Historically speaking, Land Rover has a reputation for notoriously bad quality control, which leads to incredibly unreliable vehicles. The latest example in this regard is the Discovery Sport, of which 47 units were produced for the US market with an improperly fastened lower A-pillar bolt.
A loose bolt hinders the seven-seat crossover's structural strength, increasing the risk of injury due to a body structure that doesn't perform as intended in certain crash scenarios. The right lower A-pillar bolt in question bears part number W711806S443. JLR claims that 47 vehicles with the described condition made their way to the US of A.
Said vehicles were produced for the 2024 model year between November 10, 2023 and January 23, 2024 at the Halewood plant. The vehicle assembly team became aware of this condition on February 6, 2024 through a review of vehicle build data.
Halewood immediately issued a stop-ship order, then Jaguar Land Rover issued an update-prior-to-sale order to affected retailers. One week later, the Product Safety and Compliance Committee confirmed that a number of unrepaired vehicles had been sold. The Recall Determination Committee then stepped in, calling for a safety recall.
To be notified on March 14, dealers nationwide will have the suspect A-pillar bolt checked. If loose, techs will gladly secure it to the correct torque at no charge whatsoever to affected owners. Mailed notifications will be sent on or about April 19. Owners who believe that's a bit lazy on JLR's part can take matters into their own hands by running the VIN on Jaguar Land Rover's recall website.
Photo: Land Rover
The report attached below lists two vehicle identification numbers. No recalls can be found for said VINs on the aforementioned site at the moment of reporting, which – once again – is a bit lazy on the automaker's part. In any case, if you took delivery of a 2024 model year Land Rover Discovery Sport in the past few months, please check the VIN with your local dealership.
Not long now, the Discovery Sport will switch to the EMA electric vehicle platform. It will be joined by the likes of the Range Rover Evoque and Velar, whereas larger models will use the MLA multi-energy platform. At press time, only the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport use the MLA.
In the meantime, Discovery Sport customers are presented with the so-called P250 Ingenium turbocharged inline-four engine. Pricing kicks off at $48,900 (sans destination charge) in the United States. Five-seat versions need 7.3 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour), while seven-seat versions are listed with 7.5 seconds.
Back home in the United Kingdom, the Discovery Sport can be had with a turbo diesel in two states of tune, plus the aforementioned P250 Ingenium and a plug-in hybrid. The P300e is a three-cylinder turbo affair with an electric range of 36 miles (58 kilometers) on the WLTP test cycle.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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