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My parents own an 07 ML320 CDI. She just broke 110K miles. They bought the vehicle used a few years ago as a one owner low miles (50K at the time) a few years ago. The SUV had to be taken into our indy as it kept entering a limp home mode. Our indy is saying the DPF filter is clogged and will need to be either professionally cleaned or replaced.
I have read through dozens of threads on here and benzworld. However I have ruled out a few items as they been done recently or are still in good condition. When they purchased the vehicle the dealer had just replaced and updated the oil cooler, they serviced the transmission and update the software along with replacing the valve body. At the time I only heard and knew of those two items being the biggest issue. I probably should have researched a bit better. Our indy is a prior MB Tech and only uses original parts including vehicle specific oil and fluids from the dealer so with that being said the correct oil was being used and prior to their ownership it was a dealer maintained vehicle with no expense spared (hoping the dealer was using correct fluids as well).
Since they have owned the car it's been used as my father's daily commuter doing roughly 140 miles daily. Turbo actuator replaced, glow plugs replaced, fuel filter replaced every other service and he refuels at the same Shell station religiously. My father also has a bit of a heavy foot so it's not being putted around.
So this brings me back to the topic of discussion. I asked our indy if the DPF is truly clogged and if the sensor isn't the issue. He explained they tested the signal and ran the sensor through his MB computer and all checked out. I asked my parents about ever seeing a weird dash light in regards to the regeneration taking place and neither have ever seen it come on or notice any of the symptoms of regen working. I use the SUV regularly as well and have never seen or notice regen in action. I am bit lost as it's a hard pill to swallow having to pay $2K on replacing the DPF filter on a 13 year old vehicle. Any ideas of what we can look into diagnosing the issue or tips on forcing the regen to start if it's truly the issue.
There is no light to indicate regeneration is in progress. There are probably failure codes, but I haven’t studied them. Problems that illuminate check engine lights indicate the vehicle is polluting more than allowed, so sure seems logical there would be a code for failure to regen.
my ‘07 GL is pretty low mileage and when I asked service advisor when dpf replacement is likely he suggested 100k miles. Also said cleaning instead not a good option ... he would of course but I don’t doubt he’s correct.
as for replacement cost, you’ll either pay to have it done or it will come off what you get selling the vehicle. It was warranted to 80k miles/8 years, which is federally required for emissions equipment. This is part of the diesel experience ... gasoline fuel injectors aren’t $700 each, either.
That's the weird thing I didn't have chance to scan it. Our indy said that is was throwing a code fo DPF, the last time it entered limp mode there was no CEL just pulled over restarted the truck after a few minutes and we were back on the road. I'm going to look at the air filter and some sensors today then go on a drive to see if the CEL comes on to scan it my self. It's been driving fine since we picked it up on Thursday.
Here's the update. I went ahead and replaced the air filters on the SUV (I read they are too small and are known to cause similar issues). After removing the intake boxes to inspect said filter I came across a not so pleasant surprise (pictures attached). These pictures were after a ton of sand and leaves fell out in the process of removing them from the intake box. They were completely clogged, this was really upsetting to see as we were under the impression it was being replaced regularly by our indy. Lesson learned, better ask than assume. So far so good, the vehicle is a lot more responsive on the short drive I took it and no CEL. But of course it couldn't be that simple while I was under the ML to see how hard it would be to replaced the DPS to just have the piece of mind. I came across a completely oil covered under body. We were aware of a small leak from the rear main seal but after being under the SUV it's scheduled to go into the shop to get the seal replaced. I'm going to take that time to look at the DPF since the exhaust will need to come down and probably take it to get cleaned while our indy does the job. I'll post a picture of the filter once the shop gets the exhaust off.
Have your mechanic perform the reset required when air filters are replaced.
Kent, never knew about this but after some quick research I found what you are talking about I'll mention it to my mechanic.
Update: I went and picked up the DPF off the vehicle today. I can see the honeycombs and it does not look clogged. There is obviously black soot but nothing that caught my eye as excessive or clear build up, it's also the original DPF and the ML now has 108K miles on it. I'll try to post a picture in a little to see if anyone has an opinion of the DPF being the cause of all these issues. Again on CEL on the dash just cuts the boost off randomly. Now that it's off I'll take the opportunity to have it cleaned but something tells me it's the DPS sensor that's causing all of these issues.
Alright so for those who might be wondering what the final out come was. We picked up the SUV from our indy just now. In conclusion the damn DPF was clogged. After my initial inspection I found a local shop that specialized in DPF cleaning. Charged us $225 took them 3 baking cycles to clear it out and the tech who was working on the DPF pointed out a few things to really show us how badly clogged the filter was. The ML is running better than ever with new air filters and a clean DPF. Took a few weeks to get everything resolved but it was well worth the effort of troubleshooting everything before having to replace the actual DPF.
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