Unauthorized driving on Germany's roads - driving without DPF.

01.Driving without DPF.

More and more drivers are illegally driving on Germany’s public roads without a diesel particulate filter.

The reasons for this vary. Mostly, however, the attempt is made to save costs by disregarding the DPF standards.

As a result, more and more vehicles are appearing on the roads in Germany whose diesel particulate filters have been removed and replaced with empty pipes or empty housings.

A mistake with fatal consequences, as discussed in detail in the following article.

02.DPF - what for?

Diesel particulate filters are standard equipment already installed in diesel engines to reliably reduce the particulates produced in the exhaust gases of diesel engines to a minimum.

According to experts, carbon-containing particulate matter in particular has long been considered harmful to health. In addition, modern diesel engines – including those with common-rail injection – are releasing ever finer particles. These pose an even greater danger to us, as the resulting ultra-fine particles can penetrate the lungs even more easily.

These extremely small particles are considered particularly harmful to health and are often the cause of serious respiratory diseases. Children, the elderly and people who are already ill are particularly affected by the consequences.

03.Many on the road without filters.

You might not believe it. The relevance of diesel particulate filters is well known and has been steadily increasing in recent years.

Since 2005, diesel-powered vehicles have been equipped with a diesel particulate filter as standard.

By using a particulate filter, it is possible to filter out the particulate matter almost completely – and thus protect people and the environment!

However, more and more suppliers can be found on the Internet who offer physical removal of the particulate filter – or deactivation of the same in the vehicle software. For this, the DPF is dismantled in the first step and a metal tube without function is installed in its place.

Unfortunately, the supposed advantages of the DPF swindle always appear tempting to many at first.

Thus the person concerned does not need a new diesel particle filter (costs of up to 2500€) – and saves at the same time the regular cleaning and examination of it.

In addition, the fuel consumption of the vehicle decreases, since the self-regeneration of the DPF does not have to be started, and the engine performance increases.

This replacement of the DPF and such manipulations are strictly forbidden since the last KFG (Motor Vehicle Act) amendment and is associated with high penalties.

Failure to comply with the ban leads to the cancellation of the registration or approval of the affected motor vehicle.

According to the Testing and Assessment Agency Ordinance, such a case constitutes danger in enforcement, which is why it is important to act quickly and remove affected passenger cars from circulation.

04.On the road without DPF - a clear no-go!

We can only express a clear no when asked for our professional expertise on driving without a soot filter.

In times of controversial discussions about particulate matter and the reduction of CO2 emissions, it is extremely immoral and incomprehensible that the illegal removal of diesel particulate filters is unfortunately still common practice in Germany and is even officially promoted on the Internet.

In other EU countries, for example, it was even officially permitted to have the DPF removed from vehicles up to a certain year of manufacture – as a cheap, simple alternative to buying a new one or having it cleaned.

05.DPF off - recognize!

By reintroducing the tailpipe measurement (so-called opacity measurement) in the course of the exhaust emission test for passenger cars, it has already been possible to identify one or the other vehicle with an uninstalled DPF.

It is more difficult to detect modern vehicles with an illegally removed DPF without a load when stationary, as these do not smoke black and consequently do not stand out during an emissions test.

However, in road traffic these cars smoke in front of them and cause serious damage to people and the environment.

However, these cars can be detected on the road and can be recognized by a black colored rear end and a black smoking tailpipe.

06."Remove such vehicles from circulation immediately!"

A simple, quick method for exposing such vehicles is a wipe test in the tailpipe. This is carried out in the course of an official inspection at the exhaust outlet and provides clarity as to whether there is any alleged DPF fraud.

Final certainty is provided by comparison with the vehicle data.

By means of the wipe test, vehicles without a DPF can be taken out of circulation with little effort and consequently decommissioned.

To make matters worse, owners of a passenger car without a DPF are also liable to prosecution under tax law, since a Euro standard was issued for the vehicles concerned when they were new and they are subsequently classified in the amount of the vehicle tax.

In addition, the removal of a diesel particulate filter is considered to be a structural modification to the vehicle and, if not entered in the vehicle registration document, leads to the immediate expiry of the general operating permit.

07.Our conclusion.

“We – Barten GmbH – advise you in any case not to remove the diesel particulate filter!”

On the one hand, from a social and moral point of view, it is not justifiable to actively oppose society’s latest efforts to reduce exhaust emissions just because you want to save ‘some’ costs yourself.

On the other hand, it is simply forbidden to drive on public roads with a car without DPF. If you are caught doing so, this can be quite expensive and also results in your car being immobilized with immediate effect.

If you then want to make your car roadworthy again, it is necessary to have the particulate filter reinstalled, which is not possible with simple means and is also extremely cost-intensive.

Either way, you will incur costs – even if you have the DPF removed.

Take responsibility for people and the environment and have the DPF of your car checked and cleaned regularly! Gladly also with us.