XUV700's DPF clogged: How I activated self-clean mode to fix the issue

The fuel efficiency of my Mahindra XUV700 dropped to single digits while trying to fix the diesel particulate filter clogging.

BHPian RavenAvi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Faced another first on my XUV700 yesterday afternoon, an error message saying: Diesel Particulate Filter is clogged / REGEN required.

I was on an in-city run through heavy, lashing rains when these alerts popped up on the MID:

Not sure why these came up. There was no change in engine response or revs. Neither was I on very short in-city jaunts at any time recently.

Called up my (now) trusty Paramount service manager who recommended I take it to the local Mahindra service centre, Balaji Motors. Did the same and drove Icarus to the local Mahindra service centre on the outskirts of my city where, after staying outside for around 10 minutes, I was turned back because they were not permitted to even touch the XUV7OO! Apparently, due to the blacklisting of the dealership since last year, none of their service techs was trained in handling XUV7OOs!

The service manager there did his best to convince his higher-up (on the phone) that my XUV7OO was facing an issue and to permit them to at least hook up the service laptop and diagnose the vehicle so that they could take a reading of the amount of soot collected inside the DPF and inform me about the same, but his superior was firm and adamant and put his foot down on this. He told him to tell me to contact RSA (Road Side Assistance) instead and wait. Meanwhile, the service centre's CoTek had also arrived. Both stood in the pouring rain and shrugged helplessly at me. I told them not to worry and that I was capable of tackling this problem myself.

Called up the Paramount service centre's manager again and he hooked me up with the CoTek over there. I detailed the problem and my recent running trips to him and told him there was no problem with my XUV's engine response. All was as expected and I was suspecting that another cranky sensor was at fault here. He told me not to worry and, if possible, to drive on the highway at speeds of around 70 km/h for at least 30 minutes till the warnings disappeared. When I told him that heavy rains have clogged all roads and highways around my city, he told me to follow his instructions over the phone on doing a Forced Parked Regeneration process.

Forced Parked Regeneration Procedure

1. On stationary mode in an open area, I cranked up the engine with the gear in neutral and with the handbrake pulled up.
2. Then I accessed the "DPF Regeneration" section under the "Drive Info" menu (after Trip A, Trip B & Clock), and pressed "OK". The mHawk engine immediately revved up to 2,500 rpm by itself and stayed there continuously.
3. The CoTek told me that it would take at least 30 minutes for the process to be complete if the soot accumulated inside the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) had exceeded 10 grams, and not to touch any of the A, B or C pedals.
4. I sat inside quietly and kept observing the MID which kept showing the 2 warnings. After 7-8 minutes, the warnings disappeared from the MID and the engine revs came back to normal idling.

Revved it a couple more times and then drove for 40 km on the open highway before returning home.

Called up the Paramount CoTek and thanked him for all his help and told him that the Regen process lasted for only 8 minutes. He was of the opinion that the soot collected inside the DPF must be less than 4-5 grams, that's why the process ended sooner than expected. He also told me to avoid very short trips between shutdowns as much as possible, or let the engine idle for 7-8 minutes before a complete shutdown if I am at the end of a pressed-for-time short trip.

Big thanks to my TORC friends and BHPian sbm for being in constant touch throughout this 2-hour period.

Took Icarus out today on another 50 km run to see if anything unexpected happened. All was fine and I reached 3-digit speeds in no time. Came back home extremely satisfied.

The real-time fuel efficiency displayed on the MID had dropped to 9.6 km/l yesterday (from 15.7 km/l displayed before the warnings popped up). Now it's risen up to 13.2 km/l after my short trip today.

Big Brother is Watching!

Also, I came to know the day before yesterday that higher-ups at Mahindra are keeping track of ownership reports. My first free service report was seen and the unavailability of parts issue was followed up at Paramount by their higher-ups from the

Head Office. I too received a call from the area CCM (Customer Care Manager) who enquired from me if I had any problems during the first free service. I clarified that wrong parts (from the AX7L) had been ordered and which have since been rectified. The correct parts are in transit and should reach by next weekend. I received a follow-up email from him on our phone conversation too, which was followed by another email yesterday which gave me a thumbs up for the support given by the Paramount CoTek with the forced Parked Regen process.

Running has become limited due to my job commitments and continuous heavy, lashing rains here which have hit us for almost a month now.

ODO now stands at 1,617 km.

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