Precis innan serieproduktionen av McLaren MP4-12C kom igång justerades några detaljer efter påtryckningar från motorjournalister och kunder. Senare fick produktionstakten sänkas, för att komma tillrätta med kvalitetsproblemen. McLaren försäkrade att det rörde sig om småfel, medan motorsajten Jalopnik hävdade att problemen var betydligt mer omfattande och bland annat rörde bromsslangar och stöldskydd.
Nu skickar McLarens chef för gatbilar, Ron Dennis, ut ett brev till samtliga kunder där han förklarar sin frustration. Breven är underskrivna personligen och går att läsa i sin helhet på engelska nedan, eller på bilforumet Teamspeed. Enligt McLaren-chefen rör det sig om ”tidiga mjukvaruproblem” som överkänsliga varningslampor, batterier som laddar ur för snabbt och problem med infotainmentsystemet Iris.
McLaren uppmanar nu alla ägare att besöka sin återförsäljare för att uppgradera mjukvaran. Med brevet följer även ett exemplar av boken ”McLaren: The Wins”.
Brevet i sin helhet
It is with both pleasure and frustration that I am writing to you at this early stage in your ownership of the McLaren MP4-12C. Pleasure because you are now part of our McLaren family and have bought into what I believe to be both the best car in its class, and the most exciting automotive adventure in decades; but frustration on a personal level because we have not yet been able to deliver on the high standards that we have promised and that should come as given with the McLaren brand. We have built up our McLaren businesses over the past decades based on our determination to be the best, and that is no different for the MP4-12C and all of our future cars.
When we began working on the MP4-12C, we were determined to deliver not only the best car in its class, but also the best ownership experience. We believe that the performance and driving experience of the MP4-12C is world class. However, along the road to achieving our goals, we will experience challenges. As you will have already heard from my staff, we are experiencing some early software bugs resulting in unnecessarily sensitive warning lights, battery drainage in certain conditions and IRIS performance issues.
My team and the McLaren retailers are working with the pace and intensity that the McLaren brand demands to fully resolve these bugs rapidly and effectively to ensure that any inconvenience to you is kept to a minimum. It will however require your 12C to come back to your dealer at some point so that we can upgrade the software on your car. I hope that the way we deal with these issues sets us apart and is to the standard you would expect from McLaren.
We know you share our passion for racing, therefore as a token of my appreciation for your support during this time, your retailer will be giving you a pre-release copy of the new ’McLaren: The Wins’ coffee table book. I hope that you enjoy the stories behind what makes McLaren winners and that this, in some small way, reminds you how much we appreciate your faith in us. We want to win on the road as well as the track, and we will work tirelessly to achieve this goal.
I would like to extend my personal thanks for your support and patience at this time. Should you have any questions, please contact your retailer in the first instance. Alternatively, please call my staff at McLaren Assistance on 0800 975 8285.