MOT “friendly” DPF removals condemned as garages set to face “serious consequences”

DVSA speaks out on its DPF removal crackdown

MOT “friendly” DPF removals condemned as garages set to face “serious consequences”
Image: Bigstock.

The DVSA has this week issued yet more serious warnings for testers and garages offering DPF deletion services.

It comes just weeks after two testers were handed a two-year testing ban for offering to remove diesel particulate filters from vehicles – describing the services as “MOT friendly” and “hard to notice”.

The testing station was also banned for 28 days.

Danny Charles, MOT product manager at the DVSA, said: “The bans give a clear message about the importance of maintaining the integrity of the MOT.

‘Turning a blind eye’

“Remember, the consequences of turning a blind eye to a missing diesel particulate filter – or worse, actively taking part in their removal – can be serious for an MOT tester.

“A vehicle that needs a particulate filter and doesn’t have one should fail its MOT.

“If you pass it knowing that it doesn’t have one, you’re harming the environment and committing fraud.”

Fraud

It is an offence, under the Road Vehicles Regulations to use a vehicle which has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the air pollutant emissions standards it was designed to meet.

For drivers, the potential penalties for driving a vehicle without a diesel particulate filter are fines of up to £1,000 for a car or £2,500 for a light goods vehicle.

Leave your comments below about so-called ‘MOT-friendly’ DPF removals.

6 Comments

  1. Needs better mot testing equipment to test for dpf filter actually inside or better still use scanner to test for live readings on dpf systems as part of test. SIMPLES.
    soon know if software been deleted doing that !!!

    Reply
  2. Ive been in the game for over 15 years to the public
    Get a better system so they dont have to be removed
    If u know about software in the ecu the system is still live but
    The temperature sensors have tolerances changed as u very well no the dpf only should work on a long run simply blame the people that make the system

    Reply
  3. DVSA really need to be clear about which vehicles are actually fitted with DPFs to ensure testers are also made properly aware of which vehicles they should be fitted to. DVSA have taken a back seat with the vehicle manufacturers and gaining technical information, its time they put their foot down and got it then pass it onto the Test Stations that need it to do the damn job correctly, then and only then could DVSA imply a tester has committed fraud by incorrect test standards. I for one still don’t know which vehicles are supposed to be fitted with a DPF, in fact I came across a Transit with no exhaust system on seeing only a tail pipe mounted at the exhaust manifold area, thinking that some clever trader had removed the DPF I failed it, only to find later from Ford that they didn’t fit a DPF to that model of Transit. Testers have got the short straw here and if DVSA want it done properly, tell them to pull their finger out and get the damn information and make it readily available to us.

    Reply
  4. Why are DVSA so focused on DPFs when re mapping larger wheels performance exhausts bigger turbos all change emission outputs why don’t they bring in a proper test

    Reply
  5. how can we afford this when you have muppets doing a mot for £10 .00 this equipment is expensive the full mot system needs a upgrade to combat this sort off thing

    Reply
  6. Infared scope will show if theres a dpf in there or not easiest and fast solution

    Reply

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