Tougher MOT for diesels

[Martynh86]

My 2010 s40 1.6d was remapped 3 years ago. Had the Dpf removed/additive tank deleted and had the egr deleted. There's no smoke when it's running apart from the usual steam when warming up. Emissions on the last mot were so low it was barley readable. I wouldn't worry too much unless the company has made a hash of the dpf work.

[Yobbo]

A couple of weeks back I had a lengthy conversation with a garage mechanic about this and he stated that the 'DPF test' is still going to be a visual one in regards the inner core being removed, so if a car is designated to be fitted with a DPF (Euro IV onwards) and it has a non-visible weld on the top side the tester has no way of seeing that and they cannot remove it from the car.

It will be up to the MOT issuer as whether a DPF-fitted car's is deemed to be a major/minor fail or a pass in regards to any smoke it may produce.

For example, my car I know does produce a mild bit of 'smoke' when power is laid down on the move.
But while stationary, it doesn't produce anything whatsoever.

[Phil6]

Thanks lads, I will just wait and see. I just don't want to scrap the car, or sell it- I am not just that kind of person. The car is great especially for its age/milege(161K). Mot is due in August.

[volvoid]

Using a car on public road with its emissions equipment removed is a criminal offence, people are being fined 4-figure sums

[Bendolfc]

I wonder how they will decide if a car should have had a dpf in the first place. A DPF was never explicitly required for E4 or E5 and many manufactures were able to meet the limits without fitting one. Volvo included hence many E4 and possibly E5 S40/V50s don't have one.

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by Bendolfc

I wonder how they will decide if a car should have had a dpf in the first place.

The vehicle inspectors are not stupid - they can see straight away based on experience and visual cues if the vehicle should have a DPF fitted.
and they can always check the documentation: if the car is a Euro4 car, it needs a DPF.

Remember, they have inspected thousands of cars and you see only one.

They will likely have seen many non-modified models exactly the same as yours and they are quick to see if anything is out of the ordinary.

[volvoid]

it will be on the computer

[Bendolfc]

As i stated E4 does not specifically mandate a dpf and the vast majority of these cars that are E4 do not have one.

[Teilo1979]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

The vehicle inspectors are not stupid - they can see straight away based on experience and visual cues if the vehicle should have a DPF fitted.
and they can always check the documentation: if the car is a Euro4 car, it needs a DPF.

Remember, they have inspected thousands of cars and you see only one.

They will likely have seen many non-modified models exactly the same as yours and they are quick to see if anything is out of the ordinary.

My car is a 2010 v50 2.0 diesel euro5. It has no dpf (from factory) build sheet and VIN confirm this. I’m expecting issues come MOT time.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

The vehicle inspectors are not stupid

Erm... in Switzerland that might be true but in the UK sadly there is a variable standard. If you take your car to a main dealer then generally you will get a thorough MOT. If you take it to a tyre fitting chain that also attempts MOT's and repairs then it can be (and often is) a lottery. Many of them don't even keep up to date with the manual, and don't have the skills or experience to make appropriate assessments. A pre-requisite for a Nominated Tester is 4 years experience in repairing cars but sadly fitting tyres seems to count for that (or they fib on the form).

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

if the car is a Euro4 car, it needs a DPF.

Not in all cases - my 2007 V50 2.0D E4 wasn't fitted with a DPF