Depollution Peugeot 309 '57' plate

[PurpleParis]

Help please!!!!! We are about to pay £90 (which we really don't have to spare!) tomorrow to have our driver seat welded as it broke last week.....this morning just going out in the car and a Depollution System Faulty light has come on with the engine symbol on the dash.....slight loss of power.....so we came straight home.
Now I an worrying myself to death about how to deal with this....like I said things are very tight.....how much is this going to cost me and how should I go about finding out what is wrong and how to fix it.....I am thinking that taking it to the Peugeot dealer is probably going to cost an arm and a leg....both of which I shall need to go to work to pay for the repair!

[KJN]

Particulate filter is my thought. How do you 'generally' drive - low revs, using the torque of the diesel? If so, go for a longish drive, and once the engine has warmed up accelerate hard using high revs, go on the motorway and use high revs rather than a high gear.

using low revs these filters can easily block... which is how you'd normally drive a diesel car ironically. You need to give them a bit of stick every now and them to keep the dpf from blocking.

[TWR]

Your first port of call, contact Peugegot 0845 200 1234, or Google their EMail address, give them the details in full regards you car, Reg / Milage / Chassis No/ On your V5 ( Log Book) where the car was bought, if need be take a photo of the seat if possible, I would say the the seat is not fit for its purpose & is faulty, the seat should have lasted longer than this, I would not go for a re-weld as this seat gets the most use, Customer Service is the department you want when you ring, the Depollution will more than likely be a filter that requires changing, lastly, I would not take it to a Peugeot dealer only to get the seat sorted Re/ what I have advised, If you are worried about the Warrantee, as long as you use a VAT reg Garage & use genuine peugeot parts the warrantee holds, regards the seat, I wopuld not offer to pay anything toward the cost.

[AlBags]

Seat welding is common enough. Get a friend to take out seat .. and a local fabricator to weld it up for £10. Trickiest bit is stripping the upholstery out of the way.
You won't get anywhere with Peugeot on this 5yr+ old car.

[Andyvon]

Many modern cars with DPFs or 'particulate filters' don't like pottering round town all the time Purple. The filters clean themselves but only by burning off the contaminants on a long run. Those cars need to be driven - not just round town but on long runs every week or so. If you stay in the town going to the shops and to and from work in the traffic the filters will clog. Then you lose power and fuel economy and MoT testers aren't amused either.

It might be worth taking your car on a good long run along you local motorway - maybe for an hour or so. That should self-clean the filter. If not then a local garage can fit a new filter. DON'T go to Peugeot though - unless you expect to win the lottery! Main dealers are the most expensive service option of all.

If you haven't got much money what about driving an older car? My 1984 Golf costs peanuts in running costs, parts and insurance. It's very simple and it hasn't got any of these modern sensors, filters, computers, catalytic converters, electronics etc. The days of 'old bangers' are long gone and any car with a new MoT will almost certainly be in very good condition.

Hope you get it sorted.

[PurpleParis]

Thank you all for your advice.....I am now thinking that maybe we should take it on the motorway for a run.....my only issue with that is I am scared stiff that it will break down!!! Making matters worse!!! If you all think that it won't break down and that it would be a good idea to run it to burn it off then maybe I should stop being such a wuss and listen to your advice.....thanks again

[SpikeyBush]

There was a bit on Watchdog a few months back about these particulate filters on diesels clogging up if they don't have a good run regularly. Nothing wrong with that it's just that some dealers sold them knowing full well that the poor sods buying them were only going to potter a few miles here and a few miles there and would have been far better off buying a petrol.

Regarding the seat, have you priced up any from a scrapyard? If removing the seat yourself be careful if the seatbelt pre tensioner is part of it.

[TWR]

The reason I said contact Peugeot Purple, a few years ago I had a ford escort that had done little mileage & one of the rear shocks became faulty, this was the only time we had been in the UK on hols that I had not taken my tool box with me, I had to get them replaced at Halfords I contacted Ford Dagenham with the Shocker Serial No, the Chassis No of the car a confirmation letter from our local Ford dealers that the Shocks were faulty, Ford Customer Services sent me a Cheque for £130 to cover my cost, if I did not think it was plausible to do so, I would not have given you the advise.

[PurpleParis]

Hi guys.....I just wanted to say thanks again....we took the car for a long run on the motorway last night....kept it in fourth gear....light stll on when we got home.....gave no more thought to it...except Ok we might have to find a garage...then lo and behold this morning when my other half got in to go out....the light is now off.....and has stayed off all day!!!! Yay....must be my lucky day....needless to say, we shall be going for a bit of a motorway driver every now and then.....AND SpikeyBush....you may have a point....we bought this car when it was only 6 months old....it was the Customer Service Managers company car at that point....I remember actually telling him that I didn't think we warranted a diesel because we didn't do enough mileage...but he talked us into it!!!! Anyway all.....THANKS