Parking Brake Lock-Up

[jptruck]

UPDATE: The various codes and faults i'm getting now are related to corrosion in the wiring where the water has drained into the vehicle. Land Rover Chantilly is saying this is a normal wear and tear issue that will not be covered by warranty. It's looking like a bunch of money to replace all the wiring and harnesses related to this issue.

Lucky for me I have lots and lots of letters related to the water issue. Unlucky for me is the fact I'm probably going to have to open a lemon law case.

 

[JackMac]

Wiring harness failure while under warranty is a normal wear/tear issue? Oh boy. Obviously this should be covered. Too bad they are going to make you go through the extra effort to get it addressed.

Do you have any other dealers in the area to work with?

 

[angasreid]

Jesus man. That's terrible. I was about to say, lemon law that car.

I have a friend who's family bought a Range Rover brand new from a dealer and had tons of problems like this. There was something consistently wrong with the car. After a little less than a year they had the vehicle replaced by the dealer.

Where'd you get this thing by the way? Was it new?

 

[jptruck]

I went over to the dealership and aired things out a bit today. They "think" there's corrosion, but they don't want to do any exploratory work. Apparently, there wasn't a hard fault this last time around just a "communication interuption." The A-Pillar is definitely leanking againg, though, and they are seriuosly worried it has caused some damage.

The explanation that it's wear and tear is simple: Extended Warranty does not cover ANY hoses, tubes or anything with rubber associated with it. That I understand, but the subsequent water damage is messing with the car's electronics. Was the corrosion damage started in 2005 and 2006 or did this last go around affect it. That's the $54,000 question.

We agreed to halt our threats for a while (me and Chantilly), and they are going to roadtest my ride for a few days.

BTW: LRNA can blow me. After offering to reimburse me for the brake damage, they came back today and said the reimbursement will be in the form of LR Gift Certificates. We worked a deal where the drain work would be covered by these credits, but nobody wants a f-ing LR gift card when you just laid down hard-earned cash.

 

[jptruck]

Jesus man. That's terrible. I was about to say, lemon law that car.

I have who's family bought a Range Rover brand new from a dealer and had tons of problems like this. There was something consistently wrong with the car. After a little less than a year they had the vehicle replaced by the dealer.

Where'd you get this thing by the way? Was it new?

The car was purchased new at Land Rover in Tyson's Corner, but all the work has been done in Chantilly. That dealership is 30 minutes closer to my home and both are owned by Rosenthal Inc.

This car has definitely gone beyond the usual knick-knack repair list. I had them print out my service record today and it was some 15 pages.

 

[kingfishgrapeja]

I would blame a low battery before assuming, as the tech did, that water somehow is coroding things. I would fix the leak and WD 40 everthing near it. I'd never let them service it again but that may be my jaded side speaking. It sounds like you are not going to get good results with that dealership no matter what. What a nightmare.

 

[jptruck]

I would blame a low battery before assuming, as the tech did, that water somehow is coroding things. I would fix the leak and WD 40 everthing near it. I'd never let them service it again but that may be my jaded side speaking. It sounds like you are not going to get good results with that dealership no matter what. What a nightmare.

I thought about the battery as a problem and suggested they check it. They did and found it to be in good shape. It's actually pretty new and the charge was good. We've had some torrential rains around here lately after being dry for quite some time. I'm afraid their water theory is correct.

 

[jptruck]

OK, funny. The tech took the car home for the night and the next day it barely turned over and then had "communication issues" to the point where the suspension dropped to the ground. I guess he was able to get it back to the dealership without a tow somehow.

The working theory is a loose engine ground wire. That's a first, but it could have been the cause of numerous problems with the vehicle. Apparently it's in a very inaccessible location, though.

 

[jptruck]

Well, the saga is over for now. The car is back in the driveway and seems to be fine (for now). Leaving it with the tech finally proved my point about the faults and they did find a corroded engine block ground wire. They suspect this in the problem. It has been the case in the past. Total bill for this escapade was $500 (i guess wire is not that easy to reach) plus the cost to clear the sunroof drain. I used my Land Rover bucks that LRNA offered from the brake failure situation and came out with nothing out of pocket (I still had to pay for the brake problem, though).

I hope this is it for a while. I'm tired of all this back and forth to deal with a vehicle. So far this month, my ride has been in the shop 18 days.