Would love your opinion.

[manoftaste]

So I just got a call from my service manager, a very nice guy but came across a bit reluctant to do certain things.

Bumper/fender misalignment:
Basically he took it to a "LR certified" body shop and after inspection they concluded that its the bumper "skin" that wasn't fitted correctly. He said that there are clips that hold the bumper skin and that the body shop can adjust it so it sits flush with the fender like its supposed to, and like the way it is on the passenger side.


Steering knock/rattle: As expected they were not able to recreate it. Extremely frustrating to hear that, this is despite me sending them the TSB. I do not know what to do with it.


Radio knobs: He says its not an easy thing to replace and will require a couple of hours to replace the full radio, he can do it, but he recommends using it more to see if they free up.


Wind/whistling noise at around 30 mph: He said that there is a door trim piece/cladding which clips need to be seated a bit tighter and they can do it (its the black trim piece that sits next to the b-pillar i guess.


Steering wheel being off: They will fix it.


They felt the shimmy so will balance the tires. Alignment has been checked and its all good.

 

[Kaaae]

It's a start. Great news.

 

[manoftaste]

Thanks. I am very upset though that you buy a brand new car and it has to go to a body shop right after you pick it up.

 

[Count Laszlo]

It isn't the best first experience with the new LR4. I'd be upset too. BTW, my heater knobs act exactly like yours. The right knob is a bit harder to turn than the left one. I just chalked it up as whatever. It doesn't really bother me.

One thing I remind myself when I hear a rattle or see something that isn't 100% perfect, is that this really is a 49K truck base, and those who get them loaded to the hill and reach that very high 60K plus range, expect a 60K plus experience, but in reality, it's a 49K truck. And all that extra cash doesn't make it a higher quality build/built vehicle. Just something to think about. Might make you feel a little better.

Also, when I get bothered by stuff like this, even with cars I've owned in the past, I go to other car maker forums and read about all of their complaints and realize there isn't a perfect car/maker out there. BMWs, Mercedes, you name it, you name the price. They all have some sort of annoyances and quality defects.

 

[manoftaste]

Thanks Count Laszio. That was comforting, much appreciated.

I guess what i have to decide between now and tomorrow morning is that should I have them get that bumper alignment fixed (at a body shop) or should i just leave it as is? I am a little worried about more things that can go wrong.

Also, at this point I am just gonna ask them to not worry about the suspension rattle/knock as they were not able to re-create it and I dont really want someone to keep driving my car around to look for it.

Once i get the car back, what i can do is take it to the dealer near my house and have the tech ride with me on the bumps near my house where it happens almost every time. This way there is no guess work and driving around to look for it type of deal. I do have a few videos that i shot where you can clearly hear that noise which I'll put up on youtube.

As for the radio knob, i'd think it would be a simple thing to replace the radio but i guess i should not let them do that either and just wait for the time if something else requires the headset to be taken off (not that i am hoping for it).

Thanks.

 

[Count Laszlo]

I would make them fix the fender alignment issue, that's completely unacceptable, and shouldn't be too hard. If they mess it up, the dealer is responsible in making it right. Don't let that pass.

As for the knob, I'd personally let that one slide for now... because once they open that can of worms, it'll never go back together right and likely lead into unwanted noises.

Also, get the wind noise thing fixed, if it is in fact what they say it is. I get normal wind noise (box shape) but if you're getting whistling and wind noise that you feel is not right at all, make them fix it.

The noise you're hearing in the front end would drive me nutty. I don't know why they can't just replace the bushings to start. I had a new BMW M3 (70K) that had that issue and no one but me could hear it. The foreman even had the nerve to say it was in my head! I took my car to another dealer, they heard it, knew the issue, and replaced the control arms and noise was gone completely and never came back.

Do you have another dealer nearby that can check your front-end? Make the original dealer though fix all the other stuff.

 

[manoftaste]

Thank you Laszlo, appreciate it.

Knob I'll let go as you said. I know exactly what you mean. Shouldn't I worry about the bumper issue as well, that once someone does something in there, it may open a can of worms?

Also, for the rattle thats exactly what i plan to do, to take it to a nearby dealership, and have the foreman drive it with me on the bumps near my house where i can hear the noise.

 

[Count Laszlo]

I know what you are saying, but that bumper issue is really visible and should be taken care of. At all costs to LR. It's truly unacceptable. I would not let that slide, even on a 10 thousand dollar car. No way.

The fender and bumper assembly is pretty straight forward, I can't see how they could really mess that up. You'd be surprised what a body shop can do. They do work wonders. As long as it is a good one.

After reading more about some of your front end issues, do you think by chance you're truck was damaged during shipping and was fixed at port? This happens more often then you think and sometimes when repaired at port, they do a poor job. I cannot for the life of me see how that came from the factory without notice. Your fender/bumper issue is just so obvious.

If your vehicle is damaged and repaired at port before delivery to the dealership, the dealership is supposed to disclose this to the buyer. But, as you can imagine, it isn't and if it isn't, and you can prove it was, then they are very liable. Do a little research online and you should be able to find many examples and how owners dealt with the issue. I'm not sure if I remember exactly, but there should be a record if your truck was damaged and fixed at port.

Any signs of overspray or paint oddities in that area where the clip is missing?

 

[manoftaste]

Thanks. No I have not noticed any signs everything looks brand new, and I'll take a closer look once i get the truck back.

I did convey the service manager my concern that the truck may have been damaged during shipping but he said that they have looked at everything underneath and the frame and chassis and everything with the body shop, and everything looks fine.

The suspension knock is something i will take the truck to a closer dealership to get fixed.

As far as the steering not sitting straight while driving straight, service manager mentioned that he has checked the front end, and everything looks fine including alignment, and that he will simply straighten the steering wheel.

So at this point, I will have them fix that bumper, and balance the wheels for shimmy, straighten the steering wheel, leave the radio and climate control knobs as they are, and fix the wind noise by fixing the black trim piece.

After that what course of action should i take when i call LR back. I mean this is really bad in terms of so many things being fixed right after i take the delivery

 

[jjvd21]

By removing the front grill, front arch, and headlight they'll be able to view the large corner clip that secures the bumper to the body. On my d3 I've taken the bumper off twice, they should be able to quickly determine the cause of the misalignment.

Here's a video showing the steps for removing the bumper. There's 2 other videos that go along with this one.
http://youtu.be/oyo9cjVi8_k