At least this time the car isn't in pieces sitting in their garage. I'm out driving around just blissfully burning up the clutch. I'll give them 2-3 weeks and then start pushing them.

 

Part numbers installed 8/2015:
Flywheel - T2R8810
Clutch - T2R18945
Throwout - JDE32591


New part numbers on order:
Flywheel - T2R20968
Clutch - T2R21165
T.O. Bearing - JDE32591


Looks like a redesign of the flywheel and clutch kit have both occurred. It would be interesting to find out when the changeover occurred.

 

Jaguar customer service doesn't have anything to say about it and they would need an "Order Number" to research the delay and/or lead time on the parts. It's the first they've heard of this complaint. So, anyone with an issue, call and bug them for a few minutes about it and light a fire under them, get the ball rolling a little faster. Considering they knew about pre-production and didn't bother to fix it.

Currently, they're just taking the route of go to the dealer, get it diagnosed, and we'll get a new part in there. Without any further explanation. Meanwhile, how long is it going to take for the new parts? Oh... You know, just whenever. No big deal, just a $70,000 + car.
Thanks, Jaguar.

 

Jaguar is no different than any other manufacturer. If they're not seeing a lot of problems or complaints at dealerships, they're certainly not going to recall all manuals for a retrofit of re-designed parts.

As they say, "the squeaky wheel always gets the grease, " or in other words it's up to you to squeak at the dealer. That's been true w/ every manufacturer I've ever dealt with, which is most of them.

 

That's the problem I have, they're no better. Audi got sued over knowingly putting out a bad instrument cluster on the TT. Mini got sued over the high-pressure fuel pump. Rather than go through all that trouble in a few months/years, if we make enough noise now, then maybe they'll just resolve it with some dignity before someone's driving down the highway and a flywheel shatters...

 

I agree that everyone who is unhappy with the clutch slippage should take their cars in to a dealer and have the problem documented. However, it appears that there are many owners who are satisfied with it. If it's not driven aggressively, it seems to be satisfactory, but it's clearly not up to the demands placed on it by those desiring to burn some rubber.

 

Unhinged-if you didn't get my private message, 5/19/15 is my build date.

 

I'm still waiting on 3 production dates from the 9 who have responded to the survey, but your thoughts appear to be consistent with what I am seeing.

So far, 3 of the "bad" clutches were built in June-July,
both of the "ok" clutches were built May-June (probably driven sanely),
and 1 of the "good" clutches was built in October.

My second clutch (august) was the same as the one installed at the factory.

Not enough data for statistical significance, but we're seeing a hint.

 

What ended up happening with your clutch to require a replacement the first time? Did you have a complete failure? Did JLR take care of it for you without much hassle, given that it's not included as a part covered in their maintenance warranty?

I only ask because of the weird shift delay I experience when going from 2-3 under anything other than light acceleration (in addition to the slippage from first to second). The clutch pedal is completely let out and as I add throttle, its clear that it is just slipping like crazy - this slipping lasts for a good second or two and is destined to make my clutch fail prematurely. it's a very odd sensation.

How were your experiences with the clutches on your JCW MINIs? I also owned R53 and R56 JCW cars and found that those were pretty problematic as well, though, for different reasons. Those were Getrag transmissions and, in my opinion, had completely undersized clutches for the JCW model. The dual mass flywheel didn't help either.

 

At 800 miles my pressure plate completely exploded (little springs all over the place) during a very gentle up-shift. I was still babying the car to break it in. But even then I had the sense that the clutch was not hooking up as positively as it should. I attributed that initially to the clutch delay valve. Once I was through the break-in period and started to wail on the car, it was immediately clear that the clutch was inadequate. Removing the clutch delay valve improved the clutch feel, but the clutch still slips horribly on any aggressive up-shift. After the tech got done testing the car yesterday morning, my car still reeks of burnt clutch this evening.

Never had an issue with the clutch on my R53 JCW (except expectedly needing replacement at 80k miles). The clutch on my wife's R56 JCW needed to be replaced at 10k miles. She drives 10mph under the limit, never using more than half throttle, and all my vehicles are more fun to drive, so I can't really comment on the quality of her clutch.

So far now, all the "bad" clutches were built production start thru very early July.

The earliest "good" one is noted Oct/Nov.

Thank you to all responding to my pm asking for production date!

 

Word from the dealer: My clutch is "not slipping." I use the quotes because they noted that the test specified in the service manual was performed and the clutch passed. I asked for details on the test. The description of the test procedure is:


- With car stopped, put in 4th gear.
- Rev engine to 2000 rpm
- Slowly release clutch

If engine dies, clutch is not slipping.


Separately, they are replacing my fuel filler neck, and are waiting for the kit.

 

You will be happy with the filler neck I have no problems with filling now

 

What a fricking crock!
If the 3rd line read "-slowly release clutch...and immediately apply full throttle", I could buy it.

 

You gonna, press them on that?

A separate Jag rep emailed me and said:"At this time Jaguar we do not have any known concerns for the issue you are describing."
I guess they don't read the reviews at Jaguar. Their own representative acknowledged a slipping clutch from one of the most visited automotive websites in the UK and it was a verified concern by Motor Trend.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1514274

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-...d-first-drive/

 

I offer that as explanation of the dealer's standards. If you want attention from JLR, that is where the bar is.

 

I get it. Fortunately, the tech my dealer assigned to me is a mid-career, seasoned gear-head who knows what a clutch should feel like. No questions asked, the new parts were ordered. Obviously that's as much as the dealer can do, and if the new parts don't resolve the issue, it's back to plan A and having a performance clutch built myself.

 

According to the tech at my dealer, the clutch is supposed to slip when you shift fast. Oh, sorry "almost without throttle release". Not, "without throttle release", I guess he even admits that it did occur, just almost without release. Refused to even verify the complaint, himself!

So, back to square one: Avoid the San Jose dealer, Lord loves a working man, don't trust whitey, see a doctor and get rid of it.

 

So what is the most effective way of getting dealer to take this problem seriously? Unhinged got a good tech and dealer that stood behind their car. Sadly, most are not like that. Would you suggest escalating right away to corporate?

 

Even that didn't seem to work. I did because I like paper trails and evidence. But yes, if it becomes a liability issue(clutch explosions) or lemon law comes into play, it's better to be able to point at something concrete. Lemon Law in California requires that you notify the manufacturer, so I hit them up first, about anything.

I'm fed up with my local dealer, so the next course of action is get at least one completed repair from unhingd's car, on the record. Then I guess it will be a matter of referring to that as precedent. I'm fortunate enough to have a second & third dealer less than an hour away I'm going to start dealings with them, see if they're any more receptive. This place just started doing Jaguar, mostly focused on Land Rover.

 

I'll call my dealer tomorrow to get the status on the parts. They should be arriving on Friday or Monday.I will have them install the updated parts, but given the corporate attitude others are experiencing from JLR, I am not very confident the updated parts will solve the problem. In any event the car will be back at the performance shop on the 28th of this month for two other projects. If the new parts don't do the job, I'll let Spec build a clutch for me at that time. At least they'll have relatively new parts to get accurate dimensions from and I won't have to replace a blue-burnt flywheel.