Jaguar Investigates After EV Brakes Fail On Motorway

Jaguar Land Rover has said it is investigating as a matter of “urgency” after two reports of brakes failing in its I-Pace electric vehicle.

Former Big Brother winner Craig Phillips told the Daily Mail and other news outlets that the brakes had failed multiple times on his I-Pace on New Year’s Eve 2023.

In a video posted on Instagram he said he was shopping for a Volvo and was looking forward to getting rid of his Jaguar.

“I’d barely gone a mile from home and as I came to traffic lights, travelling at about 30mph, three cars away from the lights I could not brake,” Phillips told the BBC.

Brake failure

After the lights changed at the last minute, Phillips said he was able to steer the vehicle into a side-road, where the brakes shortly returned to function, but as he pulled into his house drive the issue recurred.

He said he has now returned the vehicle and called for a full recall of the model by Jaguar as a safety precaution.

Last week a runaway I-Pace had to be boxed in by police cars after its driver became unable to brake and telephoned 999.

At least eight vehicles from Merseyside Police and Greater Manchester Police escorted the Jaguar as officers closed off two lanes of the busy motorway.

The vehicle eventually stopped once its battery was drained.

‘Urgency’

The driver, Nathan Owen, said a similar incident occurred in December when the car reached speeds of 120mph, but he said Jaguar checked the car and returned it to him.

“Following the incident involving a Jaguar I-Pace on the M62 on the afternoon of March 6, we are looking into this matter with urgency,” Jaguar Land Rover said.

“A full review is under way to determine the cause of this incident, which is still yet to be established. The safety of our clients and vehicles is JLR’s highest priority.”

The company said it is also it was taking Phillips’ claims “very seriously”.

Phantom braking

The I-Pace, Jaguar’s first electric vehicle, is scheduled to be scrapped next year as part of a rethinking of the carmaker’s overall lineup.

US regulators have previously investigated Tesla EVs over reports of “phantom braking”.