Looking to buy this LR4, but rattle at cold start. Goes away when warm...

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ktm525

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Two things I have noticed about people who just volunteer their thoughts that Land Rovers are unreliable, especially online:

1. The vast majority of them have never owned a Land Rover, but are merely just parroting others (who have probably not owned a Land Rover themselves);

2. A lot of them are from Toyota owners who seek to justify their exceedingly boring purchases (or, in the case of the LX 570, exceedingly ugly) that they made in the name of "rElIaBiLiTy."

EDIT: This isn't to say that all Toyotas are boring, but they have distinct drawbacks (and problems) that people just gloss over because of perception.

Look I love Land Rovers but we need to be clear eyed on this issue. Land Rover has consistently been bottom of the barrel in measures or reliability. Yes many of these issues are on extraneous little systems but still they are annoying. I keep all my vehicles long term (10+ years) and the fact of the matter is my Rovers (LR3 HSE and LR4 HSE Lux) cost about double in terms of maintenance to keep on the road in tip top condition vs my other rides (Honda Ridgeline, Volvo V70R, Pontiac G8 GT)
 

CaliLee

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Closest ours has come to stranding us was the rear crossover failing right after my wife pulled into the driveway, dumped all the coolant in the road right at the end of the driveway. This was in the first 6 months of ownership and I knew nothing about that particular issue, had no idea how lucky we were. Though it was still under warranty and was being driven home from the dealership (timing chain had just been completed) so I guess it would have been their problem.

Definitely not great for reliability but I still love that thing. Our Raptor isn't exactly solid in that area either...
 

ryanjl

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Look I love Land Rovers but we need to be clear eyed on this issue. Land Rover has consistently been bottom of the barrel in measures or reliability. Yes many of these issues are on extraneous little systems but still they are annoying. I keep all my vehicles long term (10+ years) and the fact of the matter is my Rovers (LR3 HSE and LR4 HSE Lux) cost about double in terms of maintenance to keep on the road in tip top condition vs my other rides (Honda Ridgeline, Volvo V70R, Pontiac G8 GT)

Counterpoint: Land Rover scores about the same right now in the JD Power reliability ratings as Toyota did in the early 90's.

I've owned 4 or 5 Land Cruiser. Other than the timing chain guides (which I had replaced under warranty), my 6 years of LR4 ownership has been almost as trouble free as my 8 years of FZJ80 ownership.

Land Rover will never reach Toyota levels of reliability. For starters, they sell way too few vehicles to refine product, and they don't have the parts bin of reliable parts to dip into. That's a drawback, too, because it's a little deflating to pay $90k for a new Land Cruiser and have the same cheap plastic switches as a poverty pack Corolla.

But I do think there's a general thing going on where the Toyota reliability problems are seen as "just maintenance issues" and Land Rover's maintenance issues are seen as "huge reliability problems."

Take the first model years of the 200 series Land Cruiser (08-09). The water pumps go bad within 70k miles, the starters go bad and leave you stranded because they're a huge PITA to get to, and the radiators crack on the top (they did this until 2017 or so).

In my experience, if you are an active vehicle owner (always looking to replace the "next thing that could go wrong") ownership between the two isn't as big of a difference as the internet would have you believe.
 

ktm525

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That was 30 years ago lol...

So 2009 Land Cruiser vs 2010 LR4..

- water pumps. a wash
- starters. 1 point to Land Rover
- plastic cross overs than grenade an engine. 1000 points to Toyota.
- timing tensioners that wear out in the 100k mile range on average. 500 points Toyota
- leaky gas tanks. Rover is sorta covering this. No points awarded.

Game set and match Toyota.
The market does not lie. Look at the resale of equivalent years of LR4s vs Lexus LX or Land Cruiser.

and don't get me wrong I love the LR4. The idiosyncrasies of the Land Rover is what keeps the used market for them reasonable.
 

jlglr4

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Are we ignoring looks for this discussion. I can accept the Toyota is likely more reliable. I just can’t stand what they did to the outside of the thing for any model past the 80 series. The 100’s were maybe tolerable, but 200s are just so damn ugly (to my eyes…no offense to any 200 lovers). And if I had to buy an 80 series, that’s a pretty old car.

I wish someone would bring back the sliding rear windows - my dog would love those things.
 

ktm525

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My list wasn't meant to be all exhaustive, @ktm525. Don't be obtuse.

How am I obtuse? Land Rover has been at or near the bottom of most quality surveys for the past 20 years at least. That is just a fact. That they achieved a quality rate today where others were 30 years ago is not a ringing endorsement. The Land Rover just has more stuff go wrong with it constantly, it doesn't mean it isn't a good vehicle.
 

t3s1a

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Ugh, we’re not going to argue about LR vs Toyota reliability here, aren’t we?

LR makes a much more sophisticated vehicles which comes at a price.

And reliability is not even the main problem here, a terrible service is. Average dealership is good enough to change oil and tyres, but completely useless otherwise.
After warranty expires finding a good indy shop is the key to a happy LR ownership.
 

ryanjl

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How am I obtuse? Land Rover has been at or near the bottom of most quality surveys for the past 20 years at least. That is just a fact. That they achieved a quality rate today where others were 30 years ago is not a ringing endorsement. The Land Rover just has more stuff go wrong with it constantly, it doesn't mean it isn't a good vehicle.

Jesus, you are difficult sometimes.

You took my off the cuff list of a few things I can think of that go wrong with an early 200 series as a definitive and all-encompassing list.

Then you're acting like everybody wasn't singing the praises of Toyota reliability 30 years ago too.

Whatever. I don't care.
 

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