Jaguar Land Rover faces £3bn legal claim over faulty exhaust filters in its diesel cars 

New legal claim says over 1 million Jaguar Land Rover customers could be owed £3 billion for faulty exhaust systems said to impact the cars’ reliability.

Lawyers have launched a new group legal action against the company claiming it owes customers £3bn for faulty exhaust systems that are impacting the reliability of a range of its diesel cars. Over 1 million Jaguar Land Rover customers could be owed money. Sign up for updates if you own a Jaguar Land Rover.

James Oldnall, the leading litigator for Milberg,  the firm behind the claim, said:

‘We are standing up for drivers who have been short-changed because of the actions of Jaguar Land Rover. Our investigations have revealed that the poor design of the DPF system is causing significant reliability issues and potentially putting drivers in danger. We want to ensure no affected drivers are left out of pocket and urge them to join our claim.’

What are diesel particulate filters?

All diesel cars post-2009 must be fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to comply with Euro 5 emissions standards. A DPF is designed to catch and store exhaust soot to reduce emissions from diesel cars.

They only have a finite capacity so trapped soot needs to be regularly emptied or burned off to avoid the filter becoming blocked. A blocked filter can result in hefty repair bills – a new one can cost between £1,000 and £3,500.

About the claim against Jaguar Land Rover 

Jaguar Land Rover is accused of installing a faulty diesel particulate filter (DPF) system in a number of its diesel cars. These faults could cause serious reliability problems and be potentially unsafe for drivers.

A warning light indicates when the exhaust filter is filling up and what is called an ‘active regeneration cycle’ is needed. To trigger this the engine needs to be hot enough, requiring the car to be regularly driven continuously at 40 mph for 20 minutes. It is argued that this is only practical if most of your journeys are done on motorways rather than in cities, towns or rural areas.

Who is eligible for compensation?

Over 1 million Jaguar Land Rover customers could have a claim if they own or lease any affected Jaguar Land Rover that contains a DPF system. This includes over 500,000 new car owners and hundreds of thousands of customers who bought their car second hand. Check our claims page now to see if you’re eligible.

Jaguar Land Rover will ‘vigorously contest’ the claim

We asked Jaguar Land Rover for a comment, a representative from the company said:

‘We have not been notified of any legal claim in the UK but would vigorously contest any such claim. Our products are of the highest quality and meet all regulations and standards of the markets where they are purchased. Our highest priority is always to ensure that our clients enjoy the best possible experience.’

Jaguar Land Rover is facing a similar case in Australia. 

Dieselgate emissions scandal for Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is not new to scandal. It is also among a number of car manufacturers facing allegations of fitting special software – known as a ‘defeat device’ – to cheat emissions tests, so  their cars appear less polluting than they are. Over 32,000 Jaguar Land Rover owners have joined a potential group claim being investigated by legal firm Leigh Day.

Milberg London is acting for over 100,000 claimants against Mercedes and Vauxhall over their emissions cheating claims. Both these claims are currently proceeding through the courts. The Volkswagen emissions cheating case was successfully settled in May 2022 with claimants receiving thousands in compensation.