An unmistakably attractive sport utility vehicle with a cab-forward design influenced by the stillborn C-X75 supercar, the I-Pace has been hit with two safety recalls. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, both concern the high-voltage battery supplied by LG Energy Solution.
Safety recall number 24V-085 is for precisely 21 vehicles that had been repaired under safety recall number 23V-369. The original campaign amounted to 6,367 vehicles produced for the 2019 to 2024 model years from June 2018 through May 2023. Their original batteries could experience thermal overload, resulting in a whole lotta smoke or a fire.
Jaguar Land Rover dealer techs updated the battery energy control module with software that indicates whether the battery is susceptible to thermal overload or not. In case of any conditions that may lead to thermal overload, the software limits charging capacity to 75%, whereas the driver is instructed to service the vehicle as soon as possible.
Retailers were also told to inspect any suspect battery modules or packs. Turning our attention to 24V-085, the British automaker claims that a single dealership used a non-approved service diagnostic tool to update the battery energy control module of 21 vehicles. As a result, the software hadn't been updated. Jaguar Land Rover North America started looking into this condition after it received a thermal overload report on September 8 last year.
That's not all, though. Come October 2023, the battery software supplier informed JLR that the latest software files meant for 2019 and 2020 models contained an error. Subject vehicles were produced between September 7, 2018 and July 22, 2019 at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria.
Photo: Jaguar
Owners will be notified via first-class mail no later than March 28, 2024. The remedy is pretty obvious, isn't it? As for the second recall affecting the beautiful yet quite outdated I-Pace, safety recall number 24V-086 concerns two vehicles produced for model years 2019 through 2020 between June 8, 2018 and July 18, 2019. As it happens, the fasteners that secure the battery module to the busbars may not have been tightened to the correct specification.
Arcing at the battery module to busbar connection point obviously generates heat, and this heat could ultimately result in a thermal overload. JLR's North American division will instruct dealers to inspect the fixings and – if necessary – replace any damaged components at no cost whatsoever to the owners.
The LG-supplied battery pack is listed under part number T4K16281. A replacement pack costs just under $50,000 at the moment of reporting, which is a tremendous amount of cash. Then again, remember that said battery sports 432 pouch-type cells and a declared capacity of 90 kilowatt hours.
To be retired in the first half of 2025, the I-Pace was originally priced at $69,500 (excluding the $995 destination fee). The 2024 model on sale today is $72,000 (plus $1,275), which is too pricey for a driving range of 246 miles (396 kilometers). Ubiquitous though it may be, you're better off with a Model Y Long Range ($47,990 and 310 miles).
⚠️ Recall Alert
2019-2020 Jaguar I-PACE vehicles previously repaired under recall number 23V-369.
Recalled for a high-voltage battery that may overheat.https://t.co/PXOdIeTA80
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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