My Wife was driving on I-20W in Columbia, SC. While in the fast lane (near center barriers), the car started decelerating along with the instrument cluster total illuminating alarms. She tried to hit the hazards and pull the car over onto the shoulder, but the car totally shut down. The gear shifter knob dropped into its hole… which left her in between the middle and 3rd lane near the shoulder halting traffic causing a major traffic jam on a major highway.

The car was towed to Land Rover Columbia (540 Jamil Road, Columbia, SC). Our 2012 Jaguar XJL Supercharged 5.0L V8 ultimately had an engine failure (timing chain). Sales rep tried to help do away with the car by trading and initializing a new loan - which triggered me to search nationwide for an engine since the Jaguar dealership didn't (they claim couldn’t) repair the inoperative engine… plus they didn’t have any engines and couldn't find any after 3-4 months of searching.

So, to make a long story short, after all the back and forth with no success, I went another route to get my 2012 back on the road. I searched around for an engine since the Jaguar dealership couldn’t find one. I've only worked with the Jaguar dealership on any and everything pertaining to my engine issues. I found a 2016 engine with VIN “E” (as what was required) - bought this engine for $9759.77 from LKQ (Texas) - and had the engine delivered to the dealership. Technicians installed the engine, told me that the engine runs perfect, but the engine’s firing order was different from the 2012 model(s). I was on alerted by phone of this problem. I asked if they were able to program the ECU to meet the compatible firing order required of the 2012, but they couldn’t do so.

Then, later on after a few days to a week, I guess they had a “meeting of the minds” to determine the way ahead. They ended up telling me that it’s best to repair the original engine. I had to pay ($8456.46) for the install of the bought engine before they were able to continue with repairs of the original engine. Now, mind you, all this is going on while having to maintain vehicle loan payments along with other financial responsibilities. So, it was determined to be engine failure due to faulty timing chain(s). I gave the go ahead to repair the original engine which cost another $8499.30.

As you can see, there was a big losing-money gamble here. If you were able to repair the original engine should have been the first option instead of looking for an engine that doesn’t exist. I don’t think the average person would have allowed this process to continue. What would you do if your warranty didn’t exist anymore? And you were still responsible for the satisfaction of the vehicle loan… this sucks!! Now…wait, what happened to the bought engine? It still sits at the Jaguar dealership because I have had no luck selling it for months. Over $26k was spent on this whole ordeal.

I also tried contacting Jaguar Corporate to see if they were able to assist with repair costs - but that was disapproved.

Jaguar...since you knew about this issue via many Technical Bulletins, after contacting Corporate asking and pleading for assistance - why did you not provide me with any major assistance?