Here's the latest update. On April 21st I received a text from the dealership saying "it's having trouble going in to gear. The is indicative of a worn clutch & clutch disc/pressure plate. Unfortunately clutches are considered a wearable item & is not covered under the factory warranty. I would need to order the parts and can have them here in 1-2 days. The total for the repair would be $4,170.68. Please let me know if you'd like to complete the repair while it's here." Needless to say, my blood began to boil. Then I decided to call and have a calm conversation with my service advisor. I explained to her that I've been driving manual transmission cars all of my life and have never even had a clutch wear out. I told her that I had a 1993 Nissan 240SX that I sold with 110k miles and a 2007 Subaru WRX that I sold with 90k miles, both with the original factory clutches. I went on to explain that I drive my F-Type just the same and don't rag on it. I also told her that the first clutch was previously replaced before I even got to 10k miles. She didn't know that and asked that I allow her to check in to it and call me back. She called back a while later and said that she had spoken with the shop foreman and they felt like it wasn't simply the clutch wearing out. She said that they'd have to take it apart to examine it and would then have to be careful about documenting what they found, but it should be covered under warranty. I didn't press them on time. It took about ten days to order the parts and do the repair. I picked it up yesterday. It seems to be driving perfectly.



As an added bonus, the battery died after they diagnosed the car. The battery on my car dies after the ODB2 port is accessed if you don't disconnect and reconnect the battery. Apparently they were not aware of this issue, so they installed a new battery for free to replace the original.

All in all I'm happy and hoping that it lasts until I can find another new car that I like better (which doesn't seem to be happening).

 

What you really need is to find another dealer. It is very good that the situation turned out as it did (meaning that they finally investigated enough -at your insistence - to see that this was a warranty issue) - but their initial refusal to consider this as a warranty matter combined with the fact that they did not even put the car on a battery maintainer during service (standard procedure at dealerships that actually KNOW the models they service) tells me that this place should be avoided if possible.
This is not the way a good dealership operates its service section, and certainly not the way my dealer deals with complaints or service; the use of the battery maintainer is always noted on the work order.

 

I'm surprised that they didn't know about the battery draining issue, but you shouldn't need to put a car on a battery maintainer if it's just going to sit for a few days. I've left it over a week at a time and it cranked up without issue.

 

It isn't a matter of the car sitting for a few days - it is a matter of the techs accessing the car's systems and leaving them connected for a period. Let me quote from my dealer's work order on my car: "Check engine light on: connected SDD and battery maintainer...."; (this was for a faulty fuel injector, replaced under warranty).

 

In the case of my car, it is a matter of it sitting unconnected for a few days. If a connection is made to the ODB2 port and then disconnected, the battery will start to slowly drain. This will continue until the battery dies or it is disconnected and reconnected. I'm not sure how my F-Types have this issue, but it is a known issue.

 

Not quite the whole story - not everything connected to the OBD port will cause the battery drain, it seems smog testers are the prime culprits. If you have the drain, ascertained by the light on the hazard switch not extinguishing, the battery disconnect is preferable to letting the battery run flat which could damage it. I've had quite a few things connected to my OBD port and never suffered the battery drain fault - it's the device or disconnection method at fault, not the car.

 

The devices not disconnecting properly apparently causes the condition, but the fact that it's unrecoverable regardless the number of start/stop cycles is a firmware defect in the one of the modules. It's clearly a common problem if devices certified for mandatory emissions inspections trigger it. The car should reset after a restart and normal conditions are established and not require a hard (power disconnect) reset.

It's a moot point though, as JLR seems to be aware of it and is doing nothing to address it.

 

Exactly. I'll add that a diagnosis tool that I once connected to the port initiated the drain as well. The same tool used on all of my other cars caused no issues.

[/quote]It's a moot point though, as JLR seems to be aware of it and is doing nothing to address it.[/QUOTE]
Well, I wouldn't say nothing. They gave me a free battery.