Mercedes ML Diesel Engine Power Loss and Smoke

Whoa, sounds frustrating! I had almost the exact same symptoms on my old Renault Megane, a diesel too. Engine light, smoke, the whole shebang. It turned out to be a clogged diesel filter as well. Did the engine light come on immediately after the forced regeneration, or did it take a little while? Also, have you noticed any change in fuel consumption? On my Megane, my fuel consumption increased drastically.

Thanks for the quick response! The engine light actually came back on a couple of days after the regeneration attempt, which is weird. And yeah, now that you mention it, the fuel consumption has definitely gone up. How did you end up fixing yours? Was it just a simple replacement of the diesel filter, or was there more to it? Also, how did you check the backpressure?

Okay, a couple of days after the regeneration is definitely not good. Sadly, I had to replace the whole diesel filter. I didn't check the backpressure myself; the workshop did that during the vehicle inspection. Honestly, with those symptoms and the engine light, I'd say take it to a trusted workshop. It sounds like you're dealing with a defective diesel particulate filter. They can run proper diagnostics and tell you exactly what's going on. Better safe than sorry!

Appreciate the advice. Based on what you and the symptoms suggest, I'm scheduling a vehicle inspection at the workshop. Seems like a new diesel filter is in my future. They quoted me around 1550€ for the replacement, which sounds about right considering the work involved.