. I think that's why we're seeing major oil shearing on this platform. I also think that Amsoil MS will do a better job of keeping the low-tension piston rings clean and decrease oil consumption.

I was either thinking the Amsoil MS or Motul X-Clean 8100 (which the Motul is mid-sap AND gets the Chrysler MS stamp). When you start the Amsoil, are you going to do longer drain intervals or stick with a 5,000 mile change?

I'm planning to change oil once every 9,000 miles or 24 months in the Jeep Gladiator. I'll let the oil analysis drive that decision.

Our 2020 Ram EcoDiesel is strictly a tow rig. I will have to look at an oil analysis before making any decisions, but I'm hoping to change that every 9,000 miles or 12 months.

The 2015 Ram EcoDiesel is our daily driver. My wife and I have been carpooling for 15 years. I change the oil every 5,000 miles (Rotella T6) with good UOA results.

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