I am wondering if I have any recourse with JLR. 2014 v6 with 44k miles, out of warranty.
Leaking coolant. Took to an independent shop, replaced water pump. Then they said there are leaks elsewhere, which I suspected. Basically, most of the plastic coolant lines are leaking. He called all the US dealerships, parts are on a 14 day min back-order due to demand.
1. Do I have any recourse? (It is only costing me $1,300)
2. Are the new coolant lines upgraded from the original?

On a good note, they are taking really good care of the hood (bonnet). They placed it in an office over a couple of leather sofas.

 

Really? I just can't imagine this being necessary...coolant hose is generally pretty tough stuff(!)? Define 'leaking'? Did they try tightening clamps?

 

The OP mentioned plastic so I dont think its an hose issue but I do wonder if the garage is taking them for a ride

 

I perhaps mis-assumed that by 'plastic' the OP meant 'hose', but yeah to the ride...

 

I asked him for a list of the parts being replaced. I know one of them is a large plastic tube and some other lines going under the supercharger.

 

To your original question, no, I don't think you have a case back to JLR. You might have gotten some concession if the repair were happening at the dealer -- of course, your $1,300 bill might have a different starting point. As to whether "all" of your lines need to be replaced, I'm cautious. It's not a new engine design and it's not a problem we've been hearing about. Old coolant can do a job on plastics, but you're not out of range to JLR's service interval.

It's obviously not practical to shop the repair around at this point - but, at a minimum, tell the shop to double check each line to make sure it's needed, and that you need the old parts to push back on JLR. You may/may not actually go down that path, but the request lets the shop know you're willing to cause a fuss, while giving them an out if they're stretching the truth and want to back off a bit vs the risk of getting exposed.

 

Get a second opinion as, to me, it sounds like you are being taken. Why did they remove the bonnet in the first place?

 

I heard similar horror stories on XKR (that share engine with F-type) forum. There are upgraded parts that are more durable.

Ask there, F-types are too new. You are likely the first one to go through this.

 

You have a low mileage car thats just outside of warranty. Depending on the relationship you have with your local dealer, you can ask for "goodwill" assistance.

 

I would get them to put it all back together as it is and take it to a dealer, its your only chance if you want anything back out of warranty, that is, if there really is an issue?

 

I had my water pump replaced under warranty but after spirited runs or heavy traffic I can still sniff some coolant. However, I’ve been keeping an eye on the coolant level and it still full on the same level. In my case, I doubt any service tech would get in a traffic jam for 45 minutes or drive the car really fast to diagnose the problem. I’ll continue to keep an eye on the coolant level.

 

Telecom, did you ever find out where the leak was coming from?

I ask because mine suddenly sprung a leak this morning, "low coolant" message out of nowhere, small pools of coolant on the top/front of the SC, and the level in the expansion tank was about 1.75 litres below the Max mark, so some coolant left in the tank but not a helluva lot. It was full to the Max mark a few days ago when last I checked.
Topped up, went for a short run to buy more coolant and water, and the "low coolant" message popped up again after only a couple of miles.
Got back home and the level had dropped to the same as before, about 1.75 litres down.
Engine temps never budged though, constant at half way on the gauge.
It seems as though it's losing 1.75 litres real fast and then it stops losing any, maybe because of the pressure drop? See my "brainwave" idea below.
Seven weeks ago when I was having the larger crank pulley installed (long story, wrong pulley, now the correct pulley is on) the mechanic called me over and showed me a small coolant leak from the thin plastic tube front and top of the engine, above the cross-over pipe. It had become brittle with age and heat cycles and when he took it off it was like a piece of uncooked spaghetti, the tiniest bit of pressure and it snapped into little pieces. He cobbled up a replacement pipe from bits in the workshop and all seemed OK.
Now I'm not so sure, the new much worse leak could be coming from the right hand end of that new pipe (looking from the front of the engine bay) as it is damp underneath on that end, or it could be the dreaded cross-over pipe failure, or any one or more of a number of places/causes. Despite an hour or two of poking around the area with a torch etc I can't tell for sure where the leak is coming from.
I have borrowed one of your pics above and added a couple of very badly drawn arrows pointing to the small pipe/tube in question:



After all that, if it is the dreaded plastic cross-over pipe failure, has anyone DIY replaced one on an F-Type V6 and if so any hints or tips? Looking at it it doesn't seem all that hard to replace with nothing really in the way (such as the SC), but I would like some advice before I try to tackle it myself.

Brainwave (maybe)!
It makes sense to me that the leak is from that new cobbled up tube/pipe, as it is part of the system for the expansion tank and the hose it connects to is right up high on the tank. So when driving and the system is fully pressurised coolant flows out of that tube on the top of the expansion tank, but once the level in the expansion tank drops below a certain level (in this case 1.75 litres below max) there is not enough combination of fluid level and pressure to push any more fluid out of that tube and hence the leak stops (and the car does not overheat).
Does that sound feasible to the tech gurus on here?
I might just go and try a little experiment - run the engine with the bonnet open and see if I can feel or see any leak from that tube, especially the right hand end.

 

I wouldn't consider myself a tech guru, nevertheless if you've lost 1.75L in a short time I would expect refilling to maximum and running the engine with the car stationary would be a good way to establish the source of the leak.

 

Yep, that worked.
Topped the expansion tank right up, started up the car, wiggled the suspect hose/pipe/tube a little, and suddenly coolant started pissing out of the right hand end.
Shut it down, cleaned up the area, and immediately saw that the outer edge of the clamp on the right hand end of that tube had cut into the tube and caused it to split about one third the way around the circumference.
It's a clamp very much like this: 8mm-10mm Mini Hose Clips Stainless Steel - Fuel Pipe Tube Clamps x10 | eBay
Obviously not a standard part, it's just what the mechanic used to attach each end of the MacGuyvered replacement tube.
It was a bear to get that clamp off, but once off I could see the full extent of the split. I've bodged up a temporary repair for now with silicon sealant and electrical tape, but now I can't get that clamp back on anywhere near tight enough, so I'm off down to the auto parts store to get a replacement clamp, this time a "normal" hose clamp.

At best that will still result in a temporary fix until I can get a proper replacement tube, but for the life of me I can't figure out which part number it is.

Well at least there is some good news - it should be a cheap and simple fix and not a messy expensive one.

 

Watching. I also have a hidden coolant leak issue.

 

Success!
Well at least as regards a temporary fix.
The first try using silicon sealant, electrical tape and the existing clamp was an abject failure, there was no way that damn clamp was going back on anything other than useless loose. Without a tight clamp the split in the hose just opened up again, so back to square one.
Tried more sealant, various types of tape and that useless clamp but all a complete waste of time.
I just needed a good enough fix to be able to drive 3 miles to the auto parts store to get a new hose clamp and 3 miles back without catastrophic loss of coolant.
Brainwave time.
Long story short, what worked beautifully was a good slathering of silicone sealant over and around the split, a double round of electrical tape over that, a single round of Velcro (the "soft" side) over that, then a medium size zip tie placed right over the split and pulled RFT.
Let that all sit for two hours to give time for the silicon to cure, then idled the car for 15 minutes until it was good and hot and not a hint of a drip!
Drove to the auto parts store and back, no warning message, got back home and checked, no sign of any drips or leaks and the coolant level in the expansion tank hadn't dropped at all.
So it's all good for now and I didn't bother (yet) fitting one of the hose clamps I bought at the auto parts store, but obviously I still need a proper and more permanent fix, which means one or more new OEM hoses/tubes, which I am on the hunt for.
In the meantime I have added hose clamps, velcro and zip ties to my rear cubby tool kit (under the hatch), plus a 5 litre container of ready to go coolant and a funnel in the hatch. Those last two will slide around a bit, but better than a cooked engine!

 

https://www.xportautoparts.com/oem-p...bC12OC1nYXM%3D

Seems too cheap tho?

 

Yep, that's it!
It least the smaller bit running off the front left.
At that price I may as well get the whole thing.

Update - I just bought this part (the whole thing right through to the expansion tank) from Britcar, a whopping $31.37 AU so very cheap, now to discover the postage cost!

 

Considering as cheap as it is and the freight cost, might be best to just get it from the dealer. (Though you may be dealing with the same taxes as you suffer on whole cars)

 

That would make sense except that my local dealer is hopeless.
They take an eternity to get parts (always have to come from the warehouse in Sydney or from the UK), I have ordered parts from them before and never got a response let alone the parts, and it is quicker to get them from a UK supplier like Britcar despite the 5-20 days postage time (let alone much cheaper!). For these reasons and more I gave up on the local dealer years ago, and the next closest dealer is over 700 km away!