I've been covering this in another thread (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/i...d-i-go-268541/), but given the problem thought a separate thread would be more helpful. My I-Pace had a catastrophic failure where the power distribution box failed, bricking the car and locking all four wheels. A flatbed truck was dispatched but initially couldn't pull the car out of its parking stall (it failed at the airport after being left for a few days). It looks like the tow cable compromised the main battery pack when the car was lifted onto the flatbed by the second flatbed tow truck rendering the car unsafe to drive. To me, this suggests the car should never be lifted from the rear with a cable and only from the front to protect the battery pack. Jaguar is not covering the damage and requested I engage my insurance company which has agreed to handle the claim. But, based on this, I'd advise that, if possible, only pull the car onto a flatbed from the front, not the rear, particularly if the car will need to be lifted so that the battery pack isn't compromised. I expect the repair will not be trivial and may require replacing that expensive battery pack. Also, if you are calling a tow company and the car won't go into neutral or drive, ask if they have tire dollies because tire skid plates aren't adequate to pull the car due to its weight. (here is a picture of the damage, doesn't look like much, but now the battery pack seal is broken and the car is unsafe to drive):

Battery back damage

 

Ouch! Given that the resale value of 2019 i-pace is $40k-$45k and the cost of replacing the traction battery is $30k plus labor, I hope your insurance company doesn't consider the vehicle totaled.

 

You make a good point, and I still haven't heard back about whether insurance has approved the repair. There isn't anything else out there I want right now so I'm hoping they can fix the car as my plan is to keep it until at least 2025. Fingers crossed.

 

Just got the estimate to fix the car, it is in the $100K range so, I expect, they'll total the car out. I haven't heard from USAA yet.

 

Wow, just wow. So $30k for the traction battery and $70k for labor? Or are there other things wrong with the vehicle?

 

No most of the cost is for the battery, the labor isn't significant as the battery just drops out (you need a special lift). One of the other forums had a guy that had it done under warranty but the charge that showed up and was covered was $60K. Here is the link to that post in a different forum: (6) Battery Replacement | Jaguar I-Pace EV400 Forum (i-paceforum.com) There is a picture of the battery coming out.

 

Update, well I got a call from USAA and they aren't going to cover this and passed me back to Jaguar Roadside Assistance who opened a case and indicated they'd get back to me in a couple of days. Sigh... I'm trying to buy a replacement but Jaguar isn't even making that easy.

 

Your story is strange. I would imagine the tow truck company has a business insurance that should cover damaging cars during towing. It stands to reason they should cover the damages.
Since it was not you but JLR who called/paid for the tow truck, they can file a claim against the tow company.

It is my understanding that the traction battery is not monolithic, but comprised of modules, can then not repair only the damages module? Why does the whole battery have to be exchanged. What was the point of the "modular" design if not fer better servicing?

I've seen people sell traction battery modules on some UK site.

 

Looking at https://www.jaguarparts.com/v-2019-j...rical--battery
The whole battery pack is $54k and each module is around $3k. The do sell the modules separately, I would assume because they are serviceable.
The bottom battery case is around $7k - I think that was damaged on the picture.
Can't see why the repair estimate would be 100k. Are they shipping the car to the factory in Austria and back with a private jet?

 

According to Jaguar, once the containment of the battery pack is compromised, the entire module has to be replaced. I expect it is a liability item because if any of the cells subsequently short out, the entire pack will go up, likely taking out the car and anything near it (like my house). But I'm as surprised as everyone else that replacing the battery pack is this expensive. Typically, when a car is physically damaged, they require new parts anyway, but, I expect, the liability risk given the battery could take out a home, is greater than the savings for using a used battery. But I didn't set this price, it came from Jaguar Portland. But, I agree, $ 100K seems excessive.

 

Update: Well, yesterday I drove the 180 miles to Jaguar Portland and got all of my stuff out of my old 2019 I-Pace, and put it in a nearly new 2022 Jaguar I-Pace with under 1,000 miles on it. USAA reversed themselves and covered the damage, and I had a replacement cost rider on my policy which got me around $55K for the car; the 2022 car cost me $75K (fully loaded HSE in white, not my favorite color, but I'll have it wrapped later). Portland Jaguar made the process nearly painless, the fastest I've ever bought a car in terms of paperwork. Got a full explanation of the damage, it wasn't just the cable damage on the edge of the battery pack, but the tow company had used the battery pack mounts to strap the car down, warping the battery pack, which made it unrepairable. It is interesting to note that a new 2024 I-Pace sells for around $75K but many of the options aren't available due to shortages, and dealers aren't getting allotments so getting one near term is nearly impossible. Other than the option shortage, the only other difference appears to be a grill facelift. They added a year to the warranty so my new warranty expires in 2028 which is when I'd likely want to replace the car anyway given how much change is expected in electrics in the 2025-2028 time frame (autonomous driving, new battery tech, new entertainment systems etc.).

If you have your car towed make sure they attach the hold-down straps to the frame not the battery pack mounts, in defense of the tow company, the mounts do look like the obvious place to tie the car down, but don't do it unless you want the car totaled. I'd add that I'd be reluctant to use a tow company that had never towed an electric car before. As a side note, the 2022 feels very different than my 2019, quieter, and more refined, and the new electronic mirror is an improvement for rear visibility. Once I've had it a while, I'll post what I'm noticing as the full set of differences with the new car along with a picture (car is dirty from the trip home or I'd do that here).

But net, I paid almost exactly $20K to go from a 2019 to a 2022 and I would have done that in a hot minute had I had the option. So, after all of this, I'm good with the outcome. USAA and Jaguar Portland, in the end, came through for me and I appreciated the final outcome.

 

Just finished the process of replacing my old 2019 with a nearly new 2022 I-Pace. I just couldn't find anything I liked better and the other cars I looked at mostly had long wait times for the car as well. So here is the new to me 2022 Jaguar I-Pace. Wrapping a white car is problematic but am going to give it a try, may need to do a dual wrap with black underneath the color so the white doesn't bleed through.

 

Here is a thread on how to properly tow a Jaguar I-Pace on another forum, but it is worth reading so that what happened to me doesn't happen to you: https://www.i-paceforum.com/threads/...r-i-pace.5829/

 

Best of luck with your new (to you) I-Pace. As a side note, whenever I see a white I-Pace I'm always reminded of the Waymo self driving cars that are always seen in the SF bay area.

 

Yes they are all over the place there, I think mine is still the only I-Pace here.

 

if all four wheels were locked and the tow driver tried to drag the car the tow company is at fault, not jaguar.
a good tow truck operator would have had dollies and used the dollies to move the car. you, via your insurance company should seek compensation from the tow company that appears to be inept/incompetent.

 

When I met with the dealer in person, it seemed clear the car was critically damaged by the way it was lifted into the flatbed, and how it was tied down, it was also damaged when it was pulled, but that damage was cosmetic. Agree dollies would have prevented that last damage, and the tow truck driver did know that he needed dollies but his hadn't arrived yet. I have some myself now, just in case. But what would have prevented all of this was Jaguar Roadside Assistance providing the driver with a one-page note on where to attach the tow hooks, how to prevent damage to the battery, and how to tie the car down. On the tie-down, he hooked the car up where I might have hooked the car up when I finally saw the underside of the car. It was as if the car had obvious tow points, but they certainly weren't tow points. And finally, there needs to be a way to release the ebrake when there is no power, evidently there isn't.

I expect USAA will be calling Jaguar Roadside Assistance to recover their costs and get to the towing company that way.

 

Rob,
I am glad to hear you had a good result! I agree that the white isn't a top choice,but wrapping it sounds like a great option. Please post a picture after it is wrapped. Best of luck with your "new" I-Pace!

 

Thanks, we're waiting for the wrap to show up at the installer, I picked an unusual color and it is not in stock, but they were able to find it at another installer. I'm hoping for awesome. Oh and I'm not out of the woods yet with the insurance payment, after accepting their offer to settle and taking my truck, they decided I wasn't really covered. Jaguar is not directly engaged, I think it is going to be a fascinating story (it better be given the aggravation).

 

All ended well; we got the payment for the totaled car last Friday, and USAA eventually came through. The right path would have been to have Jaguar Roadside Assistance address the problem; involving my insurance company (which the dealer told me I needed to do) wasn't the ideal path. The process as done was the dealer told me the car was unsafe to drive and to call my insurance company; they agreed to cover it; 45 days later, they called and said they wouldn't cover it; three days later, I got a settlement offer and accepted it mailing in my pink slip, three days after that or about when the money was supposed to arrive, I got another call saying they wouldn't cover. After about another 30 days they paid me. This seemed like way too much aggravation. But I just dropped the new car off to get wrapped, so in about a week and a half, I should be back to about where I was.