Woodward says that before it will consider his claim, JLR insists his car is first investigated by one of its dealers and the fault diagnosed at a cost to him of £216.
However, he says his local dealership has told him the earliest it can inspect his F-Pace is five weeks. If the motor is found to be at fault, the dealer cannot tell him when the new steering rack will be delivered.
“It’s frustrating enough that the dealership requires me to wait five weeks to diagnose the fault when JLR staff must have data on hundreds of recently failed steering racks but now they tell me they don’t know when a replacement rack will be available,” he says.
“I suspect that the demand for replacement racks has exacerbated the firm’s parts supply problems. Fortunately, I’ve been told that if the dealer does diagnose the electric motor as being at fault, I will be provided with a courtesy car while I await the replacement parts.”
JLR declined to comment on Woodward’s case until his vehicle has been inspected but a spokesperson told Autocar that the firm ‘thoroughly reviews every claim regarding an alleged vehicle fault’.
They added that regarding the steering issue, the company is working with the DVSA. This suggests that should the organisation consider it necessary, the steering issue might be escalated to the status of a vehicle safety recall.
