Here’s my story it’s sad but true. About a LR3 I once knew…

But it’s gone now!

Honestly it’s a story that ends well… Wanna hear it?

Of course you do… We bought our Tonga Green HSE back in November. The truck had five initial problems, it had a bad motor in the driver’s seat, two bad fuel senders, it got 9 miles to the gallon, the AUX input for the stereo was static and it had a paint defect.

So in it went…. And nine days later all was better. Except now it got 10 miles to the gallon, the defect was ignored by service and the AUX in was said to be not repairable. Um ok... Must be A Land Rover thing...

Remember the number of shop days they become important: 9 Days

1700 miles later we experience the downhill stall. Then an unexplained black out of the NAV/Voice/Stereo system.

Backy to the shoppy… And 9 days later all was better. Except that the NAV/Stereo thing kept happening. The truck (now on it’s 3rd version of the software) Still got 10 MPG, no one would acknowledge the paint and I’d been without the truck for 18 days.

But that had to be the end of the gremlins, right? Wait is that the sunroof making that horrible whistle???

Remember the number of shop days they become important: 18 Days

Now I call Land Rover North America: I mean 10 MPG, the sticker said between 14 and 18, something isn’t right. SIX WEEKS later the official answer from LRNA is sorry it gets what it gets. When I asked the rep if she was telling me to “bite the bullet” she said, “well those aren’t my words but yea”. Oh goodie!!!! Must be a LR thing...

Not so fast… Suspension fault (By the way it happened as I was leaving the parking garage at the hospital to get a sandwich while my mother was getting major heart surgery). I had 2 hours to get to a dealer, get a loaner (Oh how I miss you Ford Windstar) and get back to see if my mother was dead or not.

5 days later my Mom is on the mend and I’m picking up my truck (Which I was initially told would take up to TWO MONTHS to fix) But I got them to take a compressor from another truck. So all is well right? New compressor, another version of the software, things are right as rain… Off to our vacation…

Remember the number of shop days they become important: 23 Days

I haven’t mention that he truck was twice put into and taken out of transport mode which fixed the MPG gallon problem but only for two days. I’m talking 19H – 16C, then right back to ****.

Anyway D.C. was hot the kids had colds, the LR3 didn’t fit in any of the garages in D.C. and my wife and I start having the “we can’t keep a car that gets 10MPG" conversation on the way up I95…


Home now thinking abo…….. Suspension Fault!!!!! AHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Call LRNA back to reopen case. This time I get a fantastic person to work with who seems to actually care about her job…. She tells me, -wait for it – the other CSR NEVER documented any of my earlier complaints. So that was obviously my first compliant. Six days later all is ****.

Remember the number of shop days they become important: 29 Days

My rep gets me an appointment to see a traveling mechanic (I forget what they call them.) He spends 8 Days on my truck. When I pick it up I’m told my MPG may not be better but I’ll never get a suspension fault again…

3 days later. Bong – Bong – Suspension fault. This time I’m happy to see that little light… Becasue one more day in the shop or if I get this fixed and it gets just ONE more fault this puppy is a certified LEMON… and no one wants that now do they?


I call my rep (after brushing up on the lemon law) and make the following suggestion.

“I know you guys got some bad compressors and are in the middle of getting a new supply from another manufacturer, I also know that there not ready yet. I know you can’t resell this truck if it becomes a lemon. It’s going to hit the magic 30 day mark no matter what and you know I’m going to get another fault so please ask whoever is appropriate to get me a new truck". That was two weeks ago...

And tomorrow I pick up my new, free (almost gonna end up costing me $300) Land Rover LR3 HSE.

Same truck, brand new (we had 10,000 miles and a cracked windshield), adaptive headlights (we didn’t have)… We lose half of the cost of a aftermarket DVD system we had installed ($800)… They wouldn’t budge on paying for the entire thing. But gain the headlights ($400) and get back 10,000 miles and also get another shot at one of those trucks you guys have that gets better MPG. Plus I don't have to pay my $100 deductable for my winshield, All in all, it’s a win. But the hours and hours of phone calls, driving to the dealer (an hour away) the haggling over DVD costs. Still make me feel a bit screwed over. If my DLP tv didn't work I wouldn't have to go through all of this to get a new one... I undertand it's not exactly an apples to apples comparison but c'mon I'm out 54k and I could have bought a Kia Sportage and had better luck.


This is it for us though, we LOVE this truck and don’t know what else we’d get if we had to. But I’m at the end on this one…

Fool me once shame on you, give me a free truck I’ll try it again… Fool me again, I don’t think so.

Cross your fingers! I pick it up tomorrow morning…

Scott

Man, you went through hell. I'm glad you're getting a new one, just make sure it has the new compressor in it, or you might hear the the magical "ding" again. Good luck with the new one, i'm crossing my fingers, hoping my LR3 is normal now, and won't need to go back in again.

Glad things seem to have worked out for you.

Our Tonga SE purcahsed in November threw a suspension fault in 0 degree weather with 700 miles on it. Restarting the car cleared the issue. At 1000 miles the ignition shut off; again a restart solved the issue.

8000 miles later neither of these two issues has resurfaced; the car has never required a visit to the dealer. I guess we are lucky

We were also lucky with our 01 SE7 Disco; one visit to the dealer in 4 years to replace a faulty MAF.

I would hope that experiences like mine are the norm and yours a rarity. It is hard to get a good guage on whether this is true or not because I can't recall anyone ever creating a post on one of these sites to report the positives ...

My LR3 has had a little over 30 days in the shop during the first 2 1/2 months of ownership due to peeling paint and a glitch in the Nav system. The paint has been fixed and the nav system is working properly now, but if there are any major problems that come up later - - - this baby is going back to Land Rover. Reason? Time is just too valuable to waste while a truck is being worked on. - - - That said, I absolutely love this vehicle ! It performed very well on a recent trip to Montana. If future issues crop up that trigger the Lemon Law, I would try another LR3. Glad to hear all worked out for you. - -

Nice one askew! Keep the faith!

Nice ending to your story.

Good luck with the replacement truck. Hope it's going to be uneventful and boring motoring in the future otherwise you will need to bring out the sequel to the great first story .

Chris

I assume this is the LR dealer in Tyson's Corner, VA that you're dealing with. I've had fun with them, as well. A trend here?

No I'm not VA...

My salesman just called (9:15am).

"I hope you haven't left yet", He says.

My heart sinks. "No not yet Bob, why".

"Ah, the sunroof over the third row is cracked".

That FU*King truck has been on the FU*CKING lot for 5 MOT**RF**ING days and they do the stupid final check two MOTH*R**UC*ING hours before I'm scheduled to arrive.


******* ************ should die a painful ******* death with a sharp stick in their *** .

You know... I'm a stay-at-home father. The bags I had to pack last night, the baths I've given this morning, the events I had to plan around this day so my five year old son didn't have a ****** when I told him we had to drive to the dealer again... would astound you.

Then he tells me he's not sure when they can get the part.

I called my CSR, when she calls me back I am going to demand they get that part overnight and that the truck be ready no later than noon tomorrow. Then I'm going to take up drinking.

This thread is a story worth reading!