Living up to its unreliable history

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

PaulLR3

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2006
Posts
1,401
Reaction score
530
Location
Boston
I was just about to bring up ktm525's point...if you want longer lasting bushings, buy the Atlantic British poly bushings. Just be sure your priority is bushing longevity not ride quality.
 

alexcorral

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Posts
581
Reaction score
17
We just traded in our 2013 HSE with 65K miles since new, done in 5 years. This was our second LR4 (first was a 2011 TDV6 HSE) which we only kept for 2 years and 20K miles.

I did all the service and maintenance at the dealer we bought it from, once a year and never had any serious issues. It was very reliable for us. Having said that, it was now requiring new control arms and started making a weird noise in the rear suspension, so we decided to replace it with a new one.

The problem is the new Discovery is not an LR4: they dropped the ball with the design and ruined an amazing thing they had with the LR4. They rounded off every corner and made it smaller inside. Plus, to build it with the features we like we need to start with an HSE Lux and end up at $75K (Our LR4 was $55K in 2013).

We ended up trading it in for a 2018 Land Cruiser.
 

[email protected]

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Posts
28
Reaction score
3
i just bought an LR4. Everyone warned me not to because they said they’re unreliable. In the first month that I’ve owned the car:
My transmission lines sprung a leak
The throttle was found to be full of buildup
One of the wipers came loose and stopped working
One of the wipers roped
One of the plastic side rails around the windshield fell off
The oxygen sensors keep going off


You are absolutely right. I have had an LR3 for 4 years now and it is a piece of Junk. Absolutely baffling why people defend the Land Rover. The only reason I think people on this forum feel that the truck arn't junk is because they have their ego wrapped up in them or they have never owned a Honda, Toyota, Subaru. This cheep vs expensive gas , O2 sensor failing because of cheep gas it's all nonsense. Hey Land Rover if you are going to advertise that your stuff can go around the world let's do it with out having to have a full support crew with the car. BTW BMW Motorcycles have the exact same issues. They are both in the business of Maximizing profits for the dealers instead of making a car that lives up to the Hype. Also any one the want's to argue this point please explain to me why LR has one of the worst resale values of any car on the market. Where Honda, Subaru and Toyota have the highest.
 

375HnH

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Posts
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Houston Tejas
I have an LR4 that had a full engine replacement (SCV6) in April 2018. Vehicle has 40k miles and still under warranty. The vehicle was at LR for 7 weeks because they had to have the engine shipped from the UK. Just last week the LR4 stalled on the freeway 70 miles from my home outside of Houston Texas. NO warning light, no nothing. The dealer said there was an "internal engine failure" on the brand new engine. Now LRNA is conducing their "investigation" before the replace the engine AGAIN! That is $60k worth of new engines in 4 months. That is the definition of unreliability. I enjoyed driving the truck and I am glad the majority of you have had more luck than me, but the day I get the truck back from the dealer it will be traded in for a 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser. I will not be stranded again on the side of the road full of gear, dogs, children, unhappy wife, etc.
 

alexcorral

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Posts
581
Reaction score
17
I owned a 2013 RRS, 2011 Discovery 4 and a 2013 LR4. All great vehicles and flawless in performance, but I never kept one for more than 5 years and 65K miles.

I have also owned a few BMW bikes: 2006 R1200GS, 2009 F800GS, 2011 F800GS and 2014 R1200GS (current). All great bikes, very capable and reliable for my rides in Central America, Chile, Argentina, New England, Colorado and Utah. No issues other than breaking stuff in my off-road adventures when dropping the bikes.
 

alexcorral

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Posts
581
Reaction score
17
I have an LR4 that had a full engine replacement (SCV6) in April 2018. Vehicle has 40k miles and still under warranty. The vehicle was at LR for 7 weeks because they had to have the engine shipped from the UK. Just last week the LR4 stalled on the freeway 70 miles from my home outside of Houston Texas. NO warning light, no nothing. The dealer said there was an "internal engine failure" on the brand new engine. Now LRNA is conducing their "investigation" before the replace the engine AGAIN! That is $60k worth of new engines in 4 months. That is the definition of unreliability. I enjoyed driving the truck and I am glad the majority of you have had more luck than me, but the day I get the truck back from the dealer it will be traded in for a 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser. I will not be stranded again on the side of the road full of gear, dogs, children, unhappy wife, etc.

Get the Land Cruiser... You will not regret it. I’m just on my second day of ownership but it is amazing. It is more money than the Discovery ($87K) but it is very nice and arguably the most capable/reliable SUV out there.
 

gsxr

Full Access Member
Joined
May 8, 2017
Posts
719
Reaction score
315
Location
Idaho
The LR4 was heavily redesigned for 2010, so why not swap out the bushings then? The answer likely is that the ride quality or logevity of other components may have been affected and they decided against it. It’s pure conjecture, but plausible.
I think you nailed it. Especially since it was a known issue with the LR3. LR considers the bushings to be a wear item, you replace them when they wear out. The problem is, public consensus as to acceptable lifespan conflicts with LR engineers' (or bean counters). Could they have made something that lasted 250kmi? Sure, but at what cost? I'm not defending LR, I also am not happy about it, but in the big picture it's really not much different than replacing brake pads & rotors (which are also often complained about having short lifespan).


I made the mistake of poly bushings in my first LR3. It was a disaster and ruined the ride, I quickly swapped them for the hydro bushings.
I've seen multiple recommendations for poly, which always confused me. I've used poly on other vehicles and almost never had acceptable results for normal street use. Maybe poly is great off-road. I'm definitely not going to use it on the LR4.


I knew going in that it would be an expensive vehicle to run and, knowing I wouldn’t drive it much, I was ok with that. For what it is and what it offers, it has been great and we love it. I plan to keep it forever.
I agree 110%. We had specific requirements for a vehicle, including but not limited to: seating 7 adults, 4WD/AWD, high ground clearance, strong acceleration, and not excessively large (our garage is small). There was almost nothing on the market in the past ~10 years that fit the bill, the closest was the 2010-era Mercedes GL which was/is significantly more expensive, and larger. We plan to keep the LR4 for a very long time and likely replace it with another LR4 should anything happen to it. In the meantime, I will be doing the control arm bushing job (117kmi) in the near future, as the front clunking has increased quite a bit over the past few thousand miles.


I have had an LR3 for 4 years now and it is a piece of Junk. Absolutely baffling why people defend the Land Rover. The only reason I think people on this forum feel that the truck arn't junk is because they have their ego wrapped up in them or they have never owned a Honda, Toyota, Subaru. This cheep vs expensive gas , O2 sensor failing because of cheep gas it's all nonsense. ... please explain to me why LR has one of the worst resale values of any car on the market. Where Honda, Subaru and Toyota have the highest.
So first of all, this thread is discussing the LR4, which may look the same but is almost completely different from the LR3 in terms of interior and powertrain. I posted my reasons above for why we own & drive the LR4. If you hate the LR3, why are you here? Shouldn't you be driving a Honda, Subary, or Toyota which have higher resale values?

o_O
 

Quijote

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Posts
1,256
Reaction score
320
Location
Metro Boston
I have had an LR3 for 4 years now and it is a piece of Junk.

So you bought it used, then. How many years and miles when you bought it?

The LR3 didn't have the best reliability history when I checked back in 2013, which is why I didn't buy a used one. I was still (and am) slightly concerned with the LR4's reliability, but when looking at used ones in 2013 the resale was ridiculously high on LR4's but they at least seemed to be holding up well, so I decided to get one of the last V8's new and I hoped that well-taken-care-of from the start it would not be problematic. So far so good.

Expensive cars are never the smart value choice. As far as I am concerned, as long as it is not some major issue (engine or transmission) I can live with the occasional repair. So far, no issues on mine and I am at nearly 5 years (although admittedly only 32k miles).

If I needed a super-reliable SUV that I would put a lot of miles on, I would have gotten a Totoya/Lexus/Honda. You gotta pay to play. When I bought a used, high-mileage 997 Turbo, I knew what I was getting into. I didn't have Civic-levels of reliability expectations. Kept it for three years and never had an issue.

I recently got a new M3. I plan on keeping it for a while (6 years?). Again, I know I did not get Camry. I know this. Much like the LR4, I will have 4 years to evaluate if it is a keeper or not. Hopefully it is.
 

m_lars

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2017
Posts
186
Reaction score
84
Location
Utah
I have an LR4 that had a full engine replacement (SCV6) in April 2018. Vehicle has 40k miles and still under warranty. The vehicle was at LR for 7 weeks because they had to have the engine shipped from the UK. Just last week the LR4 stalled on the freeway 70 miles from my home outside of Houston Texas. NO warning light, no nothing. The dealer said there was an "internal engine failure" on the brand new engine. Now LRNA is conducing their "investigation" before the replace the engine AGAIN! That is $60k worth of new engines in 4 months. That is the definition of unreliability. I enjoyed driving the truck and I am glad the majority of you have had more luck than me, but the day I get the truck back from the dealer it will be traded in for a 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser. I will not be stranded again on the side of the road full of gear, dogs, children, unhappy wife, etc.

Sounds like something wasn’t done right. As to your last sentence, it doesn’t matter what you drive, that’ll never be true.

Get the Land Cruiser... You will not regret it. I’m just on my second day of ownership but it is amazing. It is more money than the Discovery ($87K) but it is very nice and arguably the most capable/reliable SUV out there.

I don’t buy new, ever, so I can’t speak about the new cruisers. I considered a LC before buying my 3, for reliability. They’re just not interesting to me, I’ll pay the price of admission to drive a car that’s not so dull.


I have had an LR3 for 4 years now and it is a piece of Junk. Absolutely baffling why people defend the Land Rover. The only reason I think people on this forum feel that the truck arn't junk is because they have their ego wrapped up in them or they have never owned a Honda, Toyota, Subaru.

People defend Land Rover because they like their Land Rover. I’m on my second. I like them because they’re different, they actually have some character and are extremely capable off road (which I use mine for a lot). Honda and Toyota are very reliable, but about as interesting as a paper bag, to me. Subaru, good cars, have you ever had to replace valve cover gaskets on one of their opposed 4 engines? You have to pull the motor. Speaking of pulling the motor, my cousin has an STI. He’s pulled the motor so often he can go from hoist, to crank on the bench in 2.5 hours. He’s had a LOT of practice.
 
Last edited:

cperez

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
1,720
Reaction score
794
Location
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
People defend Land Rover because they like their Land Rover. I’m on my second. I like them because they’re different, they actually have some character and are extremely capable off road (which I use mine for a lot).

Good summary of my views on Land Rover, too, except that I'm on my 3rd, and I don't go off-road as often as many of the owners in this forum. But back to the brand-- I like it cuz I like it.

In fact, I think I'll treat the Landy to a fresh oil change this weekend just to show my 'preciation for it.
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
36,222
Posts
217,567
Members
30,473
Latest member
OnoA
Top