Let me start with the statement that this is my personal experience. Not bashing JLR. In fact, I do believe that LR capabilities are equal to none (almost) …when it works.

So, what is this about? The Land Rover much touted Road Side Assistance. Let me tell you – there is none.

What happened? over the week end I was far from home, like 1200 miles far. I got the dreaded CEL light. No big deal, it can happen to any vehicle. As the vehicle is under 10 k miles, and I “have” road side assistance, I called the number on the app. The operator for the road side assistance is a 3rd party. OK, many other manufacturers do it the same way. I asked the Road Side assistance rep. if they can tow me up and drive me to JLR shop. This being on a Saturday afternoon, they were all closed, and none in a 100 miles distance. I was then told that they would take me “somewhere” of my choice for an upfront fee of 125$ and no more than 100 miles, and thereafter 5$ / mile.

I said… ok. Can you take me out of state (Atlanta) where I could wait over the week-end and see a dealer on Monday?

I was told, no. “We don’t travel out of state” ( I was in a different state at this point).

Still thinking that I was talking to someone that represents JLR, I asked if there is a carrier partner, or someone else that would do it. They told me that only the dealership where I bought the vehicle can decide that, after they call JLR N.A. and get an approval (!!!) – so I would have to call the dealer myself.

Dealer had no idea, never heard of such thing. And probably true.

Needless to say, I had to do my own arrangements in the end.

This morning I called JLR N.A. and explained the situation. I was very politely told that “…it is not us, we contract this to a 3rd party” and that I will need to call them to solve this matter - …”is there anything else I can help you with?”

So, basically if you expect any kind of help while you may be suck on the side of the road, then – don’t. Not from JLR at least. Get AAA, or anyone else. Even your phone provider will be better, but not JLR.

Before LRs I had Mercedes. That vehicle was a never dull moment. Every month a new defect. Full of surprises. However, the customer service was out of this world when I got stuck on I75. They really went above and beyond. Home delivered for 400 miles and they waived all the charges.

Whomever said that JLR was a boutique car, was so right.

 

Not true about mbrace. They always call a third party yet couldn't find my vehicle even if it has mbrace locator. Took a long two hours and couldn't locate my vehicle even if I had full price premier mbrace. Cadillac on the other hand with OnStar took only less than 30 minutes in all times my Escalade hybrid ran out of fuel because I was hypermiling it.

 

I feel that there is a great trend emerging and that is the service part of equations. Nowadays, many companies will outsource their service because it is cheaper overall not to have systems in place for a small percentage of issues. The outsourcing has worked but we now live in a world where the service industry is fed up. The good ones are leaving because for a multitude of reasons. The bad ones are staying because they are too lazy to do something else. The main companies don't have options now and figure the goal is to suck less than the other company. First world problems but problems still.

 

That sucks and is a bummer to hear, although not surprising whatsoever. The last Land Rover Assist person who came to my house (then in Nashville) backed into my Range Rover Sport when he was turning around in the driveway.

I heard a story where a UK resident with a Rolls Royce was driving out in the middle of nowhere, anyway the car broke down (faulty axle) and they had it towed to a nearby import indy garage. Which of course had no way of working on or even really evaluating a new 400K Cullinan or whatever it was. Same day, Rolls Royce flies new components, a kit of tools and a company technician to the location in Spain in a helicopter -- I believe RR fixed it there on the spot. There was some reason why the family needed to stay with the car (the question people were posing was "why didn't you just chopper out" immediately).

 

That's why I have a code reader in every glove box.

Last time this happened was in the barren hellscape between Gainesville and Tallahassee on a Saturday night.

In a Jag.

Let me paint that sad picture.



Pretty sure the out of business El Jaguar restaurant 3 hours out wasn't going to help.

Light came on and the code reader said it was just a dirty sensor. Keep on keepin on.

 

Like, Allegedly said, “keep on keepin’ on”. The presence of a CEL shouldn’t automatically indicate a tow is needed. Could be something as simple as a loose or bad gas cap. Sometimes there is a hiccup in the on-board diagnostics which goes away the next time you start it. I’ve had it happen in previous vehicles where it illuminates, then goes out in an hour, or a day. The system is constantly digesting and calibrating info fed from all those sensors, and sometimes a bad reading gives a signal to the ECU, only to change its values after a time, and the CEL goes out. I usually wait for a period, and if it persists then I’ll seek service. I believe these vehicles will portray a specific message if it is unsafe to continue or it will result in engine or transmission damage. What do the rest of the members do when you see a CEL?

 

I had my CEL come on while driving home from a Midwest to West Coast road-trip loaded with family and a travel trailer. It wasn’t flashing so I assumed it was bad gas from the middle of nowhere gas station we stopped at in the middle of the night. From what I read in the manual the CEL was an emissions issue. We pressed on, it went out after our next fill up.

 

Mine stalled, wouldn't start until I got out locked the doors then got back in and it eventually restarted but CEL was then lit. Brought it in immediately and they replaced code on one of the modules. This is all new to me, I bought a new Camry followed by a VW diesel sportwagen followed by two new Audis back to back Q3 & Q5, never had one stall or throw a CEL that I can recall over the entire course of ownership. lol So to me stalling and CELs are absolutely unheard of with new vehicles but maybe LR owners are much more tolerant and half-expect problems. I too heard all of the rumors about unreliability and electrical gremlins, I do have to say my personal experience has shown that's not all just BS either and JLR need to do better. I like what they build but there's really no excuse for stuff like that with brand new cars. I think a lot of people are much too forgiving and good service can make up for a lot. To hear about bad service is extremely disappointing. I would have to think twice before buying another with the way the OP was treated in this case. My local JLR dealership has been fine so far, I really can't complain about them. My first scheduled maintenance visit is on the 17th, we'll see how it goes.

 

any suggestions on what code reader to purchase? What is everyone using?

 

I have 2 of these. Probably not exactly the same as the current model but BAFX is a reputable brand.

​​​​​​I've used 3 different apps to connect over the years and Torque Lite (free) is very solid although not the prettiest UI.

Some are Android only so check that before you buy.
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