The recall of 170,000 SUVs or slightly more initiated by the British automaker (owned by the Indian Tata) Jaguar Land Rover is not an absolute record, but it will make history because it is the largest ever carried out by the off-road brand. At the root of it all is a tiny chip.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE JAGUAR LAND ROVER MODEL RECALL
According to documents published by the American federal road safety agency, the problem is related to a microchip in the DC-DC converter of the 48V hybrid system that can malfunction. If it stops working properly, the dashboard will display the warning “Stop Safely Electrical Fault Detected” and the 12V system will begin to lose power.
There is also, it reads, the possibility that the car shifts into neutral, shows a transmission error, and stops. The battery power loss could prevent it from powering essential systems, such as external lights, which could therefore stop working, increasing the risk of collision if stopped roadside at night or in critical visibility conditions.
THE MODELS INVOLVED
To date, nearly 6,000 interventions related to the replacement of the DC-DC converter have been recorded, but without accidents or injuries. The affected models are the E-Pace (2021-2022) and the I-Pace (2021-2024). For Land Rover, the list is longer and includes Defender (2020-2024), Discovery (2021-2024), Discovery Sport (2020), Range Rover (2020-2024), Range Rover Sport (2019-2024), Range Rover Evoque (2020-2023), and Range Rover Velar (2021-2024).
A NEW SETBACK
This is a new headache for the British brand, which is still trying to restart after last year a hacker attack caused a blackout that paralyzed all plants from Great Britain to India, up to the Chinese hubs, cascading down to suppliers as well, forcing the main English automaker to seek help from the government of Her Majesty as guarantor to cope with the resulting financial shock.
