Jaguar Land Rover North America has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it its recalling about 104,000 Land Rover vehicles to correct an issue with the automobile's flexible brake hoses, a problem that had been reviewed and closed in 2012. The automaker is also calling back almost 5,000 Jaguars to correct faults in their parking lights.
The Land Rover recall covers 74,648 Range Rover vehicles, model years 2006 through 2012; and 24,679 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SUVs, model years 2013 and 2014.
The recalled Land Rover vehicles are fitted with brake hoses that are especially vulnerable to rupturing, giving low power to the front half of the SUVs' dual-brake circuit.
Drivers experiencing a ruptured hose in one of the recalled vehicles should receive a warning from their dashboards, as the check brake triangle will light up to warn of the low fluid. All owners of the recalled vehicles should seek qualified assistant, says [pdf] the NHTSA.
"Loss of fluid will also result in failure of the front braking circuit," says the NHTSA. "Braking capability will be retained by the rear brake circuit, pedal feel will be degraded and pedal travel extended. Stopping distances will increase."
After having a Land Rover spill its brake fluid through a ruptured hose and having the vehicle towed, one complainant says the dealer advised that it was the owner's problem after the warranty expired and indicated that there was no directive from Land Rover to fix the issue.
"The dealer also noted that another [Land Rover] model, the Sport, there is a maintenance directive to replace the brake hoses at 75,000 miles," the complainant tells the NHTSA. "Obviously, this is a very serious issue. Someone could have been injured or killed. This car has been under dealer care since it was purchased. Brake lines should not fail these days."
Jaguar Land Rover started investigating the hose issue in 2010 and escalated the matter to its Critical Concerns Review Group (CCRG). The NHTSA says the automaker identified a small number of instances in which hoses were rupturing, but it noted that the events were trending upward -- the auto manufacturer's engineering department also reported a change in suppliers in 2006.
"The CCRG reviewed all available data and concluded that due to the sporadic nature of reported ruptured brake hoses, no safety defect pattern or trend existed and Jaguar Land Rover had received no reports of accidents or injuries as a result of this concern. The issue was closed from the CCRG agenda on June 26, 2012," stated the NHTSA.
The car company is recalling 4,787 Jaguar XK cars, model years 2012 through 2015, to address an issue that can cause the car's parking lights to shut off after five minutes have passed.
"If the parking lamps turn off, the vehicle will have reduced conspicuity, increasing the risk of a crash," says the NHTSA. The recall is expected to start in March.
