Alternator

I have a 2015 LR4 HSE with 67k miles. My battery warning light came on and vehicle suddenly stopped. I had it towed to dealership here in Atlanta and was told oil leaked onto alternator and "killed" it. I was told it's not covered under warrenty because OIL FILTER CAP LEAKING OIL ON ALTERNATOR/ CUTS IN FILTER HOUSING CAP. Total repair cost, including battery, alternator, and oil "stuff" is $2600. Has anyone had issues with alternators not being covered under warrenty or being covered with oil? Thanks for all feedback and suggestions.

Well, I'd take the dealer at its word that leaking oil cased the alternator failure. I can't imagine them making that up.

The bigger question is why was oil leaking out of the oil filter cap? Is the cap cracked? Was it improperly screwed on? I cannot think of another reason for it to leak. Who performed the last service? How long ago was it - miles and time?

If a dealer performed the service, I'd say this is a warranty issue with the dealer who performed the service to be held liable for the associated costs for the whole thing. If it was DIY or an independent mechanic, I don;t see how you put this down as a warranty issue.

It comes down to why was the oil cap leaking and who is responsible for that, IMO.


All that said, $2600 seems incredibly expensive for a new oil cap, and alternator and maybe a belt - even in the rip-off world of Land Rover. There must be other items affected.

Yep. I was at 98K miles and my CPO warranty was about to expire. I asked the shop foreman at my dealer to take a good look at everything and anything covered by that CPO warranty. They found the passenger side valve cover gasket was dripping oil onto the alternator. The valve cover gasket replacement was covered under warranty but since the alternator still worked, it was not. However, I was told that once oil leaks onto the alternator it won't last very long. So I paid to have a new alternator put in.

Then again, I figure I got 98K out of the first alternator so the new one should last until 200K.

I'd have your dealer check to be sure your issue isn't being caused by a leaking valve cover gasket and not a leaking oil filter cap.

I work at a LR shop and see the alternator being affected by oil leaking in the engine bay. One of the warnings we pass along to customers when they say they can live with a small leak.

so I need to ask this...is the alternator located in the bottom of the engine?

Yep. Horrible location for a couple reasons.

Agreed. I think LR got lazy and dropped in the engine untouched. Jeep always puts the alternator on top.

Quijote said:

Agreed. I think LR got lazy and dropped in the engine untouched. Jeep always puts the alternator on top.

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I've been looking at some videos of the new diesel Wranglers that journalists are getting now, and Jeep has done exactly that. It's generally the same 3.0 ecodiesel that's in the Ram, but on the Wrangler they moved stuff around to make it more off-road worthy.

Guess Land Rover didn't get that memo.

I built a small sheet metal cover for my alternator, just for this reason. It was an ez fix. But, I also don’t let oil leak.


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ryanjl said:

I've been looking at some videos of the new diesel Wranglers that journalists are getting now, and Jeep has done exactly that. It's generally the same 3.0 ecodiesel that's in the Ram, but on the Wrangler they moved stuff around to make it more off-road worthy.

Guess Land Rover didn't get that memo.

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Probably going to jinx myself, but I will comment that while I hate the placement, mine has been submerged on multiple occasions and has lived to tell the tales.

It falls somewhere below the waterpump and crossover pipes on my "things that **** me off about the LR4" list.