— A Land Rover class action lawsuit alleges defects in the diesel particulate filter (DPF) cause it to become clogged in stop-and-go traffic.
New Jersey plaintiff Candace Nejat owns a 2017 Land Rover Range Rover Sport and alleges the vehicle has been serviced by a Land Rover dealer five times between December 22, 2017, and April 23, 2021.
According to court documents, the plaintiff's Range Rover has a diminished value of $13,877.64 due to the alleged diesel filter problems.
The Land Rover class action lawsuit includes:
"All persons who purchased or leased a diesel engine-powered 2017-2021 Land Rover Range Rover or other diesel engine-powered Jaguar Land Rover vehicle equipped with a substantially similar DPF system within the United States."
The plaintiff says the check engine light activated when the vehicle had about 37,300 on the odometer, with the warning light indicating the diesel exhaust fuel filter was full.
A dealer confirmed the diesel particulate filter was full and a dynamic regeneration was performed and technicians cleared the trouble codes from the Land Rover Range Rover Sport.
But about 600 miles later the DPF allegedly clogged again and caused the warning light to illuminate. The lawsuit says a dealer technician found the "diesel particulate filter beyond regeneration capabilities" and proceeded to "remove and replace particulate filter."
According to the class action, the Range Rover Sport has been at the dealer about 22 days due to diesel particulate filter problems.
Purpose of the Land Rover Diesel Particulate Filter
A diesel vehicle with a DPF allegedly has better emissions because the filter catches and stores soot particles from the exhaust. But the particles must be burned away through regeneration to keep the DPF clean.
Regeneration occurs by driving long enough at highway speeds, but the Land Rover class action alleges this won't help with vehicles driven in stop-and-go traffic.
And although the diesel vehicles include warning systems for the diesel particulate filters, the lawsuit alleges the systems can activate too late. This allegedly causes replacements of the filters.
The class action lawsuit says Land Rover acts out of "deceptive motives" and has failed to recall the vehicles to repair the alleged diesel particulate filter problems.
Land Rover has responded to similar customer complaints in the past by saying all DPFs are cleaned the same way (prolonged highway driving) no matter which automaker made the diesel vehicle.
The Land Rover class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Nejat, et al., v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by the Law Office of Lewis G. Adler, and Perlman DePetris Consumer Law.