Ineos Grenadier recalled as defect could blow the bloody doors open

Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears to be channeling his fellow knight, Sir Michael Caine, as the Ineos Grenadier is now subject to a recall due to an issue which can, to quote the Italian Job actor, “blow the bloody doors…” open.

Hyperbole and film references aside, the issue centres around the exterior door handles. These have a release button, part of the 4x4’s rugged feel, that can remain depressed after the door is closed, meaning the door could fly open whenever the car is in motion. This, according to Ineos, is due to what it describes as “an insufficient application of grease”.

Such a potentially dangerous defect has forced Ineos to recall over 7,000 vehicles in the US to replace the faulty parts. On this side of the pond, however, Ratliffe’s off-roader firm is yet to issue any kind of official recall. An Ineos spokesperson told Auto Express that “any affected vehicles in the UK will have the mechanisms replaced free of charge during their next routine workshop visit. Our primary concern is the safety of our customers and quality assurance.”

While we know the number of vehicles affected in America due to the fact a recall has been issued, we are currently in the dark as to how many UK Grenadier examples are affected by this fault. When asked by Auto Express for specifics regarding UK numbers, Ineos’ spokesperson simply said that “until we’ve had the discussions with the authorities, we aren’t sharing specific numbers’.

What we do know for certain, however, is that at least one UK car is affected; Auto Express’ Grenadier long-term test car has suffered this exact fault. The car’s caretaker - our senior test editor, Dean Gibson - was keen to point out, however, that a loud bong is quick to notify the driver of the door not being closed properly and that another firm close of the door is sometimes enough to knock the switch back out and lock the door in place.

Nevertheless, this comes at a bad time for Sir Radcliffe’s automotive firm, with INEOS Automotive having registered a loss of around £1.1 billion in 2023, with further losses recorded across the rest of the Ineos Group. Ineos was originally set to launch a fully-electric version of the Grenadier, badged the ‘Fusilier’ in the autumn of 2024, but with with what the firm describes as a “lack of infrastructure [and] consumer confidence in EVs”, its launch has been pushed all the way back to 2028.

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