…After a runaround, I was informed that they could no longer work on my car because the dealership now only services LR and cannot do covered maintenance work on Jaguars. Annoying, but fair enough I suppose...

The position of your dealer makes little sense. When JLR announced, in 2023 I think, that the Jaguar sales network would be slimmed down and production of all the then current Jaguar range would cease in 2024, the CEO assured Jaguar owners that after-sales support would continue to be provided by Land Rover dealers and service centres.

Indeed, a former Jaguar Land Rover dealer nearby, that ceased to sell Jaguars over six years ago, still officially repairs and services Jaguars, as a current Land Rover dealership.

This makes practical sense. The I-Pace is based on the same “D7” Premium Lightweight Architecture platform as the Velar, Discovery, Defender as well as the previous Range Rover Sport L494, Range Rover L405 and most other Jaguar models. Other than the EV-specific elements of the I-Pace, many components, firmware and software are shared, enabling easier support. The logistics and supply chain is shared too.

 

Yes, the whole situation is very strange to me. For a premium brand, they sure know how to make you feel less premium. I'll be reaching out to corporate again to get to the bottom of this shenanigan. Let me know if you guys/gals experience something similar at your local JLR dealership that has transitioned to only selling LR.

 

I guess all this could be entwined with the consequences of the cyberattack. My dealer explained on September 23 that they had just been informed that full maintenance support requiring JLR’s networks (software upgrades etc) could be unavailable until “early 2026”! Even then, given a multi-month backlog of work that will have built up (possibly affecting hundreds of cars for each dealership), dealers are going to have to find ways to prioritise and manage that backlog. That won’t be straightforward and may well take several months to clear.

In your case, since the dealer sent you a reminder of due maintenance, they are still recognising a Jaguar in their system. One of the ways to help manage the workload backlog is to proactively limit backlog creation, which may have lead your dealer to arbitrarily stop taking on any new maintenance or repairs for Jaguars!

The underlying message right now: if your car is due for routine service in the coming six months, is to try to get the work done early, before the end of this year, whilst dealers currently are limited in some of the activities they can perform and should have time available.

 

I was supposed to get a recall letter for my 2016 Range Rover by now. It has not arrived but that could be the US Postal Service delay. The recall is for front suspension knuckle parts that can crack or break and that can lead to knocking noises, loss of steering, crash... If no cracks found they are to install a brace. I guess it is going to be a while for replacement knuckle parts and braces to arrive at dealers. The original knuckles were made in China.

It is getting to look like I did a wise thing keeping my 2001 VW Golf and 2004 VW Passat running. I just put a new spring on the Passat left front. The right front was done 5 years ago. I shouldn't drive the I-pace because it can go up in flames and the RR can crash. Back to the reliable diesel VWs.

 

I was supposed to get a recall letter for my 2016 Range Rover by now. It has not arrived but that could be the US Postal Service delay. The recall is for front suspension knuckle parts that can crack or break and that can lead to knocking noises, loss of steering, crash... If no cracks found they are to install a brace. I guess it is going to be a while for replacement knuckle parts and braces to arrive at dealers. The original knuckles were made in China.

It is getting to look like I did a wise thing keeping my 2001 VW Golf and 2004 VW Passat running. I just put a new spring on the Passat left front. The right front was done 5 years ago. I shouldn't drive the I-pace because it can go up in flames and the RR can crash. Back to the reliable diesel VWs.

I had a 2000 Golf GTI VR6. Absolutely loved it until I bought land that needed AWD to get up the hill in the snow.

 

Reliable is boring. Exciting is flames and crashing. I am all in for exciting.

 

I'm constantly stunned by the poor security of large companies. If you've got a billion dollars in cash, you build a vault. If you've got ten billion dollars a year in operations, you build a mouse of cards.

 

I sat next to a young guy on a flight from Melbourne back to England....he was working freelance in cyber security , crypto, etc, and going to live and work in London. He said him and his buddies in the same sphere of work can get a reward payment of up to a million for finding security holes in banks and hedge fund IT systems. Why so much I asked?...because the next person who finds that could cost them a billion.
As Jag have found out.
As changing brake hoses on an i-pace at 60k miles......why????? Never done that on any other car....is it just a money spinner for the dealer service dept?

 

I called corporate 3-times. One time I spoke to a very pleasant agent that would do more fact finding for me. Since, then radio silence. Subsequent calls, I would get a templated response -- "we'll take down your message and pass it along to agent." I'll let this simmer for another week, then I'll write an email. It shouldn't be this difficult to schedule maintenance service and figure out if it's covered... Elementary ask.