Despite being renowned for its off-roading capabilities, my luxury SUV needs a tow truck to go anywhere on most days.
Hi,
This is to narrate the unexpected ordeal that I have been encountering with a Range Rover Evoque. Range rovers are known for their go-anywhere capabilities, but mine needs a tow truck to go anywhere on most days. The longest drives the car has embarked upon is whilst on the tow trucks.
This has turned out to be the most unreliable car that we have owned to date.
I must also admit that it’s a charm to drive when it occasionally does and the cabin feels a luxurious one be in as compared to Mercedes and BMW. We have limited the usage of this car for the fear of being stranded in the middle of the road on long drives. Needless to say, it was not the kind of experience anyone would look for.
The car was bought for the safe journey of my ageing parents. I’m an NRI living in Dubai. The only plus point in having bought this car is befriending the local tow truck guys who embark to our home without wasting time to pick up the calls. We currently use the car for going to stores within a 30 km of radius. The service centre is a good 150 km from our home
Car in question: Range Rover Evoque HSE Dynamic (purchased in November 2019. Current ODO reading: 9000 km)
Repeated faults one after another, two of which happened immediately after delivery from the service centre.
- The first episode of fault happened on 09 September 2020 and was related to headlamp failure and fogging of lights which were corrected
- The second was on 14 October 2020, when the car failed to start and was hence towed to the service centre, and subsequently diagnosed to have a fuel pump failure which was replaced under warranty
- The third was a mere 22 km (on 20 October 2020) of taking delivery from the service centre after the correction of the aforementioned complaint. The fault was found to be with the timing belt and related pulleys
- The fourth was within 50 km (on 30 October 2020) of taking delivery of the car after rectification of the second complaint. The fault seems to be with the gearbox and the headlight cluster
- The fifth was on 23 February 2022 when the car was towed to the dealership for “system failure” which turned out to be crankshaft pulley failure and fuel supply failure
Well that boils down to 5 faults including an engine belt fault within 9000 km which is unacceptable even the farthest stretch of the imagination
Point stressed: The car is outright unreliable, to say the least
It’s a petrol car and I wonder if the issues are related to the fuel quality in our country. A root cause for the complaints has not been identified IMHO
We requested them to replace the lemon or give an additional warranty of up to 7 years: thereby alleviating some of the concerns. JLR has outright refused the request and offered a refund for the 3 and 4-year warranty payments. However, I’m looking for stress-free ownership rather than getting a couple of lakhs as a refund.
The car is already in additional warranty up till 5 years
An alternative option given to them was to provide in writing that it’s normal a for Range rover to get frequently towed for failures
JLR had promised to get back to us after the 4th towing episode with a feasible plan but they never did and I find it completely unprofessional from a firm as big. I guess this partly explains their sales figures
Retrospectively I feel that a JLR should be bought only by film stars or Binamis who could work a way around addressing the faults and should not be bought just because one can afford one
A car is more than just a machine: its an emotion, an aspiration and this should be acknowledged
Please advise on the further way ahead
Thank You!
Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:
Unbelievable. And the simpler Evoque is supposedly the more reliable Land / Range Rover. It’s the poor reliability, repeat problems, slow after-sales and long wait periods for parts that has ruined the brand’s reputation in India. Just see how many people are moving over to other luxury marques…even Maybachs at the higher end.
Even if the vehicle is repaired for free under warranty coverage, there is still the time wasted, agony caused by problems, followups, having a backup car etc.
Here’s what BHPian redohabitat had to say on the matter:
Imagine spending close to a crore rupees and getting a lemon, you don’t have to imagine very hard, just buy a Land Rover / Jaguar product I wish the owner files a consumer court case, this is sheer fraud.
PS: Cases like these make people buy the overpriced Fortuner with their eyes closed such situations are almost unheard of in a Toyota product. Ask me, I bought a 16-year-old Landcruiser and then drove it for 10 years without a single breakdown. Just saving money for my next Landcruiser now!
Here’s what BHPian RohaNN_kWh had to say on the matter:
Woahh, I just can’t imagine what one goes through after facing such an ordeal and spending that amount of money on a premium car/brand.
We are in strong need of lemon laws in India!! this car easily qualifies to be a proper lemon and JLR should be ashamed of this kind of customer service, surprising that they have the audacity to negotiate a warranty refund with the customer instead of offering a viable solution or replacing the lemon.
At this point, asking for a 7-year warranty seems like a bargain from the customer’s end.
Also, I am pretty sure there are shipping methods that don’t take a whole month to reach any corner of the planet for whatsoever product, even if that includes customs clearance.
Keyword: Frustrating Evoque ownership: Gearbox, fuel pump, crank pulley failures