Luxury car maker Jaguar has been forced to recall nearly 18,000 vehicles after a suspected problem with the diesel engine X-Type was discovered by one of the company’s employees.

The ‘cruise control’ function on the X-Type cannot, in some circumstances, be turned off. The recall affects cars built between 2006 and 2010. A spokesperson for Jaguar said: "In some circumstances the cruise control may not respond to the normal inputs."

The car maker has sent out letters to customers affected, warning that if cruise control is in operation, it may not be possible to turn it off. The only sure way of turning the feature off is by switching off the ignition, according to the letter.

It is unlikely that the problem, if unchecked, would lead to the calling out of a vehicle recovery service – indeed, Jaguar was keen to point out that no accidents or incidents of any kind had been reported in connection with the problem. In total, 17,678 Jaguars have been recalled in the United Kingdom.

The issue is a reminder of how much cars now rely on computers and computer software – similar issues with software errors have been experienced by other automakers in recent years. Fixing the error should be fairly straight-forward – all that’s needed is a software upgrade. This is of course good news for Jaguar, who will not need to spend a lot of money, and for the car owners themselves, who will only miss their cars for a short period.

Jaguar was purchased by Indian automaker TATA in 2008 from the Ford Motor Company for a total of 1.7 billion pounds. The sale included the Daimler brand and the two dormant brands Lanchester and Rover.