2nd time stranded in 5 months!

[bash535i]

First, let me say that I love our 2012 LR4. I also have a 2014 MB GL450 and an 2016 X5M. I enjoy driving the LR4 about as much as either of the others (for different occassions of course), but I have a delima.

A few months ago, the LR4 broke down and left me stranded in a parking lot with a bad alterantor. There was no warning other than about 5 seconds when all of the warning lights came on and then everything went off. Dealership supposedly replaced alternator and battery and all has been good for a few thousand miles. It wasn't a big deal because I was able to coast off the road and into a parking lot where I then proceeded to push it out of and away from incoming traffic.

Last night, my wife called and was hysterical. She was out of town when the truck did the same thing with her, except she was wasn't able to make it out of the road. It died as she came to an intersection and she was unable to restart it. She was stuck in the middle of a busy road with vehicles locking up their brakes to avoid repeated collisions. Lights were out and she had no way to even get it out of park until an officer came to direct traffic and a passerby jump started the vehicle enough that she was able to pull off the road and into a parking lot. It died shortly after that.

My question is, does this become a reoccuring problem once the first alternator goes or do I still have some undiagnosed problem causing the alternator to go bad?

I would love to buy another LR4, but not so much if this is common to most or even many of the vehicles. Any idea if the new SCV6 is any more reliable?

Thanks

 

[Surfrider77]

That's odd you have lost 2 alternators that quickly. They are not a high failure item in the LR that I have heard of. It's going to be far far cheaper to replace this again vs buying a whole new truck. If it fails a 3rd time, I would definitely say you have some other electrical gremlin causing the problem.

Alternators are pretty darn simple devices though. I can't imagine externally what would cause it to fail.

Bad luck!?

 

[bash535i]

Yeah, this truck is like a kid you love, even though it's screwed up.
It's been bad luck since new and we are at a little over 70,000 miles. I'd almost like to start over again with a 2016 (even though I hate the idea of the V6).

I don't see a new one having as many problems as this one: It shipped from the factory with a bad rain sensor that required replacing the windshield, which led to a cut headliner that was eventually replaced, that led to sunroof drain line being displaced resulting in a rain soaked headliner that had to be removed and reinstalled when the line was reinstalled. Suspension air pump failed and replaced. Warped rotors replaced just a few thousand miles into it. Crank sensor failed and replaced. Water pump replaced. Timing chain tensioner replaced. Alternator replaced. I'm sure I'm missing some of the minor things, but this seems like more than should be expected.


These were all separate items that had issues at different times. Surely all LR4s aren't that buggy! Fortunately I have a 7yr/100,000 mile warranty, but I'm 2.5 hours from dealer, so break downs do suck even though I pay the dealer to come get it.

I can't even think what I'd like to replace it other than another one. It's convenient, wife can hall junk around in the cargo area, we never worry about getting snowed in, I like the liesurely ride, etc...
Does it sound like time to trade for another one or are there any other comparables that I might be missing?

Thanks!

 

[eljefe]

have you checked to see if the serpentine belt is in place and has not come off the pulleys? Kinda weird that you have no time to drive to a safe location. The battery should have enough juice for a drive to a safe location within a couple miles. Do you have the original battery still? 4 years is a long time for an OEM battery to last and I would advise to replace it sooner than later. I hope you get it figured out.

 

[horns]

2 strikes and your out with the alternator. Yours has some vintage rover DNA. If you can afford it get a new 16. Someone may get hurt with the way it has become unreliable. The v8 is great but not worth keeping under your circumstances imo.

 

[bash535i]

have you checked to see if the serpentine belt is in place and has not come off the pulleys? Kinda weird that you have no time to drive to a safe location. The battery should have enough juice for a drive to a safe location within a couple miles. Do you have the original battery still? 4 years is a long time for an OEM battery to last and I would advise to replace it sooner than later. I hope you get it figured out.

Thanks for the input guys.

Yeah, you would hope that you'd get a charging system error and then a few minutes to mitigate problems. Unfortunately, the first notice you get is when it loses it mind, all warning come on for a few seconds and then it goes totally dead in terms of gauges, radio, lights, etc.... Shortly thereafter it can not maintain the engine operation.

Yes, the battery was replaced at about 2 years old with an Interstate, then I replaced it with an H8 AGM battery that was a little larger when it seemed to start slow prior to the first alternator replacement months ago. Dealership claimed that the AGM was ruined by the bad alternator and replaced it with another Interstate. Four batteries so far, definitely not originating as a battery problem.

 

[Surfrider77]

... Kinda weird that you have no time to drive to a safe location. The battery should have enough juice for a drive to a safe location within a couple miles. Do you have the original battery still? 4 years is a long time for an OEM battery to last and I would advise to replace it sooner than later. I hope you get it figured out.

The alternator charges the battery. If the alternator fails, the truck is running on pure battery power and once that depletes you get the indications he is citing. (dead gauges, radio, etc, and finally loss of engine due to no spark for ignition).

If you have a properly functioning alternator, you could theoretically remove the battery entirely from the vehicle once it is running and it would be just fine until you shut it off. The fact the truck is dying in mid-operation definitely points to the faulty alternator and nothing to do with battery.

 

[slim0531]

We have a 2010 LR4 and this happened to us back in 2014 while we were about to merge into traffic going to the bridge. The engine just suddenly died and it won't start. Had to call 911 coz we are right in the merging lane and had no way to move on the side. Dealer said it was a bad alternator and was changed under warranty and they also changed the battery to interstate. The only thing I noticed before this happened was weeks before the incident, my wife would complain that the lights would flicker after starting the engine in the morning. I hope LR could do something that would warn us if alternator is about to go bad or at least when the battery current is low. I think the alternator had been bad for a while, we just didn't notice it.


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[toddjb122]

@bash535i , that's awful. Sorry to hear that you and your wife went through that. It's out of the ordinary for any modern vehicle to just up and stop with no control whatsoever. You should at least have enough battery to turn on lights, start it one more time, etc... So that's a major failure if the battery stopped getting a charge and you didn't get a warning. I'm sure there is a more complicated explanation than that, but if it can happen at all, it sounds like a design flaw. ?

 

[eljefe]

@bash535i , that's awful. Sorry to hear that you and your wife went through that. It's out of the ordinary for any modern vehicle to just up and stop with no control whatsoever. You should at least have enough battery to turn on lights, start it one more time, etc... So that's a major failure if the battery stopped getting a charge and you didn't get a warning. I'm sure there is a more complicated explanation than that, but if it can happen at all, it sounds like a design flaw. ?

Thats what I was saying. You should at least be able to drive to the side of road. I know how a vehicles charging system works. I know my battery drained really fast just leaving the interior lights on once.