A software glitch that may cause doors to unlock has led Jaguar to recall more than 65,000 Land Rovers in the U.S.
Jaguar Land Rover North America has notified the U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall 65,352 vehicles. The latest recall includes 2014-2016 model year Land Rover Range Rover Sport and 2013-2016 model year Range Rover vehicles.
The carmaker revealed that the problem persists in the keyless entry software that can abruptly open the doors of the affected vehicle. Such a problem can distract drivers and result in property loss or an accident.
"Customers have reported the door is unlatched when in the closed position and no indication provided of an unlatched condition. Some customers have reported that one door has opened while the vehicle was in motion," said the company in a statement.
The NHTSA has also updated its website to note the latest Jaguar recall. The NHTSA website suggests that the company will inform owners of a affected cars so they can take their vehicle to a Land Rover dealer, where the keyless entry software will be updated for free. The recall is expected to start from August 7.
The NHTSA confirms that no injuries or accidents due to the software bug have been reported in the U.S. so far.
This is not the first time that Jaguar is recalling vehicles due to a software glitch. Earlier this year, Jaguar recalled about 60,000 vehicles due to a bug in the safety software of affected cars that incorrectly categorized lightweight adults sitting on the front passenger's seat as children and disabled their air bag.
BBC reports that car thieves have been targeting some Range Rover models as it is comparatively easy for them to unlock the car.
"It's been known for over a year that keyless entry and ignition systems possess certain vulnerabilities," said a spokesman for Thatcham Research, a company that collects car crime data. "There were a number of vehicles suggested as being vulnerable in this way, Range Rovers being one of them."
The BBC report also points that Range Rovers are not the only vehicles that have security problems. Other cars, such as the Ford Focus, Ford Fiestas, some models of Audis and several light commercial vehicles, are also targeted by car thieves as they are easy to break into.
Photo: Land Rover MENA | Flickr
