The nice thing about having a forum is that members can post questions about concerns that they may have about their car that others have experienced and resolved. No one want to spend time away from their cars for issues and concerns requiring them to leave their car at the dealer.

Through my time in working in the automotive industry whether it be Asian, domestic or European, most service advisors and service managers don't have the technical knowledge of the cars we drive. Start spitting out technical information and usually you'll just get a blank stare. Their job is to upsell you service. Cut them some slack.

The worst part is the dealer calling you back and notifying you that they were unable to duplicate your concern. Whether it be for a noise or drivability concern, you can swear up and down that you heard/felt/saw something but if the dealer can't duplicate it then they can't fix it. Keep in mind that dealers are paid if they find something wrong and fix it. They will be your best advocate. Its important that you are able to provide them with details of your concerns. I've had concerns that the dealer was not able to duplicate but once I provided them the details, went on a test drive or provided them a photo/recording, then they know for a fact that something potentially needs to be addressed.

Example 1:
I took delivery of my 2016 F Type and noticed a ticking and rattling coming from the glove box area. Took it to the dealer and they were unable to find anything. Take a step back. Glove box area can be the entire dash. Theres pipes, hoses, wiring, etc that can cause it to rattle. I did a little bit more sleuthing and I determined that it was coming from the glovebox!


Dealer now has evidence that there really is noise coming from the glovebox and upon inspection, they saw that the hinges weren't seating correctly and ordered a new one. I no longer have the noise.

Example 2:
On my 2016 F Type I noticed a creaking noise coming from my left shoulder area where the seatbelt is whenever going over bumps and steep driveway where I angle the car one wheel at a time. Given its relative area, I thought it was the trim panels shifting. Being familiar with the interior workings of the F Type, there isn't too many points of contact where the trim panels can actually rub. Turns out it was the driverside rear taillight and rocker panel that was torqued down too tight. The creaking noise was amplified by the empty space in the rear quarter panel making it seem that it was coming from the trim immediately in the seat belt area. I documented my concern:


Again..dealer now has evidence that there is a legitimate noise concern. Car was returned back to me with most if not all the creaking noise gone other than normal, acceptable creaking.

Example 3:
A sore topic. Speaker rattle/buzzing concerns. Everyone has their own taste in music and listens to it at their level of comfort in terms of volume and tone. In this case it helps to provide the dealer the exact details when the concerns are apparent. For me it was at less than factory settings this happens.


To be honest it was probably the fact that I listen to Kanye West that my car didn't appreciate. LOL. Joking aside, you can hear a clear rattling and I documented the settings the rattling occurred. Again, dealer now has evidence of a legitimate concern. Some foam tape and and new fastners and I was on my way!

In closing, dealers are here to help you. If they are having trouble at the dealer level, they call in the engineers who often will get headquarters involved if necessary. The camera can capture details that you might not remember when describing your concern to the dealer. If you decided to go that route...safety first! Make sure that this won't distract you from obeying the laws of the road, aware of your surroundings, etc. I can't guarantee that doing all this will necessarily help get your car fixed, but in my case(s)..it did.

 

I've often wondered why other people don't document their issues properly. In this day and age with phones, cameras and GoPros its a simple process.

 

Great tips, thanks! (and I like that one Kanye song too!)

 

Here's my advice of how to have the best experience with your dealer during warranty issues:

There's like 30 computers in this car, so sometimes issues happen that don't trigger a code in the main computer, and service techs are meant to do things by the book, and not accrue any undo labor or maintenance costs that would not be paid back by Jaguar HQ. So there's not much incentive to go "above and beyond" in trying to diagnose a warranty issue. If you have a random check engine light, or some form of issue, write down the date and exact mileage of the event... This will give the people enough to go on such that they can check other computers for logged events that missed the main one. For example, I had a flashing check engine light that would turn off with the car, sort of like a "reboot" that would fix the immediate problem, but it would invariably return.

I got enough data of mileage and dates that I was able to give it to the tech, they checked the other computers, and figured out the problem.

**The recorded video and sounds weren't enough to trigger this research under warranty**, but the video and info I provided with precise mileage and event dates was more than enough, and my dealer went above and beyond in finding the issue.

I know it sounds like a cop out, but it's far more complex than finding a "mechanic you trust", as much as profit/loss warranty complexity from the HQ and dealer, etc.

But what's more important than anything is patience, kindness, and empathy. Almost every dealer is short handed, and almost every tech or rep is overworked. What's more, they deal with entitled, privileged, ignorant, rude people all the time, so if you can find a way to be deferential, patient, kind, and understanding, they are going to work a lot harder for you, and enjoy your "problem", vs all the other people.

So... document everything, take videos, pics, log event dates and mileage, and be patient and kind. That's how to have a great warranty experience.

Thanks to WhiteTardis for amassing a helpful thread that should obviously be stickied. This is important info for anyone!

 

I'll add that whenever I take my cars for service, they are always accompanied by donuts or bagels. Never hurts to feed the techs.

 

Great Post WhiteTardis and Uncle Fishbits, you nailed it!

The thing is, entitled People will never have any empathy for those that build or fix Cars simply because they’ve never actually made or fixed anything, they couldn’t even find the Hood Latch. They are the People who think that their Car was made by little Elves up in the North Pole and they suddenly appear on the Showroom Floor.

Since 2013 I have bought three New RR Sports and an F-Type from my local Dealer and their service has been nothing but outstanding, I’ve got to know everyone there, I’ve seen how hard they work. But then again, I guess my empathy comes from having spent a lot of years in Car manufacturing so I know just how hard it is. That’s why I made it clear to my service Advisor that I didn’t care that the F-Type was there for 3 Days for its annual service and new Tires.

After all, I couldn’t do it myself.

 

I thankfully have had exemplary service from my dealer they are first class and haven't needed to have evidence

 

That’s great, but I think WhiteTardis was saying that it helps the Techs Troubleshoot a problem faster if you can show them a Video like the ones he posted because sometimes a problem can’t be replicated in the Service Bay. It saves them a lot of time.

 

Just understanding the dynamic of dealer work vs warranty repayment from global HQ is profoundly confusing. It's still a business that has to make sense... I also get where limitations happen, and things that are "out of their control". I've not really gotten that type of conversation, but man... it's not like the old days!

 

I get discount at my Maserati dealer from service manager but always bring bagels for everyone as a thank you.But even with discount much more expensive than Jag.

 

I use the Routeplanner Incontrol App that worked fine UNTIL my Samsung S10 phone updated to Android v10. The routeplanner incontrol app is since then after startup waiting for synchronisation with my vehicle and doens't work anymore.
I saw that the app is last updated in 2017!!
Does anybody else have this problem too?