Need advice about what to do with my LR3

[MarkJD]

Dear Gang,

I need some advice about how to proceed with some servicing issues on my Land Rover that are driving me up the wall.

I'm no stranger to Land Rovers - my 2007 LR3 HSE is my seventh or eighth Land Rover - so I feel that I have a very healthy tolerance for imperfection. However, my LR3 has been in the shop 4 or 5 times to get the speakers / door panels to stop rattling. This rattling mainly occurs at resonances that are hit listening to talk radio (AM) or talk Satellite Radio. I think it's a well known problem on the passenger front door, but my service guys aren't fixing it for me, and I see myself gradually being seen as a pest by my dealership's service department. Their most recent advice was to listen to classical music. It hasn't helped that it only occurs at certain times and, inevitably, those aren't the times that I've tried to demonstrate it to the service guy. They have heard it before, but this last go round, they had my vehicle for a month (they did give me a loaner LR3), and all they did was fix a leak in the back windshield - they even admitted that they didn't address the speaker problem.

I think it would be easier for me to handle if the vehicle were leased as I usually do with Land Rovers, but the residuals and money factor were so bad on the 2007 LR3s that I ended up buying it. Land Rover was obviously trying to de-incentivize the vehicle for leasors. Anyway, I essentially paid $1000 under MRSP for a vehicle that has been in the shop for at least two months of the 8 months that I've owned it, and it still has the same problem. The coup de grace after this last service visit was that the speaker started rattling as I pulled off of the dealership lot (i.e. right after I'd tried to demonstrate it to them), and then I got home and found a screw in my tire. As I primarily listen to talk radio, this problem is not only a constant annoyance, but it's embarrassing to have this issue with three speakers on a $56K vehicle.

I've decided that I want a new vehicle. Socially, I know the owner of the dealership and rather than be a hothead about this, I'd like to ask the sales manager to give me a new one at invoice and help me sell this one. Does that sound appropriate to ya'll?

Mark

 

[grommet]

Uh, a rattle is causing you to sell your car and buy a new one? No way!

Try another dealer's service department. If that's not possible, calmly escalate to the dealer's service department manager. Just exactly what do they do "for a month"?! That's, what, ~160 hrs. of possible labor?

Ignoring that completely unacceptable experience, rattles/noises are generally not simple repairs... since there are many variables. It often takes some finesse that not all workers have.

Anyway... the real worst case: Depending on the state you are in, you may already be eligible for it's Lemon Law. In that case, you may get a replacement vehicle without much effort. I'm not sure I've ever seen it used for a rattle... but, at least in California, having the vehicle out of service for over 30 days is one of the triggers.

 

[a990dna]

In lieu of buying a 2005 LR3, I bought a 2005 Land Cruiser ... a long story shortened, the thing was a rattle trap from 1K miles on -- the driver door (speaker induced) and rear passenger seat rattles drove me crazy. They never could fix the rear passenger seat rattle... a safety latch that couldn't be adjusted... I had to learn to ignore that annoyance -- believe it or not, the LX 470s do the same. $70K vehicle!

They did fix the driver door rattle by replacing the entire panel .. they hosed up the window run molding during the process -- had to replace that too. Broken keepers or delamination are usually the reasons door panel rattles emerge to begin with.

At 12K miles I invoked the Lemon Law due a defective frame rail .. broken weld inside the boxed frame ... Toyota wanted to take the vehicle apart and replace the frame.

The problem with fixing a door panel rattle -- every time the panel is removed, you run the risk of creating other rattles. They also disturb the moisture seal that needs to be re-attached. A month in the service bay is absolutely ridiculous. I would take it to the top (your friend) and express your dissatisfaction -- tell him you want Land Rover (Ford) to buy the vehicle back and replace it with a new one just like it. He won't lose money on the deal .. its actually between you and LR.

My guess -- he'll put it back in the service bay and you'll receive the red carpet treatment. I would make sure they replace the entire panel, and moisture seal with all new keepers ... and while they're in there they can check for loose screws and speaker connections.

good luck with it, I hate rattles.

 

[franklin]

If you cannot find another dealer-Go to a pro audio installer-have them go through the door panels and tweak as ness. Sure, it won't be free but you have spent many many more $$$$ in your own personal time festering over this if this is the only thing wrong with your vehicle.

 

[roverman]

Can't believe your dealer let you drive a loaner for a month. If it was me, I woulda told them to keep mine for the rest of the year and racked up miles on their truck
Whenever I get a loaner, my car is ready before I get 25 miles on theirs...
I'd go the custom speaker route as well btw, easier to deal with and better speakers. Just put it in writing if the custom job still rattles, you'll want your money back.

 

[new06]

trade it on sn SE...I had and HSE and now have the SE. Bottom line is, less speakers, less chance of rattles.

 

[Patriot]

Mark - I really do hope LR fixes your truck to your satisfaction and that it is perfect for you as mine is for me.

Best,

Patriot

 

[jzk]

I also listen to AM, and have the intermittent resonance problem. The first few attempts at the service department resulted in "we couldn't duplicate the problem."

Since then, I have grown to accept and love those rattles and hums.

 

[Cpa4S]

did the loaner have the same radio? did it also have any of the problems?

 

[MarkJD]

Cpa4s, No the loaner didn't have the resonance / vibration problem, but it didn't have the same radio either (it was an SE and not an HSE).

Grommet, I know it sounds crazy, but as a talk radio sort of guy, this is driving me nuts. I spoke to the dealer today. They are willing to get me out of the vehicle for another HSE LR3 (but a 2008 MY) for about $9K. This is with them selling the 2008 at invoice (apparently about $53K) and taking mine in for about $44K. In late December of 2006, I purchased this 2007 LR3 for about $56K, and I currently have around 10,000 miles on it. I'm essentially paying $9K for a year's depreciation. How does that sound to you? Also, the LR3 seems to fit me size-wise as I have three small children, but I'm not doing the carpooling that I thought I'd be doing so I don't know that I need the back row of seats. Is the RRS comparable off-road?

Everyone else, thank you for your responses and advice. I know that my problem doesn't rise to the level of a "performance issue", but these vibrations are constant and I appreciate the advice that ya'll have given - in fact, if I don't replace this truck with another Land Rover, I may take it to an auto audio specialist as some of ya'll have suggested.

Mark D