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Check System warning light with an unusual icon

robert

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Location
Bedfordshire
Car
2009 Accord Type-S
Hi all,

I've got a 2009 Accord Type-S with about 21k on the clock. Driving home last night I accelerated up to about 60 and then got the "Check System" warning come on. (See pic below) Any idea what that icon is supposed to represent? The car seems to have gone into limp mode (or gimp mode according to my mate) so it's really down on power. Tried turning it off and on again about 4 times with a 30 sec gap in between (as per other faults mentioned in the manual) but the warning is still there. No mention of this fault in the manual and I can't find anything online about it so I'm going to get it booked in with Honda. Just wondered if any of you had seen this fault before:

vzlul.jpg


Thanks,

Rob
 
It seems the [font="arial][size="2"]diesel particulate filter (or DPF).[/size][/font]
 
The icon on your display looks like the dpf mate. Any change in the way the car drives i.e loss of power etc?if not it may just need a good motorway blast!
 
As sal said rob but I will double check when I get home in the book
 
it IS the DPF...
From the Manual (in my bag at work..) p638 in mine

there's that symbol without the '!' were a good blast can clear it, but with the '!' see following:

/quote from Manual
If you see this symbol or this symbol with a 'CHECK SYSTEM' message on the multi-information display while the engine is running, it means the diesel particulate filter (DPF) is clogged with accumulated particulate matter (PM) and it should be checked, then repaired or replaced.
Take your vehicle to a Honda dealer as soon as possible. While in this condition, the engine power gets reduced.

If you ignore this symbol/message and continue driving, the DPF and your vehicle's emission control systems will be seriously damaged.

The catalytic converter and the DPF system must operate at high temperature for the chemical reactions to take place. It can set on fire any combustable materials that come near it. Park your vehicle away from high grass, dry leaves, or other flammables.
/end quote

IIRC when it first comes on then 'usually' a dealer forced burn cycle should clear it, or it could be bad news, either way get it in ASAP to minimise the damage

good luck
J
 
Cheers for your help guys - got it booked in with the dealer tomorrow so hopefully they can sort it.

From what I've read about the DPF regeneration I don't think it's helped by the fact most of my 13 miles minute journey to work has been covered with roadworks, so I'm lucky if I hit 40 mph (that includes on the M1!), plus it's been ****** cold recently so must take a lot longer to warm up. I thought it was supposed to warn me before this so I could do a long blast to clear it out. Now you mention it Saleem, in the last two or three days when I did get to put my foot down for a moment it didn't feel quite as nippy as I remembered, but I didn't think much more of it at the time, thought I was just imagining it. ****** European emissions laws, they're squeezing all the fun (and power) out of engines!

Hope this doesn't become an ongoing problem; it could get pricey when the warranty runs out!

Anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback, I'll let you know how it goes at the dealers.
 
Just checked and the guys are correct hope it gets sorted Robert.
 
Will giving it a good boot and "IF" cleared dpf turn the check light off, or is it a case of clearing the code no matter to turn it off?
 
Quick update: Took the car in this morning to Honda and they did the DPF regeneration while I waited around for it. Took about 40 mins plus a bit of hanging around before they got started on it. Now back to full power and driving very well. Asked the guy how much it would be outside of warranty and he said 95 quid! Not horrific, but it's something that'll be at the back of my mind as I don't want to be back there too often. No idea why it didn't warn me before going straight to "Check System"; could have done something about before then. The guy at Honda said they don't usually have problems with DPFs on Accords apart from a taxi driver who only did town driving.

Just have to make sure I get in a few more high speed runs... "err.. sorry Officer, I was just clearing out my DPF". ;)

Cheers,
Rob
 
Dont need high speed runs mate.

Just high revs will keep it clear. A good ol' 3rd gear thrape is a good way too! :lol:
 
Guys, next time someone has this issue, bring it to me. I have the DPF regen function on my Honda HDS but not sure if it works.. For the first car that comes to me, it'll be free ;)
 
lots of 3K revs- no need to break any speed limits.. and if the DFP needs replacing multiply that figure by 10,
I think I'll be on extended warrenties forever lol.

j
 
Rob,

Just ensure you do a good blast up the motorway at least once a week.

I've had a total DPF failure (Dealer is now telling me it wont regenerate for the 3rd forced regen). I'm still waiting for a replacement DPF and it's now on an ETA of W/C 9th March.

Interesting, I believe the manual says there should be a message appear similar to what you have above, saying a regen is in progress. In the 43k I've had the car; I've never seen this once...This makes me wonder if it is actually doing a regen ?

Steve
 
Will giving it a good boot and "IF" cleared dpf turn the check light off, or is it a case of clearing the code no matter to turn it off?

Salim,

Once the warning is displayed, no amount of driving will clear it. I did 50 miles @ 3k RPM in 4th to try...

Has to be a forced regen.
 
Just had the same prob happen to me now booked into Honda for a regen again no warning went straight to this fault
 
Just had the same prob happen to me now booked into Honda for a regen again no warning went straight to this fault

Have you done a lot of short stop/start journeys until you got this error?
 
Not large journeys about twenty miles each way but I do take it for a long run once a week the fault light just came up when accelerating resulting in reduced power oh dear
 
Not large journeys about twenty miles each way but I do take it for a long run once a week the fault light just came up when accelerating resulting in reduced power oh dear

Depends on the speed of your trips and what the engine is revving at...
 
Not sur if anyone is reading the manual fully, as it states from the owners manual about the DPF regeneration - "To regenerate the DPF, when traffic allows, maintain a vehicle speed of a leat 60km/h (37mph) and continue to drive until the message/symbol goes out. This will increase the exhaust temperature and help to to burm and remove PM from the DPF. It may take about 15 minutes depending on driving conditions.

If you ignore this symbol/message and continue driving the system warning switches to the symbol/message of DPF (check system). If this happens take your vehicle to a Honda Dealer as soon as possible to have your DPF sytem checked.

Now I'm of the thinking that there's more to it than just a quick blast down the motorway, I think there's more to the speed of driving that the book states. I know it says minimum but has anyone tried driving at a casual 40mph for 15mins or thereabouts, obviously a difficult thing to do in peak traffic??
 
Its not just about speed - its the temperature too as this is whats needed to burn the gunk out.

Therefore, 40mph in 3rd gear will clear the DPF faster than if you do 60mph in 6th gear. More revs, more temperature.
 
I'm led to belive that the speed does matter as the ecu is programmed to induce a burn once the light comes on and the "driving style" is applied??
 
I'm led to belive that the speed does matter as the ecu is programmed to induce a burn once the light comes on and the "driving style" is applied??

Speed is a factor, but not the only factor.

Starting a car from cold and blasting up the M-way at 60mph isnt going to clear the DPF than in contrast to if you did 40mph in a lower gear/higher revs since its the temperature of the engine, not the speed of the car alone, that ***ists in clearing out any ingestion/congestion.
 
I understand what you're saying man, but if the car is programmed to induce a self clean (burn), it does it when the light intially comes on and when the driver meets specific conditions. It's the cars programming that starts the clean and not just getting the engine hot enough to do it ;)
 
I understand what you're saying man, but if the car is programmed to induce a self clean (burn), it does it when the light intially comes on and when the driver meets specific conditions. It's the cars programming that starts the clean and not just getting the engine hot enough to do it ;)

I've been reliably informed by several Honda dealers/mechanics that the car program is linked with the engine temperature to aid the burn off of excess congestion in the filter. The light coming on initiates the sequence of cleaning, but also depends on engine temperature and the driver meeting various criteria and conditions. They all work in tandem together but variate how they enact their functionality.

Thats why, in large part, I have (thankfully) not seen any DPF errors/regen issues on mine :)
 
Update on my dpf problems after two regens in four weeks Honda discovered it was a faulty dpf unit can't fault them replaced under warranty and car is running top notch again
 
I know this may sound like a daft question / thing to do and I MAY / Will get slated for it but has anyone ever bothered jacking the car up and putting axel stands under the jacking points ( so front wheels off the ground ) and get car to about 50mph and stick cruise control on ? that way you won't get any traffic and it will be constant.
Like I say , it may be daft but worth a go surely .

I await the flaming!
 
The engine wont be under load so unlikely to work as it wont get hot enough.
 
Not sure whether it would work or not but it would be highly dangerous, totally stupid... and quite amusing :lol:

I can offer a DPF regen service anyway if anyone's ever interested.
 
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