📊 What This Graph Tells You About DPF Soot Build-Up

[DPF Soot Graph Over 10 Years – Simulated Example]

The graph above illustrates how DPF soot levels can build up gradually over time, even when a vehicle is actively regenerating.

Here’s what it shows:

✅ Year 1: Regens Are Fully Effective

In the first year, regeneration works perfectly. It’s triggered at 20g and brings soot levels all the way back down to 0g, keeping the DPF clean and functioning well.

🔁 Year 2 Onward: More Frequent Regens, But Less Effective

As the DPF system ages, residual soot begins to accumulate. Regens are triggered more frequently (every ~6.5 days, then daily by Year 10), but each cycle leaves behind a little more soot — 1g, then 2g, then 5g, etc. This is often caused by ash build-up, which regens can’t remove.

🟧 Regen Failure Begins to Show

As soot loading increases, some regens begin to fail, especially as levels approach or exceed 30g. This failure might be due to:

• Interrupted regen cycles

• Driving conditions (short trips, low load)

• Faulty sensors or EGR issues

Eventually, even frequent regeneration can’t keep up.

🔴 Final Phase: Total Regen Failure

In the final 30 days, regeneration no longer works at all. Soot rapidly increases and peaks at 40g, leading to poor engine performance and high risk of limp mode or permanent DPF damage.

⚠️ Every Vehicle Is Different

This graph represents a general example of how DPF regeneration can behave over time.
Trigger points, regen intervals, and failure thresholds will vary depending on the vehicle make, model, engine, and driving conditions.

Some vehicles may:

• Trigger regen earlier (e.g., at 15g)

• Tolerate higher soot loads before failing

• Regenerate faster or slower

That’s why at CarbonTech, we always start with a full diagnostic check to see exactly where your system stands.

💡 Prevent the Problem Before It Starts

Don’t wait for the DPF light to come on. Preventive cleaning every 80,000–100,000km helps:

• Restore exhaust flow

• Reduce backpressure

• Extend the life of your DPF and turbo

🧩 It’s Not Just the DPF — Intake and Injectors Play a Big Role Too

Many people assume that if the DPF is clogged, the DPF itself must be the problem. But in most cases, the DPF is only the symptom. The real issue starts upstream in the engine — particularly in the intake manifold and fuel injectors.

🌀 Intake Manifold Restriction

Over time, your intake manifold collects carbon deposits from the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) and PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) systems. This restricts airflow into the engine, which:

• Reduces combustion efficiency

• Increases the amount of unburnt fuel and soot

• Causes more frequent and incomplete regenerations

💦 Fuel Injector Contamination

Injectors are precision components. When they become clogged with fuel contaminants, they don’t atomise fuel properly. This leads to:

• Poor fuel burn

• Higher emissions

• Excess soot production

As a result, the DPF has to regenerate more often just to keep up — and over time, even that’s not enough. You end up with a DPF that’s always full, regening constantly, and eventually failing to clean itself altogether.

🛠️ Our Solution: Clean the Whole System

At CarbonTech, we don’t just clean the DPF — we look at the entire emissions system:

• We chemically clean the intake manifold

• We restore proper flow in the fuel injection system

• And then we clean the DPF so it’s not fighting an uphill battle anymore

This full approach reduces soot loading from the source, so your DPF doesn’t have to regen as often — or at all.

👉 Read more about why DPF, fuel system, and intake cleaning go hand-in-hand