Tue 16 Sep 2008 15:34 2002 2.2 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

I've got a 2002 307 SW HDi110 with 85k miles. Last week and during heavy rain the engine management light (an orange coloured engine block?) flicked on twice but without any audible signal and without any message on the dashboard, it didn't reappear and I put it down to the rain. This weekend I was out on a sunny day and the same warning light came on with an audible beep and the error message "unblock diesel filter" appeared on the dashboard. We were heading home after a day out and had been cruising at 40 - 50 mph on open country roads. The car drives ok with no loss of power or rev limit. The light is now off again. The car was bought from pug dealer as an approved used car in November 2007 and the service history is almost complete (the car was a demonstrator then sold and serviced by the dealer then sold to me). From memory the 48K service was done at 52K and a 74K Type C service was done before when I bought it in November 2007. If relevant the car does some long journeys but is mainly used to ferry the family about locally in town, the dashboard computer shows 34mpg average (better than my old volvo which did 22mpg) and average speed of 14mph! Its booked into the dealer tomorrow as we've a family wedding to travel to this weekend but I'm not sure if the "peugeot gold" warranty covers this type of fault and want to equip myself with a bit of knowledge (if I can) before they plug it into the computer for fault code analysis. Any help gratefully received. Thank you in advance, Ben Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/09/2008 at 01:25 Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Sep 2008 16:26 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben The particle filter [FAP] in the exhaust is blocking up; as you were on a long run, it should have regenerated by itself, leading me to wonder if it's differential pressure sensor, which originates that warning, is full of water? Didn't they warn you about the presence of a FAP - and it's considerable maintenance costs - at the time of sale? Use "Forum Search" for "FAP" to see all the usual grief. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Sep 2008 16:45 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Thank you for such a fast reply. I've searched as you suggested and there are loads of problems with this system! At worst £1000 for complete overhaul and I hope not needed in this case and no way to bypass it. I wasn't warned about the high maintenance costs when I bought the car, I don't suppose they had any obligation to do so? but will try and argue that one of their "approved used" cars ought to have had the correct servicing completed - that being the reason I bought it from them in the first place. Is there any way I can check (relatively simply) if the differential sensor you refer to is full of water myself? Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Sep 2008 17:34 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben It's below the battery - a pig to get at - so not really. Generating false codes from fiddling is only going to muddy the waters further - and these are bad enough to diagnose anyway. If they won't fix it under warranty - the "consumable item" get-out; then at least get a print-out of the exact code numbers. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Sep 2008 18:22 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Thanks - I'll do this tomorrow when they have seen the car and report back. As a second point and I know this is probably an unanswerable question really but; have you any thoughts on driving the car around 800 miles this weekend without it being repaired as I need to get to a family wedding? Might I cause more expensive damage? Thanks for this advice, Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 16 Sep 2008 18:29 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

If it's just a clogging FAP; then it might even do it some good. IF it's just the FAP.... Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 17 Sep 2008 18:27 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

My mate had to take the car to the garage for me as I couldn't get out of work. I might have interrogated them a little more than he felt he could and he didn't get the codes from them as he forgot at the time. In essence they told him that it needs - 1. a reconditioned FAP and new fluid, system reset... 2. a new fuel cap sensor They are offering to do this for £434 inc. VAT and tell me that it would normally be scheduled for 96k miles. I'm going to see if the handbook or service book tell me anything different as some posts indicate that it should have been done at 50K and they did that service on the car. They also think that driving it this weekend is unlikely to cause me any problems so I guess I'll trust their judgement. Without the exact fault codes, can you, based on your experience say that this is the most likely solution and comment on the price quoted as I've seen figures of £1000 on this forum for the same service. I hope to keep the car after this significant investment and wonder if they are cutting costs by replacing only part of what should be done at the same time. If in fact this was an inevitable servicing cost at some point in my ownership (like a timing belt is) I guess I'll take it on the chin but look out for such things when next buying another car. Once again your advice will be appreciated. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 17 Sep 2008 18:53 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben That an incredibly cheap price for the FAP service - not much more than the cost of the materials; is that for a genuine PSA re-con FAP, or....? I'd expect that there may also be some additional costs, as the job rarely goes smoothly - in your case, a new pressure sensor and possibly a new additive ECU too. The time that it's all supposed to last - and the time that it actually gives trouble seem to be divergent. It would have been nice to have had the codes, as it may be that all that's needed urgently is the cap sensor. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 17 Sep 2008 19:05 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Its a price from a genuine peugeot dealer in rural northern ireland, would i be wrong to presume that they only use genuine parts? It is a real shame that my mate didn't get the codes though as this is really the information you need - i'll check any paperwork in the car tonight but as they haven't charged so far i probably didn't get any. If I go ahead should I ask them to fit a new pressure sensor and new additive ecu at the same time? My only cost comparison is from when a local independent garage (who i would generally prefer to use) threaded the hub when refitting the wheel after a puncture repair and tried to fit the wrong secondhand hub by mofifiying the abs sensor. Needless to say it didn't work and peugeot had to fix the car. They charged £175 for a diagnostic (seems standard) new hub, abs sensor and labour. It seemed as good a price as I could have expected and as I got most of it back from the first garage wasn't an issue? Cheers, Ben. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 17 Sep 2008 21:06 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben While I wouldn't put pulling a stroke past anyone; a dealer who fits non-genuine parts will soon be an ex-dealer. Just make sure that the new FAP is nice and shiny and not the old one washed-out round the back..... The prices of the parts may well be much lower over the water - and I expect the labour rate is too.... The pressure sensor is, at least, worth a check - it was the first thing i thought of when you mentioned rain. Some of them can be hundreds, but most are around £95 - over here.... The ECU is around £75 and is worth changing if your labour rate is in three-figures and it saves two hours of hair-tearing aggro. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 17 Sep 2008 22:51 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Thanks for this, I'll have to clarify the quote given and work out when and what to replace. I will speak to the dealer next week when I get back from my weekend trip. Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 18 Sep 2008 00:41 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben You could ask if they'd just change the cap sensor before you go - it might re-gen on it's own then? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 21 Sep 2008 22:46 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

I didn't get back onto a PC to check for updates before I went away but I'm home again after around 600 miles driving on quiet and familiar roads through the Scottish borders. I wanted to put this post on tonight now I'm back to see what your thoughts were before I call the dealer. At about 15 miles into the journey the same warning light appeared and the dash display said "unblock diesel filter" (after around 10 mins the warning light went off). For 25 - 30 mins after the warning light came on there was a lot of clicking from the glovebox area. I feared the worst but after the 25 - 30 mins had passed I noticed the clicking had stopped and I was still driving. The warning light hasn't reappeared yet and after reading some of the other posts I'm left wondering whether or not the long drive and higher average speed has sort of "helped" the system clean itself out? I think I mentioned earlier that the car spends most of its life crawling around town with an average speed of around 13mph and as such gets a relatively hard life. By contrast I reset the trip computer for my weekend journey and averaged 48mph. This doesn't really explain the dealers initial diagnosis but could this complex car just need a good thrash now and again? Cheers, Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 13 Oct 2008 16:32 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

I couldn't help but notice that "screwloose" is back onto the forum, I hope this catches your I. The fuel cap sensor was done but the warning light is again coming on and I'm stuck about what to do. The dealer who told me it needed a new filter then said it got a new one just before I bought it. This ties in with a mantra of leaving it until you have a problem and not routinely replacing it at 50k and he had no reason to lie to me. The problem is that I've lost some faith in the dealer who seems more keen to keep charging me £60 a go for diagnostics than correctly id the problem. Is it time to also replace the differential pressure sensor (and ECU) as you first thought or is this just throwing good money after bad? I could try another dealer for this work. Cheers, Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 13 Oct 2008 18:30 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben Copy this over to your thread and that will bring it to the top; [click on your name to find it] otherwise it will get very confusing and I hate tack-ons. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 13 Oct 2008 18:37 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben Sorry; I'm getting confused - too rushed - reply later. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Mon 13 Oct 2008 22:04 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben Sorry; I was mixing up your's and Nathan's threads there; too many FAP threads - right; back on track. So the dealer has replaced the cap sensor, but the light is still on - did it get a long run? Has he said why it's on and the code number? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 14 Oct 2008 23:54 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Glad you're back and thanks for picking this up again. The dealer replaced the fuel cap sensor and did a 10 mile roadtest. No warning light showing and no faults showed after a diagnostic following the roadtest. The service manager said it was common for the light to come on again perhaps for a week or so but that it would regenerate itself and should be ok after that. I took the car home which is 35 miles of dual carrigeway and I know that i managed to get 20 unbroken mins at a steady 60mph, no warning light for a few days then back on again intermittently, mainly short runs since then and probably not consistent highspeed motoring above 50mph. I guess I need to take it for a long run again, would half an hour down the motorway and back be sufficient? If I am still getting the light after this I'll get another diagnostic and ask for the error codes (the dealers customer service follow up call has recorded that I'm not satisfied yet). In addition and just as I hoped to see a few trouble free miles the car has literally just developed a squeal that sounds like a belt slipping that increases with engine speed. It also vibrates at tickover. Perhaps they are not linked and I guess now I've got 2 problems on the same thread which is probably not the best way to communicate. Unless you have any knowledge on common issues like this I'll read other messages or post another thread if I need to. Thank you, Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 15 Oct 2008 00:28 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Problem 2 could be DMF! will get this looked at by garage asap - probably better hold off the motorway run and I won't post any more until I get this sorted out. Let me know if you think I'm barking up the wrong tree. I always thought peugeots problems were eccentricities (part of their charm) but essentially mechanically ok (family history of 404, 505, 309 and even a 605) but this later generation car seems to be proving that I was wrong. I'm starting to lose faith in this car but like so many others feel committed to it due to money spent to date. I guess a 307 estate with emmissions problem and a failed DMF isn't worth too much if i decide to sell it! Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 15 Oct 2008 00:32 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

It could be the front pulley on the engine - squeaks from DMFs tend to happen at key-off. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 17 Oct 2008 16:08 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - pugswhdi

Screwloose, Engine noise fixed. It was the fan belt tensioner (pretty obvious once I lifted the bonnet in daylight) and not too drastic after all. Back to FAP. Various messages on the forum seem to indicate different circumstances in order for a FAP regeneration. Can you let me know what I'll have to do to get a regeneration to start and most importantly complete its cycle please. I think that 6 mins constantly above 50mph starts it but I've got no idea what is needed after it starts in order for it to complete. I thought I'd also take the filler cap out for a minute or 2 before I started my run so that the car thinks I have just filled up (any comment). It's an 02 pug hdi 110 if different models do have different requirements. thanks in advance, Ben Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 17 Oct 2008 17:09 2002 2000 Unblock diesel filter warning - Screwloose

Ben Six mins constantly above 50 was the original parameter to commence re-gen. As the ECU is capable of software updates and the times have since been "adjusted" to try and make the ridiculous system work - who knows what the deal is now.... It takes around 20 mins for a full regen cycle. The cap only affects the additive ECU and it knows if you did, or didn't, add fuel at the same time - and the exact amount in litres - as the tank sender is CAN networked. Reply | Report as offensive | Link