I recently took delivery of a CPO’d 2017 F-TYPE. 23000 miles. Although I wasn’t actively looking to buy one, the build spec on this unit caught my attention as I’ve never seen one spec’d out this way and Chase Financial gave me 1.9% financing for 6 years.

For those of you that know my background and what I did for JLRNA, I was comfortable finally purchasing an F-TYPE vs leasing, as I encountered very few issues with F-TYPEs vs the rest of the JLR line up.

I took her home on Saturday afternoon 1/28/2021. On the drive home, the “SOS Limited Functionality” warning light would intermittently light up. That evening, the “CEL” came on as the vehicle exhibited a fluctuating idle for about 30 seconds before settling back down to regular idle. As it was a little chilly that evening, I turned on the heated steering wheel and noticed the wheel not warming up. As it got darker and the headlights turned on, I noticed the interior ambient lighting not turning on. I also noticed an intermittent growling/howling noise coming from the engine.

On Sunday morning when I went into the garage, I noticed that the car had not gone to “sleep”. On JLR cars, this is evident by the hazard flasher switch and doorlock indicator lights staying illuminated after shut down. This is usually caused by the battery control module and on a properly functioning car, this is rectified by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. I proceeded to do that and noticed that car went to sleep properly afterwards and thought nothing more of it.

On Monday (2/1/2021) morning, I dropped off the car at a dealer that is closer to me. Keep in mind that I’ve only had the car for about 36 hours tops. I notified the selling dealer of the issues. On Tuesday (2/15/2021) I was notified the car was ready. This is two weeks off the road into 36 hours of ownership. The repairs included replacing the steering wheel(addressed the wheel not heating up), securing a loose cable on the SOS module(addressed the “SOS Limited Functionality” light), reflashing the ECU to the most current version(addressed the CEL and erratic idle), replacing a faulty CJB (to address the ambient lighting not working) and the entire pulley system and serpentine belt replaced to address the howling/growling. As I had reset the battery control module over the weekend, the dealer couldn’t find an issue as to why the car wasn’t going to sleep.

On Wednesday 2/16/2021, I noticed the engine making a rattling/buzzing noise whenever the gas pedal was pressed. A good friend of mine used to be a field engineer at JLR and he listened to it and stated it sounded like the high pressure fuel pumps and that there was a service bulletin addressing this. Throughout the week, the car began exhibiting the symptoms of not going to sleep. By the weekend of 2/20/2021(this past Saturday) the car began displaying “Low Battery- Start Engine”. This is despite driving the car everyday so I knew that there was a parasitic draw somewhere in the electrical system.

On Monday 2/22/2021, I dropped off the car at the dealer to address the potential high pressure fuel pump noise, the electrical system issue and the fuel filler neck issue as I was not able to get gas in the car without the gas pump nozzle constantly clicking off (a known issue and a service bulletin)

Which leads to today. I’m on standby to get a diagnosis. The selling dealer has reached out to me and offered to unwind my deal and for me to walk away from the car. Although I’m tempted, the financing and build spec on this car truly made it a unicorn. It should be noted that this car has an aftermarket GPS tracker installed (think LoJack). I've instructed the dealer to pull it out if it was the cause of the car not going to sleep and causing the parasitic draw. This was on the car before my purchase. Also, I have the factory warranty and CPO warranty. My initial thoughts were why didn't the previous owner address these issues? The car was came from an area known to be an affluent retirement community. Perhaps they didn't notice.

Thoughts?

 

If it were me, I'd turn it back in and walk away. Just too many things going wrong.

Out of curiosity, what is unique about the build?

 

Its a base fully spec'd out. Polaris White, full vision pack, leather pack, performance seats, red seat belts, black interior with red stitching.

 

I would definitely return it. Polaris White/Vision/red stitching is one of the most popular combos I see for R/SVRs so far. You will 100% find another one. Funny enough, I am not really interested in white and it seems all best value ones are in white or black for whatever reason.

 

Nobody can answer that question for you. It's hard to not take advantage of the dealer's offer, either way you might regret the decision. I will tell you my door handle caused a parasitic draw and prevented my car from going to sleep.

 

All those odd problems ... sure it wasn't flooded at some point?

 

If it's my choice, I'd ask my self which would I regret more in a few months from now:
Not owning this specific car? Or not taking the opportunity to return the car at no cost if it turned out to be a continuing problem?
The answer is easy for me.

 

I would run, not walk, away. Seriously.

 

Sounds a bit like my new $12K Thermador stove!!
After various lights and burners not working correctly and 3 failed repair attempts by a totally worthless repair guy, they just junked it (literally!!).
They brought in a brand new unit and no problems since.
Go for the cash back. Do not hesitate. They may change their mind!

 

I thought, damn that's a lot for a stove, but then I remembered the La Cornue range and hood the wife had installed last year.

I'd be inclined to walk away from the car unless you're certain of no prior water damage, etc.

 

I'd look at it this way. If you continue to have problems, you'll be aggravated at the problems and mad at yourself for not getting out when you could. A double whammy. I'd return it. But it's your decision and you'll have to live with it.

 

My memory is bad, but I believe I also had the CEL thing as well as SOS Limited Functionality warnings, and again.... knock this down all you smarties, but that was denoting a loss of the autonomous features on my 2019, which included lane departure, etc. Not sure that was on a 2017, but they replaced a small camera in the driver side rear view mirror, and voila... all fixed. It was just a camera that would do the math on lane departure warning, blind spot, etc.

But there's way more going on, it sounds like.

 

I will say I am proud to have been part of a $200M resort project with a marquee restaurant that installed a custom $200K Molteni
https://www.molteni.com/
The day it arrived, construction realized it wouldn't fit into the finished kitchen doors, so legit in the rain and mud took a Sawzall and did what needed to be done.
Then, when Michelin starred preferences in our area got simpler, they redid the chef, the menu, and sadly 10 years later ripped out the stove and junked it, for real. I sorta hope somebody salvaged some part of it. ugh.

 

I completely understand the desire to keep her, but speaking from experience, even with the warranties, she may be in the shop more than your care. Personally, even though I love my baby, I would take the offer to "unwind," and look for her replacement.

 

You all have valid points and I'm looking at this from a pragmatic view:

Low Battery Issue and car not going to sleep:
-Suspect aftermarket GPS module
-Currently still being diagnosed

Heated Steering Wheel:
-One of the pins in the wiring harness was crushed. Probably during installation at the factory. Previous owner probably never noticed it as the car came from the desert part of Southern California

Fuel Filler Neck:
- This is a known issue across most JLR cars; not just to the F-TYPE and there is a service bulletin addressing that and is being addressed

Noisy High Pressure Fuel Pumps
- Known issue on both AJ126 and AJ133 engines. Known issue across all JLR cars using the AJ126 and AJ133 engines and there is a service bulletin and currently being addressed

Engine growling/howling noise
-Bad idler pulley. Also a known issue and there is a service bulletin. Issue was addressed

Interior Ambient Lighting not working
- I've had this "problem" on my 2015 and 2016 F-TYPE. Both cars including the current 2017 required replacement of the CJB.

If most of these weren't service bulletin related, I would have turned the car in already.

 

Do you have this noise? Is it during idle and kinda comes and goes. I have a 17R.

Thanks
CRS

 

PM me your number; I have a video of the noise and I'll send it to you.

 

Run, don’t walk...away from this deal. Too many things going wrong here. As someone else suggested, this could well be a result of water damage.

 

I think you have been offered pretty consistent advice, but it is your call!
One thing to consider though, is what is the dealer's motivation?
Likely, the dealer either knew or perhaps found out something about the car that has motivated the buy-back offer.
This car is not a classic "lemon" in that somebody owned it and drove it for a number of years and put 22K miles on it.
So, what is the dealer going to do with the car? Fix it or junk it (dump at auction)?
Sounds to me as though the dealer will dump it.
Because if they were willing to buy it back and repair it, they would simply do the same for you.
Perhaps you can buy it back for less at auction??

 

Hey, I just heard your story on the Everyday Driver podcast! I've been wondering what your spec was since then! Let us know what you decide.