TJM

A couple of years ago I watched one of those car rebuild programs where they refinished the original wheels on the car from silver to black - however they did the black over the silver in such a way that it was kind of two tone black and hint of silver. Annoyingly I cant remember what they called this particular finish but it looked awesome the wheels were definitely black but with a silvery sheen. As my car is also black i think this would look pretty good and the wheels need redoing anyway. Does anyone recognise this description and is there a name for it ? I will speak to a refinisher but if someone knows the name for this finish please let me know. Thanks Tim

Just replaced the rear discs and pads on my XF (and also painted calipers) but when reassembling at almost the very last step - installing the new brake pad wear sensor - the sensor connector must have been misalighned and has pushed the male pins right in on the brake sensor connector fitted to the car. I can't really see how the connector on the chassis comes off but it also seems like something that I may not be able to fix Is that connector also replaceable ? (i'm guessing it's part of the main wiring loom) I'll have a look in daylight tomorrow hopefully I can save it!

Thanks for the tip! I located the adapter and was able to remove wheels (I was overthinking it - thinking it had a cover on it) although it looks like there is - so for anyone else 'there is no cover on the locknuts you just use the adapter'.

Hello all, So I need to remove my wheels to replace rear discs and pads what i cant do however is remove the locking wheel nut covers which seem to be on 'super-tight', are they threaded ? I think there should be a supplied tool for this but its not present in the car What does it look like and where can i get one! Thanks Tim

Hi Vincent, I had my DPF removed from my car last year and professionally cleaned and reinstalled and the problem has gone away for me for now - my car is rather high mileage at over 100'000 miles but is currently well behaved I havent seen the warnings in over a year now but I am a low mileage user now - I do know that I will see the problem again - its just a matter of time. My DPF was just over 50% full at the time of cleaning and warnings were frequent and the specialist said my DPFs needed to be replaced at a cost of around £2000 The jag specialist I was using had it done by a 3rd party specialist DPF cleaner (he didn't say who he used) at my request and DPF came back so clean that he told the engine management system that DPF had been replaced. The cost of the clean was £350 and the dealer charged another £200 for the removal and replacement of the DPF(s) apparently a tricky job so overall about £550. The specialist said that this process can be repeated several times. This issue is not a Jaguar specific one but a general problem for all diesel owners now regardless of manufacturer due to ill considered knee jerk policy requiring diesel particulate filters to be fitted to all diesel cards from 2009 onwards. I would just echo the above advice to give it a good run regularly. Hope this info helps!

** UPDATE ** So I took the car in on Tuesday as planned for the DPF clean - it seemed like a shot in the dark but hopefully a worthwhile one. My DPF was removed and given to a specialist cleaning company (who collected DPF from my mechanic Tuesday and returned on Thursday) I was told that the DPF was showing at 50% full on removal from the car. The specialist recorded a flowrate on his specialist cleaning equipment of 243 m3/hr pre-clean. Following the clean (on a machine apparently costing about £40k) the new flowrate was 428 m3/hr. The DPF was deemed upon return to be completely clean (showing nothing in the official jaguar software) so the specialist has told the car (via the jaguar software) that it has a new DPF. Before the work this week performance of the car was very poor, the red DPF warning (remember I had recieved no yellow warning first) had essentially put the car into a limp mode with no power to speak of. Prior to this work I had noticed there was a noticeable lag between when the right foot was pressed and the (always lovely) power delivery to the rear wheels - this was not the case when I got the car a couple of years ago when it was always a responsive throttle. Following the work this week I collected the car today and engine performance can now be described as 'very lively' and the lag which I had noticed before is no longer evident power delivery is once again immediate. My driving habits need to change for sure - but I am still somewhat bitter and twisted that there is absolutely no information on DPF status within the infotainment system and thus no way of knowing the state of the DPF level or when a clean is in progress even though this info is clearly known by the engine management software - seems a massive oversight on Jaguar's part but they are not alone in this. I will have to keep you posted on DPF developments but for the moment all looking good for me right now. I was only expecting get a degree of cleaning to get me through the MOT and I expected to have to replace the DPF sometime within the next year or so however given that its deemed now to be currently as good as new I now hope to get a bit more life than this. Also Worthy of note is the fact that this off vehicle DPF clean can be repeated 'several times' on the same DPF - the cleaning company will advise when it can no longer be cleaned. I don't know the company used by the specialist he is keeping this to himself but the charge for the clean on the invoice was £350 however there were 2 hours of labour for the exhaust removal and re-installation process some new exhaust gaskets and the computer stuff so the clean was for me just under £500+Vat all up = a lot but a lot less than the £1'800+vat initially quoted for a new DPF. This process should work for DPF on any model / age jaguar or indeed any other make with DPF issues and the clean is not vehicle specific its an industrial blast . I will add that I have only been using shell and bp's expensive fuels this past year or so following advice on here. I hope this info is useful to anyone else with DPF problems and i will definitely update this thread with any developments on the DPF front! Cheers Tim

Hi Dominic, Yes, It's 'Jag and Land Surrey' https://jagandlandsurrey.com/ Billy the owner is a sole trader and while cheaper than JLR (£65 per hour) but he is by no means ''cheap'' per se, though he does seem fairly knowledgeable. My 'B' service with MOT this week was £559.11 inc vat, this was based on 2 hours labour £130 (£65p.h.), plus £65 for an air con service (which wasn't mentioned or agreed beforehand), plus parts. Genuine Parts used were £225.22 - Drain Plug, Oil Filter, Air Filter, Pollen Filter, Fuel Filter, Wiper blades (£20 each), Engine Oil £66, Screen wash, Environmental disposal £4.50, Consumables £8.34 (for grease, anti-sieze spray, copperslip, WD40). He also used a Wynns Diesel cleanup (put directly neat into the new fuel filter) It always feels like he charges for 'everything' and this sems a lot of money bearing in mind that it failed the MOT due to the engine warning light (caused by my dpf problem). Its a free re-test when it goes back in next week but that visit will be another £570 inc vat (which is the price I have agreed with him for removing the dpf - specialist clean - refitting DPF and engine management software update). providing this is successful this years servicing will have been just under £1200 all up. Its been about £5000 in total across the past 3 years including this year that its been going there. In comparison my 2008 BMW 3 series (E92) is just £136 per year for servicing (every year over the past 8 years that I have owned it) its also a diesel but because it is pre-2009 it has no DPF which is golden! - all I do is put fuel in and it just works without complaint. For a 2.0 its also pretty quick and fun to drive although the run flat tyres do bugger the ride quality a bit! - I've recently had to replace a wheel and wheel bearing (pot hole damage) and all the dampers but have done these jobs myself for next to nothing as its an easy car to work on (dampers were £65 each, the new wheel was £100 from ebay rather than £460+VAT from BMW) the quote was about £1'500 from dealer so I feel quite pleased about it.

So after many hours online last night and this morning I decided that as I have some time left on MOT I would pick the car up today from the Jaguar Specialist I am using in Leatherhead, Surrey with a plan to get the DPF cleaned by a specialist the figures seemed to be circa £500 A lengthy conversation was had on collection about DPF's generally as I was clearly not happy that the only option offered to me was replacement at £1800 and several things emerged. 1, Jaguar will apparently be offering re-conditioned DPF's as an option to brand new later this year. (Christmas time 2019 was the given time frame) 2. DPF Cleaning may actually be a worthwhile option. 3. I found 'used' Jag XF DPF's on ebay around £250 but they are obviously an unknown - specialist warned against it as he would but in the future this may be your only option - this could be an option for you to get car through an MOT perhaps. The specialist I am using had done some homework on the subject over the past 24h and had identified a DPF cleaning company - he had also telephoned some of their clients VAG and BMW and had got positive reports on the process, he will essentially be removing the dpf from the car, the company will collect and clean it using an industrial machine and then return it the next day to be refitted. The specialist also said that he will then update the engine management software as there is an update available for my 2014 XF and he 'expects' that this will provide some improved handling for DPF cleaning but he will only install this update after the work is complete. This will cost me £600 inc vat which also includes the re-test and the £65 software update. There is an option in the JLR software to tell the car that it has a new DPF but this can be dangerous if mis-used and will only happen if the DPF is essentially very very clean after the return from the specialist DPF cleaning bods. The specialist cleaning co. will provide before and after readings on the DPF I think this is pressure readings from the fore and aft sensors so it should clear what benefit the clean has provided. my DPF is apparently currently above 60% full but the exact figure is not known as the JLR software only shows the true figure during a regen As I have mentioned there was NO PRIOR WARNING before this Red error - I was told this sometimes happens so JLR inbuilt XF monitoring software is clearly flawed as it really should show the an amber warning first. The soot level 1 year ago was 0.3g but when I checked despite some long journeys the latter half of 2018 actually saw only short journeys mainly within m25/London and on A roads in sussex so my driving habits have to change. *** For info *** Halfords now offer a DPF cleaning service for £85 or £120 advanced - this involves removing a sensor in the front of the DPF unit and directly injecting a chemical cocktail into a dpf using a lance this will apparently breakdown the buildup and allow it to burn off - they do this several times - I wont be doing this at halfords but mention it as its the cheapest service I found and shows just what a problem clogged DPF's have become to the UK populous. I really truly believe that all JLR diesel vehicles (and indeed all other diesel vehicle manufacturers) should have their infotainment systems updated to show DPF level - this option could be hidden in the menu system so that only those owners who want it would turn it on but this really is a must - I'd want to see a % figure or at least some kind of progress bar and an indication when a DPF clean is in progress even if just a colour change on the % figure - an option to initiate a clean would just be the holy grail! Sadly though JLR have a vested interest in keeping the software in its current infant state so they can just keep charging customers for new DPF's - the availability later this year (2019) of recon DPF's is somewhat telling but I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix for this. Will update next week after the works are complete.

So.. ..Just following up with some fairly terrible news especially for those of you already concerned about the entirely man-made DPF problem! The DPF clean im march seemingly worked an absolute treat giving trouble free motoring (including a run down to the French alps for Skiing and back again) - car absolutely fine right up until the end of December - then on the 29th Dec I got the DPF warning 'in RED' out of nowhere - there was no yellow warning first! Car was already booked in for its MOT today so I didn't drive it again until dropping off this morning The specialist confirmed today however that RED is terminal - regen not possible - DEAD! - and says I need a replacement DPF at £1'800 My car is exactly 5 years old now with about 95'000 on the clock so be warned about this hideous diesel Jaguar running cost - DPF problems are not unique to jaguar but the replacement pricing is! To my mind there must be something wrong elsewhere if this has failed so catastrophically and suddenly without warning and this is after just 5 years of predominantly motorway driving! I am toying with the idea of getting a used ebay DPF just to get me through the MOT this year as they are about £250 and given that I feel there may be a fault causing the current one to fail I don't really want to spunk £1'800 to then have the new one fail in short order. Does anyone know if any of these new DPF cleaning services which are any good ? Why the hell is there no DPF status information on the dash or any indication when a regen is occurring is there any update available for the car which can show this ? Very unhappy 🤬

I would say that its the Battery - I have had this on another car and yes the engine needed to be told that the battery had been replaced been fine ever since!

My 3.0d is recent purchase and at 87'000 not super high miles by the looks of the above but I had to replace all the discs and pads within a week of getting it. The specialist I went to said that XF's eat brake pads but are largely very good to own, he said the 3.0 has a great engine one of the best Jaguar have ever made. He also does land rover/range rover and says they form the core of his work as they always go wrong - as a previous Discovery owner I would very much agree with that and would never get another! I love driving my XF that 3.0 coupled with the 8 speed seamless gear change means you pick up speed ridiculously quickly - its a feel good car. That said if i am gentle with it I can get 45-50mpg on a decent run which is about the same as my BMW 320d. Mine is Black and the paint is nice looking when washed but dirty within a day the paint on mine seems unusually jaded even though its a young car so I am investing in a machine polisher and am going to work on it slowly over the summer cutting it, polishing it and sealing it a bit at a time - then i'll do the wheels then polish and water treatment on the glass too and then it will be perfect! My only warning would be that if you do a lot of short journeys get the petrol not a diesel as the DPF will get sooted up on short runs which is a potential problem. T

OK, just had a call from the mechanic The DPF level is apparently shown to him on screen as a value in g/m3 (Grammes per cubic metre) in his JLR software. The mechanic confirmed that mine had recently successfully done a regen (on my recent journey down the A3 - which I had used for the purpose) this was not obvious at the time as it's all done cloak and dagger style which is one of the problems as it would be nice to be aware of the activity. .. So anyway my soot level today is .. 16 g/m3 which is in fact not exessively high at all - thankfully My vehicle mileage is 87'000 miles which is pretty high for a 3 year old car but as much of this was likely motorway driving I think my DPF is probably based on the above number in a better state than many lower mileage XF's. He informed me that the higher the soot level the longer it takes to clear, at 60-70g/m3 it takes him several hours of driving under a forced regen to clear it and at that point the cleaning is less effective and at 70 or higher is where he considers replacement options 90+ is a definite replacement as it will never be effectively cleaned in situ. He is taking my car out this afternoon to force regen it using his laptop and believes he can get the soot level down to around 6 g/m3 which leaves me in a good place. My bill for this will be around £150+Vat I now plan on getting some software for managing this myself via the ODB connection (and will post details here) - I think that this is an essential given the complexity and black box nature of modern cars - my hope is that I will ideally be able to initiate a regen on any significant motorway journey or when required. It will also allow me to monitor the health of the vehicle generally (and as ODB is standard since about 2003 I can use it on the other family cars too) to be continued..

Thanks for the comments all good stuff Funnily enough I have purchased an ODB interface but not sure which software product to use - any recommendations this would be for a windows 10 pc) ? I filled up with Shell before I took it in and will continue with that now.

I have my inspection later today so will probably learn tomorrow what state mine is actually in. I note that a growing number of companies are offering services to 'clean' the DPF (and I would imagine this will be a growth market in coming years as the emissions rules have been raised yet again on newest diesel cars). The treatments seem to involve either 1. DPF removal and clean (which is common for lorries), this would be my ideal if its cheap enough and really does clear out the soot buildup 2. a chemical clean process where the front sensor (just before DPF) is removed so that a pipe can be inserted, then the mechanic injects a foam chemical cocktail into the DPF which is blown through while the engine is running - After this is done the ECU is instructed to perform a DPF clean and you are then given the car back and advised to drive along at about 55mph for 30 mins to complete a normal DPF clean cycle. to be continued..!

Hi all, So, having just lavished £1500 on a service on my (new to me) 2014 XF I then got the dreaded amber DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) warning less than a week later. In my case it was Amber warning saying 'DPF Full' but not the Red warning which is apparently worse. This car is new to me and despite having a 2008 diesel engined BMW I was blissfully unaware of the DPF debacle until this happened as my 2008 car hasn't been castrated with a DPF. I should be clear here that this is an industry problem affecting most 2009 diesel cars and is not confined to Jaguar So having then read an awful lot online about this it seems in summary that the DPF is a device imposed upon all diesel engined cars from 2009 by a witless government in a knee jerk reaction to climate change in response to European Legislation (and subsequently implemented in a similar half arsed fashion by most car makers). So, In my case I made a point of not using the car until last weekend (i used the dirtier BMW instead). I had a good run lined up (50 miles each way) and my warning cleared about 45mins into the journey and hasnt come back on since however I have absolutely no idea of the state that my DPF is in which seems like something I really should be able to view on the console screen as it's clearly quite a relevant item. Because I have no idea of DPF state I have booked car in to my local Jag specialist who tells me that he can see the current DPF level and can also initiate a clean (which seems to involve him driving it round the M25 in the early hours while his laptop is connected to the ECU in my car telling him what speed to drive at) as he runs through a 'forced clean' process. I would just like to get a feel for what you other XF owners have experienced If you have a solution please share it! If you are also new to the DPF problem then I hope this topic will grow to help us all out!

Hi Do55mac I was told in a post earlier in the week (which seems to have disappeared now) that I will be in for a cambelt change at 105'000 miles on my 3.0d XF with quoted cost of not less than £400 for this (I'm guessing its a bit of a bugger of a job). Hope this helps TJ

OK, looks more like I will soon be a Jaguar XF 3.0d owner so my servicing shortlist is.. Guy Salmon (Thames Ditton) Harwoods (Croydon) HA FOX (Guildford) Any recommendations here or indeed any comments positive or negative for any of these ? Alternatively is there any other specialist I should be considering for my XF servicing ? Thanks in anticipation! Tim

OK, looks more like I will soon be a Jaguar XF 3.0d owner so my servicing shortlist is.. Guy Salmon (Thames Ditton) Harwoods (Croydon) HA FOX (Guildford) Any recommendations here or indeed any comments positive or negative for any of these ? Alternatively is there any other specialist I should be considering for my XF servicing ? Thanks in anticipation! Tim

I hope to complete on XF 3.0d r-sport purchase this week and if successful I need to MOT and service it very quickly. Can anyone recommend a trustworthy and ideally cost effective place to take it in my area to have it looked after going forward. I am postcode SM7 if that helps! Thanks in anticipation TJ