A group action against Jaguar Land Rover is being brought to the High Court of England and Wales, claiming the company owes its customers over £3bn due to core component defects, including with the exhaust filters, in a range of their diesel vehicles.
The consumer rights’ lawyers leading the claim allege that a number of Jaguar Land Rover models (including the Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover Discovery Sport and Jaguar E-Pace) suffer from defects that affect the car’s performance, subjecting car owners to costly repairs and potentially serious safety consequences.
The claim argues that cars with a defective DPF system need to be serviced more frequently than promised at the time of purchase, including because the system causes accelerated oil dilution leading to wear on engine components. It also results in the vehicle needing more frequent oil changes.
A full or clogged DPF can cause the car to enter “limp mode”, making it slower and less responsive, increasing the risk of an accident and putting both the owner and other road users in danger.
James Oldnall, Managing Partner at Milberg and lead litigator on the claim says: “We’ve learned that certain models are overly prone to issues with DPF. UK Drivers will be used to seeing DPF warning lights on their dashboard. This is because the DPF systems installed by Jaguar Land Rover were not fit for purpose. Customers are being required to service their vehicles more frequently and their engines are at risk of accelerated wear. We are aware of some customers who have even experienced their vehicles switching into “Limp Home Mode”, which, at best is inconvenient, at worst dangerous. Yet, Jaguar Land Rover has been happy to continue to sell these cars without disclosing the challenges drivers will meet if they buy one of the affected vehicles.”
“We want to seek redress for those who have not only been misled by Jaguar Land Rover, but have been put at risk by the company not admitting affected car models have defective components including faulty exhaust filters.”
Jaguar Land Rover is one of Britain’s most famous car manufacturers, but its cars are also among the most unreliable. What Car?’s 2022 reliability survey placed Land Rover at the bottom of the table – number 31 out of 32.
Some owners of the affected models have taken to online consumer advice forums to share their concerns and seek advice for their defective cars. When addressing the DPF fault with Jaguar Land Rover, one user says: “the dealer called me today, telling me they have replaced the DPF… although the car is under warranty, I have to pay for replacing the DPF, which is nearly 1400 pounds!” Another user claimed they had to spend thousands with no real solution stating: “the worst car buying and service that I have ever experienced for the dearest car I ever bought and lost the most money on in just over a year. A record at 21k”.
Over 500,000 new car owners may be eligible to make a claim, and hundreds of thousands of additional pre-owned car owners may also have claims. If the case is successful, claimants could receive between £3,000 – £16,000 each in compensation. Jaguar Land Rover is facing a similar case in Australia which is ongoing.
Group actions have been successfully launched against several automobile companies in recent years such as cases against Toyota and Mitsubishi in Australia. There are also a number of international cases against Volkswagen, over emissions claims, that have resulted in compensation being paid to claimants (including UK consumers) in 2022.
