I mentioned this in another thread, but this seems to be a recurring problem for 2016 owners, so I thought I would start my own thread to document what's happening.

About two weeks after I picked up my car, the SOS System warning light started coming on and I started having issues starting the car. When I press the ignition button the dash flashes, the stereo briefly will turn on, but the car won't turn over. Sometimes it turns over on the 2nd or 3rd try and sometimes it takes 10 times and a few minutes to get started.

I scheduled my first appointment with my local dealer a couple of weeks ago and brought the car in. They didn't have a loaner available, so I waited for a few hours while they tried to determine what the issue was. They had the same issues getting the car started, but were unable to determine what the cause was and said they would need it for a couple of days.

Fast forward to this week, I dropped the car off first thing Monday and said I would leave it until they were able to fix it. Talked to the service manager yesterday afternoon and he still hadn't found the source of the problem. There is a regional traveling "master tech" who will be at the dealer today and hopefully he can help determine what the issue is. I mentioned the few things I saw on this forum (faulty battery, lose connections, etc.) to them, but they said they checked those.

I'm hoping they can identify the problem, but if they can't, he said they will try replacing a few parts they think can be causing the issue and if that doesn't work, JLR will find a replacement car for me.

I'll update this thread as I find out more from the dealer, as I am assuming more people are going to run into this issue. One month into my first Jaguar and I'm pretty disappointed. I always stayed away from Jaguar / Land Rover products due to their horrible reputation for reliability (especially electronics) and my experience so far is only driving home those fears.

 

It is frustrating when they "check" parts that are known to be trouble. Especially the battery and the water pump.

I would wager that a new battery is part of the solution. My supposedly good battery just got replaced at my expense and now my car is working perfectly. Dealer tested the original and it tested fine but I got a new one anyway because I was sick of the codes. They are not making any friends by skimping on warranty work.

 

They are not skimping, they are making extra money charging it back to JLR.

 

Only if they get the repairs approved. On the water pump, there are posts on here stating that they don't approve replacement when they are showing early signs of failure.

On the batteries, my experience is that they test them and if they check out they don't replace them, even though a new battery ends up solving various battery related problems. There are people whose cars will not start and they still have the oem battery which has obviously discharged.

Don't get me started on the stereo issues.

All I am saying is that the cars should not be rolling around with any problems whatsoever when under warranty. Something is seriously wrong with the warranty claims approval process. If they are selling us a halo car for a halo price we should be getting a halo service experience.

 

My water pump was replaced under warranty with just sight moisture evident. This is on an XF.

 

I thought you were implying dealer's were "skimping," and I see you're suggesting JLR is stingy about approving possibly needed repairs. I haven't needed any warranty repairs, so I don't have any basis for judgment.

 

I found that they may skimp the first two times, but that third time you bring it in for the same problem, they will do whatever it takes. Mainly because if you bring it in a fourth time, you can lemon law the car.

 

I made it pretty clear that I won't take the car back until it is working 100%. However, I heard back today that they still haven't been able to identify the problem, which is starting to make me a little nervous that this may ultimately end up getting lemon lawed. Assuming that means I get reimbursed for the lease payments I made to date, but I am out of pocket the $3k I spent getting the car Xpel'd, tinted and detailed when I first bought it.

 

See if you can implore the service manager to drop a new battery in "just to see what happens."

 

9 days at the dealer and still no solutions. Getting to the point that I don't even want the car back now.

 

That is unfortunate. I got to that point with a v8s that was in a body shop all last summer. I am 95% happy with the replacement car but it should be 100% at this price point. If I were you, I would buy a battery, charge it fully and install it. If that doesn't work then I would start trying to get out of the car.

 

That is so messed up. What a crappy business model.

 

What have they tried? I assume by now you've asked them to try a new battery?

 

Of three owners of Jag's (I'm one of the 3) that are familiar with 2 different dealers, we have found the dealers to be excellent .. especially in the service area.

Your experience seems different, however the idea or generalization that they 'skimp' on the first two visits is hardly a business model that makes any sense... full service is a money maker. When at the dealers 'open house' events I also meet a number of owners and I do not remember any real dissatisfaction's being voiced.. comments around the great personal touch that is provided seem to be the norm.

Certainly with a top end car like these, 'Chrysler dealer' experience would certainly kill the brand.

Lawrence

 

+1. A good dealer will find a way to document things so that JLR can't justify turning down a needed warranty repair. We've heard plenty of examples of that on this forum, as well as some horror stories. It's crazy that they wouldn't because it is a huge money-maker for them. For good dealerships, there is a lot more profit in the service department than in sales.

I'm happy with mine, but then again, I haven't had any warranty issues.

 

I've mentioned multiple times that there appears to be battery issues with the cars (especially 2016 models) on the forums. I'm certainly not going to pay for a battery myself at this point. Last I heard is that they are trying to isolate the problem. If they can't find a specific cause, they will start replacing parts to see what works.

The dealer to date has been reasonable and wants to get this resolved. My disappointment is with Jaguar as this is clearly an issue with the F-Types and they don't appear to be getting out in front of it.

On an unrelated note, I have a XF loaner car and the base model Meridian system in that blows away the premium one in the F-Type. Clearly another issue on the F-Type that Jaguar prefers to just ignore instead of doing right by the owners.

 

I wasn't thrilled to buy a battery either, especially while undeer warranty, but it mostly fixed my car so I thought I would suggest it. Keep us posted. It's not just the 2016 cars that are having charging/starting issues.

 

I've had XF loaner and base Meridian is not the same as base in F type, halfway up to premium. Better sound space!

 

18 days at the dealer, car still isn't fixed and they don't know what the problem is. Dealer has been doing data dumps to the engineers at Jaguar and they haven't been able to offer a solution or sent them parts to try replacing.

I contacted Jaguar NA on Monday to start the buy back process.

 

18 days? Without an answer?! That's just crazy! (But you already know that).

Sorry!