[corrisgraydave]

Regular reader on this forum, but have never had a good reason to wade in till now. Unfortunately it is due to a much-feared battery issue. I purchased my 2020 I-Pace in December and enjoyed 5,000 problem free miles until the "Battery fault detected" message popped up and the go pedal stopped functioning. In drive, pushing the pedal makes a groaning or grinding sound. In reverse, it sounds like the motors are spinning at high RPMs. Otherwise the infotainment, climate, etc. are operating normally. Battery had a full charge. Thankfully I was on a residential street in my brother's neighborhood; not so thankfully, I was 200 miles from home. Wednesday will mark two weeks since this happened.

JLR roadside assistance had it towed to the local dealer in Monmouth County, NJ, who bluntly said they were so busy they had no idea when they could look at it. (And no, they couldn't spare a loaner.) It took some work, but JLR agreed to have it towed to my home dealer in MD at their expense, a process which took several days. The dealer has been candid that they don't know what's wrong with it or how to fix it. A TA case was opened with corporate on Friday, and today's update was that detailed "vial" (sp?) codes had been downloaded from the car and sent to JLR for further interpretation.

I've started tossing the B-word around with the dealer, not least due to some of the stories reported by other posters on this board, but they are insisting there's no reason to panic yet. I'll keep you all posted so others can hopefully learn from my experience.

 

[sciencegeek]

Arg bummer. Sorry to hear about this. I'm speculating but it doesn't sound like a battery issue ... more like a motor issue ... anyway, do keep us posted.

I agree with the dealer that it's too early to panic but it sounds like you have the right type of urgency and attitude about it, including the B word. What are the lemon laws in MD?

 

[NewJag in Bama]

They should provide a loaner car or pay for a rental if they are going to have to keep it that long. You have a reasonable expectation of available transportation when purchasing a new car.

 

[corrisgraydave]

sciencegeek, you could be right re. it being a motor issue. Lemon laws in MD are fairly consumer friendly. 30 days out of service subsequent to certified mail to the manufacturer or four episodes related to the same issue, up to 20,000 miles.

NewJag, JLR Roadside Assistance approved reimbursement for a rental up to $45/day given the trip interruption, which I took them up on until I could get back home and pick up a loaner from my home dealer. That covered about half the expense given the circumstance. No issues driving the F-Pace they gave me, except that I'd intended to swear off the ICE.

 

[corrisgraydave]

Heading into my fourth week with the I-Pace out of service, I finally got a root cause from the service manager at my dealer. Apparently the stub axle that connects my right front wheel to the corresponding electronic drive unit sheared off at the C-clip that holds it in the drive unit. The axle walked itself out of the drive unit and became disconnected entirely from the motor. The end of the stub axle is lost somewhere inside the drive unit. There's no obvious reason why this would happen, so we speculated there was a flaw in the piece of steel used to make the axle.

Thank goodness this happened when I was driving 20mph and not 80+. The dealer is not sure why the error message was a battery fault, but they believe the issue is purely mechanical and there's nothing wrong with electronics or the high voltage system. The axle has been sourced in-country but they are also replacing that electronic drive unit, with the new one coming from the UK. I asked for a battery health report since they'll have the car for a couple weeks still, and the dealer will also apply H280.

I'll keep y'all posted. I will say I find the F-Pace loaner garishly noisy, and it really doesn't feel good to be pulling into gas stations again.

 

[sciencegeek]

That's great news; and a pretty wild explanation; no kidding about your speed. Well, our I-Paces are still cars and so mechanical stuff can sometimes go wrong too. These issues seem to be quite rare, thankfully. Yes please keep us posted!

 

[Ayepace]

That is definitely a rare item. It demonstrates the AWD controls will keep it going when one the wheels completely loses the ability to be driven. Yes, I'd expect there should be faults for that too.

Maybe Jaguar is using the text "Battery Fault Detected" as a generic message for "Something Broke. I'm not feeling well. Take me to the vet."

Or that missing bit did do damage inside the drive unit causing an electrical short or something along those lines that caused an electrical fault to be detected instead of the mechanical root cause.

I had an F-pace loaner once with the smallest engine offered. I parked it. It had less oomph than my 01 Golf TDI (90 hp if you could manage to get it to its red line with wishful thinking).

 

[NewJag in Bama]

I'll keep y'all posted. I will say I find the F-Pace loaner garishly noisy, and it really doesn't feel good to be pulling into gas stations again.

And who the **** came up with that location for the power window buttons....goodness that was painful to try to get used to. Not a big F-Pace fan. Not sure why JLR needed to bring out a Jag SUV in the first place to be honest.

 

[corrisgraydave]

And who the **** came up with that location for the power window buttons....goodness that was painful to try to get used to. Not a big F-Pace fan. Not sure why JLR needed to bring out a Jag SUV in the first place to be honest.

Given it's the same infotainment, the layout and design of the controls in the 2020 F-Pace are dramatically inferior to the I-Pace.

Also, I forgot to send kudos to sciencegeek for correctly speculating that I had a motor issue and not a battery issue!

 

[Ken]

Heading into my fourth week with the I-Pace out of service, I finally got a root cause from the service manager at my dealer. Apparently the stub axle that connects my right front wheel to the corresponding electronic drive unit sheared off at the C-clip that holds it in the drive unit. The axle walked itself out of the drive unit and became disconnected entirely from the motor. The end of the stub axle is lost somewhere inside the drive unit. There's no obvious reason why this would happen, so we speculated there was a flaw in the piece of steel used to make the axle.

Thank goodness this happened when I was driving 20mph and not 80+. The dealer is not sure why the error message was a battery fault, but they believe the issue is purely mechanical and there's nothing wrong with electronics or the high voltage system. The axle has been sourced in-country but they are also replacing that electronic drive unit, with the new one coming from the UK. I asked for a battery health report since they'll have the car for a couple weeks still, and the dealer will also apply H280.

I'll keep y'all posted. I will say I find the F-Pace loaner garishly noisy, and it really doesn't feel good to be pulling into gas stations again.

That's one of the scarier stories I've heard with the I-Pace. Glad you're OK and there was no accident as a result.

 

[Deutsch100]

And who the **** came up with that location for the power window buttons....goodness that was painful to try to get used to. Not a big F-Pace fan. Not sure why JLR needed to bring out a Jag SUV in the first place to be honest.

I also was shocked when Jaguar debuted the F-Pace (much like the horror when Porsche did the Cayenne). But, the F-Pace has been the biggest selling Jaguar ever. So we all should be very happy that the F-Pace has brought in some money for the marque and customers that are not 80 years old!! Without the F-Pace, it is likely Jaguar might not be a company!

 

[dernotte]

And who the **** came up with that location for the power window buttons....goodness that was painful to try to get used to. Not a big F-Pace fan. Not sure why JLR needed to bring out a Jag SUV in the first place to be honest.

I saw a Lamborghini and a Maserati SUV the other day. I didn't know that they even exist...

 

[corrisgraydave]

A quick update on my situation. The service manager accidentally returned my call late yesterday (“Hello, Marilyn? Oh, yes, Dave you were the next call on my list...”) after 10 days since his last update. The new drive unit is en route from England but that’s all he knows? ETA? JLR doesn’t provide him that. Tracking number from the shipper? Nope. “Hard to know if it’s transiting by plane or by boat.” Could that really be possible? This is my bruised ego speaking, but wouldn‘t JLR want to get this in the dealer’s hands as quickly as possible given the circumstances? As a first-time JLR customer so much of how they operate has left me dumbfounded. 31 days out of service and counting!

 

[StormRune]

Gah! That would be so frustrating!!! You can actually get JLR corporate to assign someone to help with these things, I had to do that last year when my I-Pace was down for 5 weeks last year and was having trouble getting good information from the local service reps. In my case that person got assigned because of a plea I put for help on the Jaguar Customer Advisory Board site. On the chance you are on that you can ask for help there and they will facilitate getting someone assigned. If not, I'd think you could call the corporate customer support line and ask them to assign you a Customer Relations specialist to help with your problem.

 

[corrisgraydave]

It's been a while since I provided an update. I took @StormRune's suggestion and was able to get a specialist from Customer Relations assigned after two calls to the corporate support line. The specialist was very friendly and promised to track down my drive unit shipment and provide an ETA. I know she spoke with service and parts at my home dealer. Since then, it's been a week and she's gone completely radio silent -- doesn't pick up on the extension she provided me, doesn't respond to emails or voicemails. So yesterday I sent the certified mail to initiate the buyback process. Seems like the only way I'll be able to get a lick of accountability or responsiveness. Service manager at the dealer was like, "Yeah, I'd probably do the same thing if it were me." At this point I can't say if I'd accept a replacement I-Pace. It's the most fun I've ever had driving a car, but from top to bottom the experience of being a JLR customer has just been stunningly bad.

 

[StormRune]

Oh no! Sorry that suggestion didn't help with anything. That is really bad customer no-service!

 

[corrisgraydave]

Closing in on 60 days since the breakdown and it looks like I'm close to getting my I-Pace back. I won't recount all the challenges I've run into with JLR corporate, but will just say that they may have been saved by the greater incompetence of the USPS -- who has failed to deliver my buyback letter after two and a half weeks lost in certified mail.

Dealer hasn't called yet, but the EDU must be in as I can see via the MyPace app that kitty is back to life and took a trip on the highway yesterday. Seems like she's been washed and charged today. When they call, I'm going to insist I see a battery health report and also that H280 and TCU 19.2 are applied before I agree to pick her up.

Question: I have noticed on MyPace that the TCU battery is only charged 5%. It was 0% before and then immediately after my apps stopped resolving to the car, presumably when it was being disassembled in the shop. Should I flag this as a concern as well, or assume that it will gradually charge with use?

Thanks as always for the well-informed camaraderie here. Owning an I-Pace continues to be quite an experience...

 

[Ayepace]

Assume nothing. Ask about TCU battery state of charge.

You should be able to tell if H280 is applied, In the software update display the battery "battery engercy control system" starts with BP. That will be just below the TCU (Vehicle connectivity system) version. If you can't see values (although I've had to back out and redisplay before to see them), then you don't have at least 18.2.

 

[StormRune]

When I was down for 5 weeks a year ago with the failed battery control module, they also replaced both of the 12v batteries since those had also been drained during the failure. You might want to ask about their health too.

 

[corrisgraydave]

High voltage SOH report shows every cell at 90% (“in range”). This seems like meaningful degradation given the odometer has 5,000mi. Curious what others think.