Fiat Panda Owner's Handbook Manual page 81

DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER
(DPF) (for 1.3 Multijet versions
75 HP)
The Diesel Particulate Filter is a mechan-
ical filter, integral with the exhaust system,
that physically traps particulates present
in the exhaust gases of Diesel engines.
The diesel particular filter has been adopt-
ed to eliminate almost totally particulates
in compliance with current / future law
regulations.
During normal use of the vehicle, the en-
gine control unit records a set of data (e.g.:
travel time, type of route, temperatures,
etc.) and it will then calculate how much
particulates has been trapped by the filter.
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Since this filter physically traps particulates,
it shall be cleaned (reclaimed) at regular
intervals by burning carbon particles.
Reclaiming procedure is controlled auto-
matically by the engine control unit ac-
cording to the filter conditions and the
conditions of use of the vehicle.
During reclaiming the following phenom-
ena could take place: idling slight increase,
fan activation, slight smoke increase, high
exhaust temperatures. These situations
shall not be considered as faults and they
do not affect vehicle performance and en-
vironment.
If the dedicated message is displayed, re-
fer to paragraph "Warning lights and mes-
sages".