Range Rover DPF Nightmares: Black Smoke & Power Loss

Hey there! I've got some experience with cars, and I had a very similar issue with my 2013 Range Rover Sport diesel a couple years back. Those symptoms sound exactly like what I dealt with. Mine turned out to be a completely clogged DPF, the filter was internally damaged and couldn't regenerate anymore. The smoke, power loss, and high fuel consumption are classic signs of this problem. I took it to my regular workshop, and after diagnosis, they confirmed the DPF was beyond repair. Had to get it replaced, which set me back about 1550 Euro. Not cheap, but it fixed all the issues completely, no more smoke, power came back, and fuel consumption returned to normal. What's your mileage and maintenance history? Also, do you do mostly city driving or highway? These details would help understand if we're dealing with the same problem. P.S. If you own a Range Rover/Land Rover, might want to consider a Discovery too, they tend to have better DPF longevity in my experience.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm at 109092 KM and just had my service last month, but this issue started recently. It's frustrating because I thought regular maintenance would prevent these problems, but guess DPF issues can still pop up. Had it checked and you're spot on, mechanic confirmed the DPF is severely clogged. Good to hear replacing it solved all your problems. I was worried it might be something more serious with the engine itself. Did you notice any warning signs before it got really bad? Just curious if I missed any early indicators that could've helped catch this sooner. Did the replacement fix your fuel consumption issues right away?

Hey again! Yeah, looking back at my Range Rover's situation, there were actually some early warning signs I probably should've mentioned before. About a month before things got really bad, I noticed slightly reduced performance and the engine would occasionally feel a bit hesitant, especially during cold starts. The fuel consumption started creeping up gradually too, but I honestly didn't pay much attention to it at first. After getting my DPF replaced, the improvement was almost immediate, like night and day! The fuel consumption normalized within the first tank of fuel, and all that annoying black smoke disappeared completely. The engine felt smooth again, just like new. One thing I learned from this whole experience, these DPFs really don't like lots of short trips and city driving, which is exactly what I was doing at the time. Since then, I've made sure to take my Rover on regular highway runs to help with the regeneration cycles. Haven't had any issues since the replacement. Honestly, at your mileage, it's not unusual for the DPF to need replacement. Mine was around 97,000 KM when it failed. Just make sure whoever does the replacement uses genuine parts, I've heard some horror stories about aftermarket DPFs causing more problems than they solve.

Thanks for all that detailed info! That's really helpful to know about the early warning signs, now that you mention it, I did notice some hesitation during cold starts but didn't connect the dots. Wish I'd known about those highway runs too, I'm mainly doing short trips, which probably contributed to my DPF issues. Really relieved to hear how quickly everything improved after your replacement. I'll definitely go with genuine parts when I get mine fixed. My mechanic quoted about the same price as what you paid, so at least I know that's in the right ballpark. They can fit me in next week, so hopefully, I'll be back to normal soon. Thanks again for sharing your experience, it's made me feel much better about getting this sorted. I'll try to be more mindful of those longer drives once it's fixed to keep the new DPF healthy. Maybe I'll plan some weekend drives just to keep everything running smoothly!