FIXED: P2290 Injector Control Pressure Too Low — Land Rover Discovery 3 / 2.7 TDV6

If you’re seeing P2290 Injector Control Pressure Too Low on your Land Rover Discovery 3 (2.7L TDV6), especially under high load, high torque, lower RPM, and boost, this guide should help.
This issue often points to a problem with the high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) — particularly the Siemens / Continental VDO unit used from factory — but the root cause isn’t always what you’d expect.

The Condition That Triggered P2290

This fault appeared only when the engine was under heavy load and boost.
At first, I was chasing random suspension, stability, and coolant warnings, but the consistent and recurring ECM code was always P2290-00 Injector Control Pressure Too Low.

I had already replaced both:

The low-pressure fuel pump (LPFP), and
The high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) — both aftermarket Chinese units.

Live data looked fine at idle and normal driving, but P2290 kept returning under boost.

HPFP Notes — Siemens / Continental VDO vs Aftermarket

You’ll often hear on forums that you must use OEM Siemens / Continental VDO fuel pumps.
That’s not always true. What actually matters is:

The quality and confidence in the manufacturer
That you replace both volume and pressure control valves when fitting
And that you confirm fuel pressure and flow via live data after installation

My non-OEM HPFP looks identical to the original Siemens / Continental VDO pump and includes new volume and pressure valves. Once pressures were verified, it performed well.

👉 Tip: Check the sealing of the pistons inside the HPFP. A small leak there can mimic a sensor or fuel supply issue.

Normal Discovery 3 Fuel Rail Pressure Values

On a healthy 2.7 TDV6 system, fuel rail pressure should max out around 165,000 kPa under load.
If your readings stay consistently below that — or fluctuate erratically — you’re likely under-fuelling or dealing with a faulty sensor input.

The Real Fix — Fuel Temperature Sensor Discovery

Eventually, I found the actual cause wasn’t the pumps at all — it was the fuel temperature sensor built into the injector return line assembly.

I had fitted a cheap eBay replacement. It worked for a while, but later started reading incorrectly when cold.

When unplugged, the ECU reported -41.1 °C, and surprisingly, the car ran fine — smooth, stable pressure, and no limp mode.
When plugged in, it falsely read 55 °C first thing in the morning, confusing the ECU’s fueling calculation.

After unplugging the sensor:

Fuel rail pressure stopped spiking (previously hitting 180,000 kPa, well above spec).
Idle pressure dropped from 29,000 kPa to 25,000 kPa — showing the sensor was even affecting idle fueling.

After 15–20 minutes of driving unplugged, the car throws a fuel temperature sensor fault and may briefly show “Engine Issue” — but doesn’t enter limp mode.

👉 If you install a cheap sensor, always log live data.
Make sure it’s reading realistic temperatures before assuming your HPFP is bad.

Fuel Pump Setup That Worked

For reference, I’m currently running:

A cheap eBay low-pressure pump, and
A quality reconditioned high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) from China.

Both have performed reliably once the sensor issue was corrected.
The pumps themselves were not the cause of P2290 — inaccurate sensor data was.

Key Takeaways for P2290 on a Discovery 3

Don’t assume P2290 always means a bad high-pressure fuel pump.
Check your fuel temperature sensor readings first — they can mislead the ECU and trigger injector pressure faults.
Use live data to confirm fuel rail pressure under load (target: ~165,000 kPa).
Aftermarket HPFPs can work fine if they’re built correctly and pressure-tested.
Replace the volume and pressure control valves when installing a new HPFP.

Final Thoughts

Fuel system faults on the Land Rover Discovery 3 TDV6 can be extremely unintuitive.
A single bad sensor can trick the ECU into cutting fueling, throwing misleading codes like P2290, and making you suspect expensive hardware unnecessarily.

I’m a strong supporter of quality aftermarket parts — they’re affordable, keep older Discoveries on the road, and make the community stronger.
OEM isn’t always better — smart diagnostics is.

Disclaimer

Values here may vary slightly depending on your setup, scan tool accuracy, or ECU version.
If you’ve had a similar issue or discovered a different fix for P2290 on the Discovery 3, please comment or reach out — the more shared data we have, the more we can keep these vehicles alive.