Hi folks,

Well, my '23 P530SE SWB with 3,200 miles is back in the shop; I've lost count of how many visits and loaners, but I do know we are over thirty days (in Connecticut btw).

It's had a multitude of issues: Heat Shield rattle; loose gas tank; hardware and software issues (steering wheel buttons on left working intermittently; door handles not unlocking when pressing the outer button; deployable sidesteps retracting when you step on them); deployable boards squealing when they go in and out; various trim and seat rattles around cabin (they claim that's "just how it is"; telematics have died - no remote start, unlock, etc... (vehicle is in a permanent sleep mode... ); tailgate wouldn't close; car shuts off completely when idle (not start/stop), just shuts off; brake pedal noises that others have; a terrible shake/tremor/vibration when sitting parked/idle - so bad we have to shut the car off otherwise you get nauseous.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other issues that they claim they can't reproduce at the time it's in (even though as soon as I get it back on the road, they begin again... with video and audio evidence...)

I called JLRNA when it had been in the shop at the 27 day mark, and they flat out refused a buyback (as they asked me what I wanted), because the issues I was experiencing are "quality control" issues and are not safety issues...

Any advice from someone who has recently dealt with them on lemon/buyback issues? I had a BMW a few years back that was in the shop about 45 days, and BMW had no issues taking the car back and getting me into something else.

JLRNA has said because their "HQ" is in England, and not here - they are "limited in what they can do" - I found that to be a real pile of lies - you're operating in NA, you have corporate people here to make decisions.

Out of patience, and they're out of time... do I just file lemon law? Get an attorney? Dealer has been okay - but not really advocating for me at all; and they don't seem to be able to resolve any of the issues that persist.

I would take issue with their position that these issues don't pose a safety threat. There are enough things going wrong you have to ask what other related but yet unseen issues are present in the car. Is this one of the early deliveries that we might attribute the quality issues to new-model learning curve? How is the dealer performing on fixing things?

 

Nope, this was an April 2023 Build. So disappointing, especially for the price.

Dealer has attempted to replicate and remedy -
Some replication, some remedy. Other items remain unable to be duplicated at the time it is in their hands (some issues are intermittent) and as such they cannot fix what they cannot find… which is logical.

Doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.

 

I have had experience with this. The way to get it done is to open the ticket with JLRNA but also, it's the shop foreman and the service manager who has to "approve/recommend" the buy back to JLRNA.

 

btw, sorry to hear you're dealing with these issues. sounds a lot like all the issues I've been dealing with. Though some of yours are more severe.

 

I’ve opened up a ticket with them, directly. When the dealer returns the vehicle, they close the case. Then when it goes back, I have to call and they “reopen” it, supposedly.

I’ll talk with the service director tomorrow.

Thanks- glad I’m not crazy.

Quality control or not, shouldn’t be happening.

 

I actually don't think it matters if it's a safety issue, or a non safety issue for a lemon law buyback. Just an issue that's unresolved after a certain period of time.

I had a M4 BMW cabriolet get lemon lawed in CA because the convertible top wouldn't work. They kept trying to fix it but it just wouldn't continue to work. Anyway, it was hardly a safety issue. It was lemoned because the dealer took 7 weeks to fix it, then didn't fix it. (not in CT but...). So it was a single issue on the car, that took them too long to fix.

 

I had an issue with an RR many moons ago and JLR honored the lemon law and swapped the car out for a new one. I had it towed numerous times , etc. I have not had a problem like that ever since. JLR honored the lemon law and swapped vehicles with no problem. As a result they kept a client who has purchased numerous LR over the past decades.

 

I know in CA it has to be the same issue three times before you’ll get anywhere. And it has to be well documented. My brother’s wife did it with an Audi. Kept overheating, they replaced the radiator, then all the hoses, then the entire cooling system and the ECU. Final time it went in they laid out the issue with all the paperwork to the manager and she got a new car ordered shortly after. Expect the dealer and manufacturer to push back a bit, but if it’s documented well it’ll go better, even if you need to drop the lawyer bomb on them.

 

This is my 9th, and last Rover. They’ve been awful (corporate). (I’m 37 btw, there could’ve been a ton more Rovers ). Not that they care.

 

17 years ago we had to resort to Lemon law with our Autobiography , with my experience Land Rover will fight tooth and nail, better retain a good persuasive attorney and lots of patience. Good Luck.

 

The thing I learnt years ago is always take the mechanic out for a drive with you when you drop it off so you can both experience the problems and agree there is something wrong. Avoids the “Well we couldn’t find anything” response when you get it back. More difficult if the faults are intermittent though. Also worth investing in a Code Reader so you can read off any fault codes yourself.

Hi folks,

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other issues that they claim they can't reproduce at the time it's in (even though as soon as I get it back on the road, they begin again... with video and audio evidence...)

 

I had an issue with my 2015 RR ATB that happened when the car had less than 300 miles on it. It wasn't a serious issue but extremely annoying. It had to do with the ATB "conversation assist" or whatever it was called. One of the small speakers was picking up vibrations and you would get a loud thunking mechanical sound coming coming out of the dash. Very few ATBs out at that time so they had never seen the problem. They had the RR for a couple of months on and off. Took the whole dash apart, changed side panels, etc and could not find the problem. They would say it was fixed and it would happen again on my way home. Finally someone figured it out.

We opened up a ticket with customer support after the 2nd try failed. They were not easy to deal with and you have to turn into a crazy insistent person! At the 6 month mark, the dealer had had the RR more than I had. Everything else with the RR was great. I ended up getting a free 7 year extended warranty for my troubles ... but it wasn't easy to get them to agree to giving us that.

Be careful mentioning or threatening a lawyer to customer support. Once you mention it, they will put it in the notes and no one will speak to you! If you are getting a lawyer, just do it and don't give them any warning.

You might want to read or post in some LR, MB and BMW forums to see if anyone has a great lemon law lawyer to recommend in your area. I was living in LA when I had the RR problems and a cashier at my local supermarket gave me a good lawyer recommendation as she had gone through a major ordeal with a Toyota and the lawyer won her case. I was probably making a comment about my new car being in the shop again and she volunteered the information! I didn't need to use the lawyer in the end, but it was good to have a name ready to go, just in case.

 

Jonathan - Been there done that. I have 5 Land Rover products - 4 of them being full size Range Rovers plus a 1993 Defender 110. I ordered a brand new Defender 130 - that showed up 9 month late and attempted to order another new Range Rover V8 Full Size (almost $212,000) - I canceled both orders and bought a Lexus LX. Done! The Lexus works everyday and will go 300,000 to 400,000 miles easily...hopefully.

It may not be as fast, but it works and Lexus stands behind their products. Like yourself I would have kept feeding my Range Rover addiction, but I have had enough. The service centers and private garages in Connecticut are mostly poor and overwhelmed by the "high quality" products that Range Rover puts out. I always maintained my Ranges Rovers to the highest level, but the issues they would have are just unreasonable for the price of these vehicles....and its definitely not the charm.

Even with perfect maintenance and timing guides and chains replaced on my 2011 Range Rover Superecharged – the engine guides failed again even after the dealership re-did it in 2017…new engine…pass. Now I have a beautiful lawn ornament I need to figure out what to do with.

Truthfully, demand a refund or a replacement vehicle, sell it, and buy something from a company that stands behind their products and has a clear direction of where they are going in the future. For JLR or Range Rover or Discovery or Defender or Jaguar whatever branding they are doing now – their future is hazy. The money I would have spent on future purchases with them and maintenance I will save and go on a trip instead 😊 I’m in CT too – if you need any help let me know – good luck.

 

Geez, such a bummer to hear. I think our 7 was an April build but with 2K miles on so far, fingers crossed no problems. We live in CT also so I did a quick search on state site and it plainly states that persistent quality is a qualifier (not just safety) I also like the fact they mention Lawyers aren't needed!!!

Lemon Law for CT Consumers

portal.ct.gov

.

Keep us posted.

 

Do lemon law the formal way. There is no point in directly dealing with JLR.

 

I purchased the 2024 Range Rover velar at Rae Catena dealership in Edison , New Jersey, After the first couple of months to vehicle started stalling out after coming to a stop ,it had to be towed 2 times and was in the shop for a total of four times already. It was in the shop for over 80 days and they put thousands of dollars to work into the vehicle, but it’s still stalling out. I hired a lemon lawyer. Landrover is trying to make a decision but look how long it taking !!!I will let you know what happens ,,,they should stand behind their vehicle. I feel it’s unsafe to drive being it stalls out and they can’t fix it . This has caused anxiety and depression for me . P.F.

 

Any update?

 

They Should Not Have put You through so much stress and anxiety.
You obviously purchased a lemon vehicle and they should have given you your money back by now very disappointed at Landrover and Ray Catena dealership..

 

I would research the Connecticut Lemon Law as best you can. Your paperwork should have in and out dates on it. Important to keep those as they with tell you exactly where you stand. California references the Song Beverly Act. Every state is different but appear to follow similar provisions. Our 2015 LR4 blew the oil intercooler at 3400 miles. After fixing the issue, the dealer couldn't get all the oil out of the cooling system. The car was out of my hand for more than thirty days. As soon as it crossed that thirty day threshold I instructed the GM at the dealership that I wanted a new car, no questions asked. LRNA lawyers reached out to me with an agreement, I signed. I sat down with my sales guy and we drafted up a new order. Super easy.

Fast forward to 2023, I lemoned a GMC Sierra for a crank / no start issue. I had 3 recorded video instances of the truck continuously turning over while using the remote key fob start, it would die after 15 seconds of cranking. My first request letter to GM was denied. I then received a random letter in the mail from a local attorney and he was able to recoup all of my principal, interest, and registration. He was also able get GM to pay a $20K civil penalty due to the fact that GM denied my initial request. He took his 30% cut from that. There was no money out of my pocket.

I think most successful cases would use the 30 days in dealer possession or 3 times for the same safety related defect. California also has a 18 month limit from time of purchase as new. Unfortunately your reasons aren't going to get you a new car. If the gas tank became loose 3 times or you could successfully document that your car shuts off at idle then you'd have a simple safety case, otherwise your shakes and rolls won't be a concern to them. If there is a 30 day clause in dealer possession in Connecticut, safety related or not, I would focus on that.

For those in CA, a shameless plug for my attorney with whom I'm not affiliated with. California Lemon Law Help by Top-Rated Lemon Law Attorney He was super easy to work with, called me at every step. Took about 10 months to complete the process and get a check. Good luck!

 

I am in the process now with my RR550e ATB. It has taken more than 20 calls to JLR for the lemon law buy back, 10 calls to the dealer to have my service contract refunded and countless hours dealing with Service (2 tows) since Oct. 15, 2023. Now, i am being told my buy back check will take 45 days to arrive to me. I find it interesting that Calif just passed a law with time limits for the manufacturers to comply with. Going forward, this dragging on that Land Rover has been doing will not be allowed. I was told that lawyering up with LR is a good approach and could get you civil damages, but it will take a lot longer. My case was a slam dunk, so i wanted to get it resolved faster (and get rid of the car, frankly). FWIW, I had to Lemon a Mercedes as well a few years back, and that was much faster and easier.

 

Best approach is to work with your dealer first. If the dealer is of no help, I would try LR customer service next. If the second step does not lead to a satisfactory solution, I would get a lemon attorney involved and let him handle it. Shame you have to deal with this issue and got a bad product. It happens with all car brands.

 

Question: I leased the car via car broker. The dealer is in Southern California but I live in Northern California. If I start pursuing the dealer to buyback my car, which dealer should I contact? My local dealer? Or the dealer where I leased the car from? I assume the latter right? But I assume since it’s JRL will be buying the car back, it really doesn’t matter? Since the dealer will be the middle man just handling the buyback process?

 

Doesn’t matter. You’re correct it’s JLR NA

 

States have their own lemon law triggers, there is no national standard. Some states like California have laws on the books requiring the title of any manufacturer repurchased vehicle to be branded a lemon buy back. That kills the resale once and if the vehicle is later sorted out and sold as that title brand stays, so they work hard to not allow lemons to happen...yet they still do.

Many states have an accumulated number of days down for repairs lemon trigger (not maintenance). Generally this is 30 days or less, in some states I believe that only works in the first year of ownership, not warranty term. The "cannot duplicate" excuse doesn't matter, it's the time in dealer's hands, which is why many dealers won't let you just drop off a vehicle for a warranty repair without an appointment as the minute that repair order is opened the time starts and runs until the RO is closed. If your state has a days down trigger you have a very good chance of winning, even if some of the days are at the hands of a service department asleep at the switch, parts delays, or waiting for the manufacturer to provide guidance.

Read the rules for your state and as some have said, it is on you and JLR to negotiate. Not you and the dealer. JLR approves any buyback. A dealership has no control of a buyback decision but their service records will be evaluated and service department consulted as to the repair procedure and timeline.

Best advice given by others, just get a lemon law attorney in your state to look at all of your service records and let them chime in. If it qualifies they will take your case and likely name not just the manufacture but also the dealer for negligent repair, this will get all kinds of people scrambling and pushing for resolution.

Look for an attorney who specializes in lemon law and knows the path ahead.

I've seen Porsche for example overnight an entire engine from Germany to avoid a lemon law buyback. Land Rover many years ago had a policy that if any vehicle hit three days down in California the dealer was required to complete a form and fax it LRNA (tells you how long ago...fax) so they could get with the dealer sorting a vehicle out.

I know a person who years ago got a rather expensive Porsche bicycle given to them by Porsche NA in exchange for allowing them to attempt a fix one more time after three failed attempts. A regional technical service person for Porsche came to the dealership and fixed the problem, car was repaired and the owner got a nice bike, but of course there was hassle getting there.