A guy I know is considering buying either a new ed4 or if I can persuade him otherwise the full 4x4 TD4.

Anyway, I have heard of these new DPF causing problems. What exactly causes the problems and have LR fixed it yet? He wants to know more about it before committing to buy.

Thanks LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

The exhaust emissions standards for new cars have effectively required fitment of a DPF in the exhaust of diesel cars since 2009 when the 'Euro 5' standard came into force. It's not just Freelanders but every model of car fitted with DPF can be problematic, there is no fix, it is a part of modern cars and EU ruling, the rule of thumb is if you can't do regular (every 300 miles or so) high speed runs of 15 minutes or so then you will run into problems.

The DPF collects the soot exactly like a filter (think of a vacuum cleaner that has to be emptied regularly) and the high temperature of the exhaust burns this soot off leaving a little ash, if it can't then the cars ECU takes over and artificially raises the exhaust temperature to try and reduce the accumulated soot.

If neither of this proves successful then you will get a warning, if you ignore the warning then you will be forced to go to a dealer for 'regeneration' (to be emptied).

If you buy a DPF car to 'tootle' around town then you will have problems.

to be honest I don't think the DPMF is any more of a problem than any other make of vehicle currently. Just as E Yorkshire has already stated they really do need to be driven ! not pottered and short trips are a no no !otherwise they will need regular oil changes at heinous cost !
Mazda and Audi have had their fair share of issues along with many other makes, partly contributed by those that do their own oil changes and don't use low ash oil !

Just for record - our 2007 Freely has a DPF as they all do here in Scandinavia. I have almost always driven long trips and hardly any no town tottering - however at the end of its third year I had the DPF Full Visit Dealer warning, had it checked and cleaned and the same thing happened a short time after. Another clean and the same again, but this time with the reduced speed thingy as well. At the time I was hounding down the motorway in Sweden, so it shouldn't have happened there. Did a self clean as described in the book and the rest of the journey went well. However the same thing happened again later and the dealer exchanged the whole system under warranty.

I was told on the side that LR have had big problems with their DPF system (as well as a few other manufacturers) as the system does not do what it is supposed to do and soots up more than it should often due to driving too much in the lower rev range (to high a gear on roads with low speed limit) and using 6th gear on our max 90 KM speed limit roads. There has also been a lot of talk about the wrong type of oil recommended by LR which does not suit DPF vehicles.

We have a reduced road tax for diesels with DPF which is an advantage, but they do reduce the Freely's HP from 160 to 152.
If I could choose again I would stay well away from having a Freely with DPF (if at all possible). 2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

Her Ladyship's MY2010 TD4-e FL2 (20. Nov 2009) was fine until Aug 2010 when the DPF alarm appeared. For her I followed the instructions in the Owner's manual - did not cure the alarm so took it to the dealer. They said they cleaned out the DPF unit and installed new software. That was August 2010.

Following other problems with her car and the lack of competence in the Swiss dealer I arranged on a visit to UK in Nov'2010 to seek the services of the site sponsor LPR to rectify outstanding matters. Throughly professional team at LPR was my experience. During their "hands-on" I asked about the DPF problem she had experienced and they took a look at the installed software. It was not the latest, so they kindly installed what was then in Nov'10 the latest software release. Since then the FL2 has covered over 14k kms without as yet another DPF problem.

So from that I determine that if you have an older FL2 then have it checked to see if the latest software is installed re the DPF. If you have a newer TD4 (MY2011) it should, logically, have the very latest software installed.

If you have the new SD4 engine - well perhaps LR's IT department are still refining that piece of data logic.

HI DOC

my 2011 freelander2 is fitted with dpf i have only had one glitch with it and that was a software up date that the dealer failed to do on PDI this was done after engine went into limp mode with fault code 214 showing after that glitch had no problem with dpf since.

there is a maintenance procedure that you have to do and the dealer should have a leaflet explaining this all as i do is once a month is take the car for a good blast along the motorway for approx 40 mins and this should keep all the system clean landrover dpf system is the passive type wich no cleanig oil is used ford on the outerhand use the active system where you do need an oil change  rainy-city
xs

"once a month is take the car for a good blast along the motorway for approx 40 mins "

Very true, but how environmentally friendly is it ? This is the case with most cars now so if you add up all those cars with DPMF fitted and we all took them out for a blast on a Sunday I reckon the roads would be clogged up ! instead our DPMF's clog up !
Drivers in London really do suffer with these filters, Audi's are top of the list for failing in London and when the warning comes on most owners cant even physically make it to the motorway to blast them out before the limp mode comes in ! Then its a dealer visit ! Great for the dealer.

When I used to put Peugeot/ Citroen into forced regeneration mode the hot exhaust gases used to melt the tarmac ! it was always imperative to park the car on Concrete first ! now what does that do for global warming ?

Agreed, DPF is not a very good solution to 'soot' and 'black smoke', what is supposedly helping the environment is cancelled out by a blast down the motorway
Again it is the controlling body that is pushing for lower emissions, which is not a bad thing in itself, just the wrong approach.
It all boils down to now, if you want to purchase a diesel car then you must be a rural driver and not urban. DPF's are a hurriedly forced solution by the car industry to legislation and it doesn't work.

thats why i do mine at least once a month so it dosent go into limp mode you need to read the maintenace leaflet as the old saying goes fore-armed is fore-warned if you maintain it it should last a long time there is very little complaints on the forum from the my2011 owners only the chap from germany who has had problems with dpf system. i do my clear out when ever i use the motorway when commuting so i keep the enviroment polution as low as possable  rainy-city
xs

I've now done 10,000 miles in my SD4 and luckily have had no DPF problems, but my driving is a mixture of rural/urban so I like to think I am meeting the 'regeneration' requirement. Wow, hasn't driving got all technical these days.

Isn't it odd that DPFs are required to reduce particulate emissions, which is a problem in urban built up areas, but the regeneration won't work in those built up areas. You now have to go out in the countryside to pollute that then bring your clean car back into the city.

unless you do the miles dpf will be a problem its all makes in futer urban car = petrol,hybrid or ev why do you think evoque has a petrol engine and orders are high for it

To be honest I dont think it is a new problem - it was always a recommendation on pre euIII / IV diesels that you take them for regular 'italian tune ups' to avoid soot build up and therfore a possible fail on the smoke test at the annual test. Its just now you have a computer reminding you to do it!

IMO it is a case of diesels have their place where people do long runs / motorways etc. If you just pootle round town - GET A PETROL.

Now I know LR dont do one anymore in the UK on a FL but I hope they see sense and put one in the new FL3. Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

It's true that every brand with DPFs can cause problems. But it is sufficient to look into German LR-Forum www.blacklandy.de to understand that on FL2s the DPF-problem goes far beyond any average fault statistics. I paid a lot of money to get rid of the DPF fitted on my FL2 and despite the fact that Freelander is a great car I will never buy another LR-car because I lost my trust in this manufacturer who even doesn't recognise that there is a problem, not to mention to fix it. Starting from 14 Tkm (!) on the clock I had endless problems with car going into limp mode, countles service station visits and expensive oil changes. I am offering no universally applicable advice for potential buyers, it is just my personal experience..

atrix

Depends what you mean as the issues with the DPF.

I picked up my new FL2 MY11 SD4 Auto in Dec 2010.

Within 4 weeks I had the problem with the DPF warning on the dash and limp home mode.

LR breakdown came out and down loaded an update on the computer and it was OK again.......
for three days and the same thing happened again.

LR Breakdown came again and as the down load had been done my car was transported back to my dealers.

I was provided with a loan car, an FL2, and got my car back a week later after LR wrote another update and removed a part from the pipework on the inlet side of the DPF.

I have now covered 15k of a mix of motorway, rural and urban without any more issues with the DPF.

I do not know if new FL2's are still having this problem - I should hope not as LR have had enough time to sort this matter out for new buyers.

Yes - it was an inconveniece at the time but I have no regrets in buying my FL2 and would recommend them to anyone and have no complaints about the way LR and my dealers, Farnell Landrover of Guisley West Yorkshire, dealt with this problem.

Theres an easy solution to this DPF problem.....

get a towbar fitted and buy a caravan then every time you go away the engine gets a nice workout