DPF Issue and questions

[dougf]

I have a question on my 2020 1500 Laramie 3.0L ecodiesel. Bought it new in July 2020 and have not had one issue until a month ago when the DPF clogged and put me into limp mode. (I use Hotshot EDT on every fill-up and have since day one.) This happened at the worst possible time, fully loaded bed and towing a 24ft trailer. However, the dash board errors were "Service Electronic Stability Control" and Service Electronic Throttle control" - nothing to do with DPF. Anyway, the dealership performed a service regeneration and I was able to get home. Since then, I have installed an Edge CTS3 and have been monitoring the soot level. It has two Regen codes that I have also been watching. One, PF_REGEN STAT - SAE, shows ON - frequently around town at city speeds, however, at city speeds the soot level continue to climb (even with this code ON.) At highway speed soot levels slowly drop - maybe 1% every 4 or 5 miles. I assume this is the passive regen mode. When the soot level climbs to around 80% - the other Regen code (DPF STAT) shows 'ON' and the In and out exhaust gas temps (DPF1_INT - SAE and DPF1_OUTT - SAE) climb and hover around 1200deg. (I'm assuming this is active regen mode) The soot level drops quickly and both times it has happened since installing the Edge CTS3, soot level has dropped all the way to 9% within 15 minutes. Both times, about half of the burnout happened before I could get on the highway to run at highway speed. AND both times when obviously in active regen mode - I did not get the message on the dash to run at highway speed until finished.

This is what has me confused. Before the DPF clog, I had only had that message appear 3 or 4 times in 5 years. Probably 60% of the miles (now at 45000), is around city stop and go. Based on what I'm seeing, it looks like active regen must have been occurring probably every 300-600 miles - most of the time without me knowing - with me possibly stopping and shutting off the engine during an active regen. This may have been what finally clogged the DPF. My main question is why I am not seeing the message that active regen is in progress? Also, if everything is normal - what other scenarios might cause the DPF to clog? Since the incident, I have performed both a Risilone Diesel Extreme treatment as well as their Diesel DPF System Cleaner. Any thoughts or inputs on this from an expert would be appreciated.

 

[dougf]

UPDATE: I went on the 3rd Gen Eco Diesel group on Facebook and asked the same questions. Good feedback.
1) Driving habits are probably the main contributor. Higher percentage of city driving leads to faster soot buildup.
2) Without a monitor - likely that I was stopping and turning off during active regen - BAD
3) Active regen is only reported on the dash telling you to Drive at Highway speed until the message goes away will only display after several failed active regens.

My conclusion is that to prevent DPS issues you should probably install a monitor to follow soot level and be aware when active regens are in progress to make sure you don't shutdown. A monitor provides additional benefits as well - but for an Ecodiesel, I find these to be the primary benefits

 

[2025 Ram Limited]

I may not be of help but, I have seen where the newer diesels should not sit and idle because of this. Also, they should run at higher RPM before shutting done.