Wednesday 22nd November 2023

JLR reaffirms 'commitment to vehicle security'

£10m investment benefitting 65,000 cars has seen Range Rover thefts drop by 40 per cent

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Car theft is never far from the headlines at the moment, and it seems that Range Rovers are never far from those news stories, either. Today Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that the money spent on new electrical architecture has worked as intended, reducing thefts of its cars by up to 40 per cent in some cases (2018-2022 Range Rovers and Sports). Which sounds like good news - might make insuring one a bit easier, too. 

Though it’s only cars manufactured from 2022 that are underpinned by the ‘most advanced electrical architecture’, JLR says that security updates via the dealers can also be installed for additional protection - even those out of warranty. So far 65,000 post-2018 models have been back to the showroom for a tuneup. 

The work focuses on something called the Body Control Module, which means that the cars can’t be driven off without the key. For the factory fresh cars at least, the stats are encouraging: it’s said that just 0.07 per cent of new Range Rovers and Sports on the road have been pinched, with 0.3 per cent of new Defenders taken since 2020. 

Patrick McGillycuddy, JLR UK’s MD, said: “While vehicle theft in the UK is affecting the whole car industry, at JLR we understand the negative impact this can have on the ownership experience for our clients. Our investment of more than £10 million demonstrates our ongoing commitment to tackling this issue.

“Through our long-standing collaboration with law enforcement and key partners, our expert team will continue to develop and deploy effective anti-theft measures to ensure clients are protected. It is my personal priority.”

JLR has urged those customers who have been contacted about a security update to take it up with a retailer. The usual advice has been reissued - set the alarm, activate the tracker, don’t leave keys by the letterbox - as well as the suggestion to use the Jaguar and Land Rover ‘remote’ apps. They have a ‘Guardian’ mode that will alert you if there’s any unauthorised interaction with the vehicle. Stay safe out there, folks!

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• 2023 Range Rover Sport D350 | PH Review
  
• 2022 Land Rover Defender 130 | PH Review

 

[anonymous-user]

I'd suggest something like a uniquely cut piece of small metal that has to be physically inserted into the vehicle before allowing ignition.

I'm a bit weird though.

[TORQ]

I do find it so bizarre they kept on selling cars for years that anybody with a laptop and an eBay account was enabled to drive away in someone else's car. This should have been actioned a lot earlier. I am sure we all know friends, or friends of friends who have had their JLR product nicked. It spikes all our insurance costs, many of those I know now can't get insured at all.

[normalbloke]

Shoddy optics for a shoddy product. They deserve every bit of bad PR they get, and ‘adverts’ like this to try to make them look shiny again should be seen for what it really is.

[bluesierra]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

I'd suggest something like a uniquely cut piece of small metal that has to be physically inserted into the vehicle before allowing ignition.

I'm a bit weird though.

It's good to see a manufacturer finally addressing this publicly. The ability for someone to sit outside your house for a while during the day, copy the key fob signal, and then return later to steal the car is an absolute joke; in Canadian cities Honda/ Acura, Toyota/ Lexus and Nissan/ Infiniti SUVs are essentially stolen to order, straight off the drive. It's been going on for years, the manufacturers are clearly aware of it - police are, but they don't do anything about it - but have refused so far to actually fix it, whether by requiring the key to be inserted into the ignition or more complicated methods.

[vikingaero]

They are addressing it publicly because many of their customers are finding their cars to be uninsurable on a wide scale in cities, not because of their desire to be a good moral manufacturer. It's pretty astounding to compare cars to phones. Phones have security updates for many years. Car manufacturers has always been the donkeys when it comes to security commitment.

[Louis Balfour]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

I'd suggest something like a uniquely cut piece of small metal that has to be physically inserted into the vehicle before allowing ignition.

I'm a bit weird though.

Crazy talk.

[Darnoc95]

A business associate of mine has had 2 different Range rover's nicked from his company car park & his wife's Evoque nicked from their home address. The only reason he told me he keeps loyal to JLR is that 80% of his business is with JLR. He's told me on numerous occasions If he wasn't a supplier no way would he buy another. At least now it seams they've got their act together on security. Shouldn't of took this long though tbh.

[tr3a]

vikingaero said:

Phones have security updates for many years. Car manufacturers has always been the donkeys when it comes to security commitment.

• Cough*Tesla.

[Mr Tom]

0.3% of defenders nicked?! Ie one in 300(ish)… bloody hell that’s awful.

[JJJ.]

normalbloke said:

Shoddy optics for a shoddy product. They deserve every bit of bad PR they get, and ‘adverts’ like this to try to make them look shiny again should be seen for what it really is.

Nail on head.

[gizard]

tr3a said:

• Cough*Tesla.

I have a friend who's Tesla was stolen without the keys off their driveway and they never saw it again (suspected broken for parts).

[covmutley]

JJJ. said:

normalbloke said:

Shoddy optics for a shoddy product. They deserve every bit of bad PR they get, and ‘adverts’ like this to try to make them look shiny again should be seen for what it really is.

Nail on head.

Or their product is so desirable, thiefs will do whatever they can to get them, whereas not so bothered about others?. And at least they are taking action?

I don't really care, theur out of my price league, but just saying.

[damonbill]

I know this wont fix all thefts and wont impact the insurance but 1) keeping your keys in a faraday box and 2) getting an separate immobiliser is 1) literally one click on amazon and £20 easy and 2) £500 a year and go and get one fitted maybe a bit less easy BUT will reduce the chance of your car being nicked alot.

[rbozza]

Keyless entry is the issue, which can be turned off on a Range Rover with 3 button clicks on the key

[GM182]

We had the security update on our 2021 RRS. Keep the key(s) in a Faraday box, fitted a tracker (required for insurance) and have a uselss steering lock as a deterent, so they are all relatively small things but it is a bit of a pain overall. Waiting to see what next year's renewal will be like as there's still 12 months on the agreement so can't change anytime soon.

Unfortunately my wife clumsily smashed the windscreen with the steering lock when she was unfamiliar with it so that won't help. The Autoglass bloke said it happens a lot.

I still like the car though.

[apx7]

I always thought the cars breaking 2 miles down the road was the security feature?

[markj113]

tr3a said:

• Cough*Tesla.

who wants to steal an EV, it's not like you'd get far lol

[anonymous-user]

rbozza said:

Keyless entry is the issue, which can be turned off on a Range Rover with 3 button clicks on the key

Thieves can also get into them by drilling in to the bumper and attacking via CANBUS

[LunarOne]

gizard said:

tr3a said:

• Cough*Tesla.

I have a friend who's Tesla

I very much doubt it. He's been dead since January 1943.

[andyj007]

lol this smells like a bit of creative marketing.. id believe it if it was the insurance stats.. but there has been no reduction in the obseene insurance costs for these ..