Letter to Lynne Calder

[landmannnn]

Tying my shoe laces is hard enough, I'm not lifting those wheels. Not looking forward to ever having to change a wheel, if space, the punctured one will get thrown in the boot when done.

There's a couple of techniques to lifting heavy wheels and saving your back (even if you are throwing it in the boot).

View: https://youtu.be/W3qmY7r9RMU?si=d40dj_Jfu1K2UL78

Scroll through to 40 seconds

 

[Baron von Teuchter]

Yeah they’re heavy! I’ve done it quite a few times, I swap to winters on spare wheels every November. I have a 3.6t scissor lift but I can’t use it for the Ineos due to the shape of the chassis and various protrusions. Really need to get a subframe made for it. It’s a job for the workshop jack each time.

I shudder when I see people putting their spare on the roof - first of all getting it up there and secondly the impact on centre of gravity.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Yeah they’re heavy! I’ve done it quite a few times, I swap to winters on spare wheels every November. I have a 3.6t scissor lift but I can’t use it for the Ineos due to the shape of the chassis and various protrusions. Really need to get a subframe made for it. It’s a job for the workshop jack each time.

View attachment 7896639

I shudder when I see people putting their spare on the roof - first of all getting it up there and secondly the impact on centre of gravity.

Wondering the same thing - “how in the hell are they going to get that down from there?” I was going to do my own winter swaps - until I found out my local tire shop only charges $120/year for climate-controlled warehouse storage and changes the wheels for me, and then I just said “screw it - that’s a good deal.” I just call about a week or so in advance, they have the wheels ready and waiting, and they do all the work for me - $120.

 

[ECrider]

Wondering the same thing - “how in the hell are they going to get that down from there?” I was going to do my own winter swaps - until I found out my local tire shop only charges $120/year for climate-controlled warehouse storage and changes the wheels for me, and then I just said “screw it - that’s a good deal.” I just call about a week or so in advance, they have the wheels ready and waiting, and they do all the work for me - $120.

that's incredible value

 

[Logsplitter]

Yeah they’re heavy! I’ve done it quite a few times, I swap to winters on spare wheels every November. I have a 3.6t scissor lift but I can’t use it for the Ineos due to the shape of the chassis and various protrusions. Really need to get a subframe made for it. It’s a job for the workshop jack each time.

View attachment 7896639

I shudder when I see people putting their spare on the roof - first of all getting it up there and secondly the impact on centre of gravity.

I take an extra spare when travelling and have I technique to get it on and off the roof rack. Am almost 64yrs and small stature
To get on the roof I fix my hilift jack hanging over the back of the roof rack. I then use a small pulley (block and tackle to hoist it up. My wife then holds the rope on the pulley until I go on the roof and hoist it up from there. Lowering down is easy as I lift from roof onto rear door mounted spare My wife holds in place while I climb down then between us we can easily lift off from there.
Getting the spare onto the back door I can do by lifting onto tow hitch step before repositioning my grip to lift onto back door.

 

[Zimm]

From Ineos this week…. 90 db is/was the magic number but maybe not now since everything is normal.

Hi Derek,

Thank you very much for contacting INEOS Automotive.

Following your concerns, I reached out to our US technical team to seek approval and clarification regarding the issues raised with your vehicle. They’ve now come back to us, and we can confirm that everything observed is consistent with normal operation for the Grenadier.

Power Steering Noise
The power steering system does produce some noise during regular use, typically in the range of 80–86 decibels. This is completely normal and the same across all Grenadier vehicles. Replacing the pump would not change the noise level, as it is part of the expected operation. That said, I completely understand your concerns, and to offer reassurance, we’d be happy for you to test drive or listen to other vehicles on the lot for comparison.

Climate Control System
As for the climate control, the outside air flap is designed to stay closed when the system is off or set to recirculated air. However, while driving, it automatically opens every 20 minutes to allow fresh air into the cabin—this is a safety feature to prevent carbon dioxide buildup. During this process, some airflow can be felt near the passenger footwell, which again is entirely normal behavior.

I do appreciate your concerns, of course. However, after a thorough review, we can confirm that everything identified is functioning as it should and does not indicate any fault with the vehicle.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance.

Thanks,

INEOS Grenadier Customer Service

that is 1 kilo of pure uncut unadulterated bullshit.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

that is 1 kilo of pure uncut unadulterated bullshit.

I like to imagine @Zimm with a coke nail

 

[CrazyOldMan]

that's incredible value

It’s not even a specialty shop - just one of the big national chains. I was surprised how inexpensive it was. Makes keeping them in my garage and doing the work seem kinda dumb.

 

[255/85]

Absolutely getting by without it but this is great news. Thank you @Tom D for the advocacy and update.

For what you're doing - or anyone traveling far from their usual haunts - the manual will bring much greater peace of mind and allow for more pleasurable adventure. I'm so glad this is finally happening for everyone.

Yeah as you know, everything gets shared at a place lile this, and things can feel like a major or common issue because squeeky wheels get the most grease.
It’s a bit like crime discussion on a community facebook group. Every little thing makes the pages to the point where you think you have a massive crime problem in your area and that’s all people seem to talk about, when in reality it’s just a few issues flogged to death.

Some people are having a few problems, most of us don’t. But people tend to get noisy about problems and in the main stay silent when things are just fine.
I feel lucky that I haven’t had too many issues and none of them important in the grand scheme of things. But I guarantee that others have had the same issues and really feel put off by them. Such is life, and if we all reacted the same way life would be a bit boring I suppose.

I have never felt that this was a polarized or stratified forum. As you say we all have our varying levels of tolerance for any particular issue experienced but, at the end of the day, the overall goal here has been to get the best out of these vehicles for all involved. Have there been fights and disagreements? Yes, but most folks are still here. That's really quite amazing for a product that didn't exist five years ago and a forum even younger. To me "The Letter" proves it. I think Lynne C. (and hopefully Ineos et al) are beginning to realize this as well.

And since I'm blowing sunshine up everyone's skirt...

Sorry.

I forgive you.

 

[255/85]

Much the same - I'll do some stuff, but I remind myself I'm over 60 and I don't have a lift! Just rotating tyres can be hard physical work.

I have other vehicles with bigger load range E tires and 16" rims but the 17" steelies are surprisingly heavy. Thank god I didn't spec the 18 inchers.

There's also not of free axle space/length with a rolling floor jack under the diffs when doing rotations. It's tough to place jack stands safely due to all the bracketry hanging down.

 

[Tom109]

From Ineos this week….

Climate Control System
As for the climate control, the outside air flap is designed to stay closed when the system is off or set to recirculated air. However, while driving, it automatically opens every 20 minutes to allow fresh air into the cabin—this is a safety feature to prevent carbon dioxide buildup. During this process, some airflow can be felt near the passenger footwell, which again is entirely normal behavior.

This is an interesting comment. I’m going to have to watch for this. It certainly doesn’t appear consistent with my experience using the hvac.

 

[IslandFalconer]

This is an interesting comment. I’m going to have to watch for this. It certainly doesn’t appear consistent with my experience using the hvac.

Mine stays open, I’ve double checked pretty sure that’s how my passenger floor well gets full of water in heavy storms

 

[Rok_Dr]

I’ve been away and catching up here.

Thank you so much @Tom D for your efforts and managing to unlock the communication door.

I’m really looking forward to the workshop manual in whatever form. Fingers crossed on the code reader as well and being able to reset service lights and tpms sensors

Cheers and thanks again

Steve

 

[Zimm]

Wondering the same thing - “how in the hell are they going to get that down from there?” I was going to do my own winter swaps - until I found out my local tire shop only charges $120/year for climate-controlled warehouse storage and changes the wheels for me, and then I just said “screw it - that’s a good deal.” I just call about a week or so in advance, they have the wheels ready and waiting, and they do all the work for me - $120.

Down? gravity is on you team. My second spare on the roof was always just a tire anyway. Never needed to rim it by hand, as the one time I did need it, a shop was handy. I've done car tires, so in theory I could do it, but I imagine a 35 may cause a bit swearing. Although, maybe not.

 

[RYAustralia]

My daughter is in Queenstown and the windscreen is a big issue due to the road Grit traction due to Ice and snow...regular chip fixes and a screen a year. Maybe you order a couple

Not a bad idea. Count me in for two screens startng 2026.

 

[ECrider]

Down? gravity is on you team. My second spare on the roof was always just a tire anyway. Never needed to rim it by hand, as the one time I did need it, a shop was handy. I've done car tires, so in theory I could do it, but I imagine a 35 may cause a bit swearing. Although, maybe not.

Only Prince Andrew could change 35's and not sweat!

 

[Commodore]

I just got off the phone with Lynn again. I am really impressed with how seriously they are taking things.

The good news is the manual is imminent.

One or two caveats. The manual will essentially be a login to the IA system that the dealerships technicians use, which sounds great. However they have some concerns about uptake, see below. They don't want to simply open source the thing as that could lead to copyright issues and also mean lots of knock off cheap parts appearing which could damage the brand. (My words not hers)

Firstly, transferring the data from the existing program to a PDF format is way more complicated than you might think and therefore time consuming. Lynn really wants this to happen now, so web based it will be.

Secondly if every Grenadier owner wants the manual immediately it could present a few issues, the first of which is each user will need to have their own login, (you will need to provide your email and VIN number) automating this process will require a load of coding at the back end which is more time and cost, and she wants this done ASAP. So user logins will be created manually at IA, this will be a time consuming process, Lynn’s concern is that if all 20,000 owners sign up at once there will be long delays which takes us back to square one. We have been waiting long enough. I suggested to Lynn that if they charged a small fee for this then only those seriously intending to use the manual would actually sign up, she was keen for it to be free however as that was more in the spirit of the original promise. I can’t argue with that.
She asked me to ask you to only sign up for the manual if you actually want /need / intend to use it. If we all stampede for it at the same time it will be like a run on the bank- no one will get anything. If demand is measured those who need it could be browsing the manual in a couple of weeks time.

They also have concerns about adding thousands of users to their existing system, can the system cope with the extra traffic? They are looking at this right now and will hopefully be ready to roll this out in the next couple of weeks. She kindly offered to let me try it out next week, so hopefully I’ll get a login and be able to have a play around with it. I’ll report back to both you guys and to IA on its usability from a home users point of view.

Thirdly
The intention is that for existing owners the manual will be free, but IA have not ruled out charging new buyers a subscription fee. They may end up developing an App at some point but again they don't want to add any more delays to a long delayed project. They are still working on this so don't hold me to that….

Next topic is the code reader. Following my conversation with Lynn a couple of weeks ago her team have reached out to AUTEL and discussions are taking place. Nothing has been agreed as yet but it is her intention to roll out something as soon as possible. It may not be AUTEL who they end up partnering up with, I hope it is as thats the one I have! She doesn’t know as yet how long it would take AUTEL to roll out an update but they are having further meetings in the next couple of weeks. What needs to happen is IA supply AUTEL with data and Autel write the code and then roll it out.. I have no idea how long that will take but she is committed to getting this done.

And finally we talked about parts availability. They are building a more robust system and encouraging dealers to stock more parts. Being a new vehicle they were unsure what demand would be like and now that it has been around for a while they are getting a better idea. They are also giving their regional centres more autonomy and that will also improve delivery. She was keen to point out that it costs them way more if they have to express freight individual parts around the world; it’s in their interest to hold parts at regional centres and dealerships. This is what they are doing.

I’m pretty pleased with the response, this only confirms my belief that they are taking the issues we raised seriously and are acting fast. Its what we wanted to hear.

Tom - Thank you for taking the lead on this and for all your efforts.

Lynn - If you or your people are reading this, Thank you for keeping your promise on updating the community on a regular basis. I tell my managers that communication is the most important aspect of their job. In an absence of information, customers will make up their own information which is typically far worse than the truth.