Jaguar XF 3.0 P2453-2A P244A-95 P2BAE-00

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Solving DPF Issues on a Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel: A Comprehensive Guide

There’s nothing quite like a confusing engine light to ruin your day, especially when it's tied to something as complex as a diesel particulate filter (DPF) issue. In today’s post, we’re diving into an actual case involving a Jaguar XF 3.0 TDV6 diesel. Our goal? To check out the DPF problems, explore what went wrong, and see how it was fixed.


Initial Problem: DPF Faults and Sensor Issues

The car in question is a 2018 Jaguar XF featuring a 3.0-litre TDV6 diesel engine. The owner had already taken the car to his regular mechanic who identified the issue as related to the DPF, but didn’t know how to resolve it. That’s where we come in—armed with diagnostic tools and years of experience.

To begin, we plugged in the Euro Tab 3 by Launch to run a full scan, which confirmed multiple faults related to the DPF. Among these were:

P2453-2A Particulate Filter Pressure Sensor Performance
P244A-95 Particulate Filter Pressure Sensor Too Low
P2BAE-00 NOx Exceedance

All of these codes pointed towards a sensor or DPF issue, so the next step was to examine live data from the sensor.


Testing the DPF Pressure Sensor

At idle, the sensor gave a reading of "4". These readings are measured in millibars (mbar), with the number "4" correlating to 40 mbar. So far, that doesn’t sound too alarming. However, after revving the engine to 3,000 RPM, we noticed something peculiar: the pressure didn't increase as expected. The voltage on the sensor shifted slightly, but the pressure figures remained roughly the same.

Now, this could mean several things:

1. Broken pipe leading to the pressure sensor.
2. Faulty pressure sensor.
3. Partially blocked DPF.

Unfortunately, this was going to require getting underneath the vehicle.


Accessing the Pressure Sensor

The pressure sensor on this Jaguar XF is located in a less-than-ideal spot—above the gearbox. So, the first step was to raise the car and make space to access it. I won’t lie, getting the sensor out was a challenge due to the cramped workspace, but after some effort, we managed to remove it.

Once we had the old sensor out, everything seemed to be connected properly. The sensor itself was replaced with a new aftermarket part. However, the readings still didn’t quite make sense. When revving the engine, the new sensor showed increments of only 1 or 2 mbar. That wasn’t normal.


Checking Pressures with a Digital Meter

To further diagnose the problem, we hooked up a digital pressure meter. Results were similar initially, but when revving the engine above 2,500 RPM, a significant change in readings emerged:

Pre-DPF, readings were consistent at around 10 mbar.
After the DPF, the pressure increased to around 50 mbar at higher revs.

This indicated a blockage after the DPF, which is odd. Typically, any blockages would be located within the filter itself. Given that we had a reading of 14 mbar at idle, it confirmed there was at least partial obstruction in the system.


A Closer Look: Potential Blockage After the DPF

What caused these high post-DPF pressures? I considered several possibilities:

1. Blocked catalytic converter.
2. Motorised exhaust flap stuck shut or partially closed.

What made things more confusing was the data from the old DPF sensor and the new one. The aftermarket sensor gave an idle reading of "7" when the engine wasn’t even running. Something wasn't adding up, so we decided to source another sensor.


Installing a Genuine Sensor

After waiting for a few days for a genuine replacement sensor to arrive, we installed it and rechecked the data. Finally, we had sensible readings:

Idle: 4 mbar.
After revving: the pressure increased predictably in line with RPMs.

Happy with the sensor data, we ran a DPF flush to clean out any remaining soot or blockages, ensuring the sensors wouldn’t be affected further.


Final Check on DPF Levels

Post-cleaning, the DPF soot level dropped to 4 grams and all other readings were normal at both idle and higher RPMs. With a final test drive completed, it became clear that the DPF issue was resolved. The engine management light was off, and the car was performing as expected.


Conclusion

DPF issues can be a headache, especially when they involve faulty sensors or hidden blockages behind the DPF itself. In this case, the key to success was identifying that initial faulty sensor and following the data closely. Once we swapped the cheaper aftermarket sensor for an original part and cleaned the system properly, the problem was fully resolved.

If your vehicle shows similar DPF-related faults, always question whether aftermarket parts could be the culprit. Sometimes, only the genuine part will give accurate results.

Thanks for reading, and if you’re troubleshooting your own Jaguar or similar vehicle, don’t hesitate to take the time needed to diagnose things thoroughly.