Laguna Hills, CA – Aug. 28, 2019 – A small-scale recall is underway at Jaguar Land Rover North America, as a few dozen 2018 E-Pace models may contain compromised brake systems that could lead to leakages in brake fluid. Braking system failure could dramatically increase the risk of an accident and resulting injury.
Motorists affected by this recall should have already received their notifications from the automaker. If you think you may be affected by the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace recall but aren’t certain, contact your dealer.
The Defect
According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 41 2018 Jaguar E-Pace crossover sport utility vehicles are under recall notice because certain automobiles may contain installed brake brace brackets that are not in line with the manufacturer’s design specifications. As a result, the poor fitting may allow the front brake hoses to come into contact with the tires, which increases the chances that brake fuel may leak out.
Without the proper amount of lubrication fluid, the brakes may increase chafing and take longer for the vehicle to come to a complete stop when the operator engages the pedal. This could potentially result in a crash and occurrence of injury.
Timeline of Events
This problem first came to light back in December 2017, when Jaguar’s product safety and compliance committee was alerted to the issue, which affected shipment of the models to dealerships. This forced Jaguar to reach out to dealers later that month, advising them to cease and desist selling any additional E-Pace vehicles, whose VINs all fell within a certain range.
Safety testing was carried out two months later to see what, if any, consequences resulted from motorists using models with the improper brake brace brackets. The results showed that in a worst-case scenario, the brake flexi hose could come into contact with the tires when the full steering lock was applied. Jaguar’s recall determination committee decided in February that the potential for this issue to occur was high enough to warrant a recall, and subsequently informed NHTSA.
No accidents, fires or injuries related to the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace recall have been reported to either the NHTSA or the automaker.
There haven’t been too many Jaguar Land Rover safety recalls over the past year, but several affect more recently built models. For example, approximately 8,200 2018 Discovery Sport SUV were pulled from the marketplace in the early portion of the same year over defective fuel rail assemblies. The automaker determined that the offending end caps may not seal properly. A resultant leak could ultimately lead to an engine fire.
Meanwhile, Jaguar also recalled 3,083 2019-2020 I-Pace SUVs for potentially flawed regenerative brakes. A system failure would increase the amount of time needed for the vehicle to slow down once the brake pedal is engaged. Owners began to be informed of this issue by first-class mail July 1.
The Solution
Those that have received an alert pertaining to the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace recall are strongly urged to take their automobile to an area dealership so the brake flexi hose bracket can be more closely examined. If the problem exists, the issue will be corrected free of charge.
For more information on this or any other vehicle safety recall, visit MotorSafety.org.