Driving Style – a Jaguar Land Rover Defence?

If you’ve bought a 2014 – 2019 model Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Discovery Sport or Jaguar E-pace, fitted with the Ingenium engine, you’ve likely heard about the DPF and oil dilution issues.

On the other hand, you may have experienced the problems yourself and sought recourse from a Land Rover dealer or the manufacturer where to your consternation and surprise, you, or rather your driving style, has been cited as the cause of DPF needing replacement or worse.

Like the majority of owners of affected Land Rovers and Jaguars, you’d be excused from wondering what a suitable driving style for this mass-produced car is, or how all drivers of these vehicles can have the same driving style.

More importantly, you may wonder why the Land Rover dealer did not go through all the ‘suitable’ driving styles with you to ascertain whether your style is the right style, before you bought the car.

What they mean, of course, is that it is your usage of the car which is unsuitable, in that it is apparently not suitable for “stop start” driving, urban driving, low mileage and infrequent use, despite the vast majority being sold for exactly this purpose.

This being the case, by definition, the cars are not fit for the purpose “goods of this type are usually supplied” as per s9(3) (a) Consumer Rights Act 2015. It is essential to stay up-to-date with your car sales laws.

But more than this, the manufacturer and by extension Jaguar Land Rover dealers and their preferred finance companies are engaging in a wholesale misleading practice and an out and out misrepresentation.

This DPF oil dilution problem is well known to them and has been for a number of years, as have the long-term effects, which start with premature servicing and DPF replacement and can extend to turbo failure and engine failure.

What’s worse, is that the gradual degradation leads to most of the big problems occurring outside the manufacturer’s three-year warranty, leaving customers to pick up the bill, or a large part of it.

As a result, tactically, dealers and the manufacturer will try to keep customers sweet to a point all the time the car’s in warranty, but the minute it expires so does the goodwill. If you’re experiencing issues with your Land Rover or Jaguar and feel that the dealer or manufacturer is not providing adequate support, it’s important to know your legal rights and options for dispute resolution. You can learn more about this topic in our resources on dispute resolution in the motor industry.

The DPF/oil dilution is, by the manufacturer’s own admission, related to the vehicle architecture, not the driver and not the driving style; it can’t be cured, but only managed.

If you’ve got a problem with a 2014 – 2019 model Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Discovery Sport or Jaguar E-pace, fitted with the Ingenium engine, call 0333 700 7676 for initial free advice.