So confused! LR4 reliable or not??

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Newbuyer

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Hi Everyone,

I'm from the uk and am considering purchasing the LR4 here (new). Almost every reliability survey and review site for this 2010 model are indicating that it is or may be an unreliable car. My greatest concern is whether over the course of 5 years of ownership it will present me with many headaches and costs to repair, service and maintain. So I guess my question is, how are you guys finding the LR4? Your honest and unbiased opinion would be extremely appreciated...
 

vivaldi1

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Hello,

I don't think you'll be able to get the answer you crave. The LR4 is too new and we'll have to go through several years to see how the dependability issue plays out.

I do know that Land Rover is fully aware of the dependability issues and they learned alot of lessons from the LR3 when they designed the LR4. As a company, they can't afford to rest on their laurels for the future. Too much competition. They want to build great trucks and they know they can't just rely on having an esteemed marquee. I think the switch from Ford to Tatum made a big impact. Land Rover really seems to be focusing on customer experience.

I've had mine for 8 months now and haven't had a single issue. I absolutely love it and it's an amazing machine. It's a very complex machine though, and so I'm always knocking on wood when I make posts like these.

It's like the iPhone ad, 'Yeah, there's a sensor for that'. And where there is a sensor there is a chance for electronic confusion. I can't speak to the hardware side of things as I'm a complete newbie.

You only live once, if your heart is in it, jump in. No regrets.
 

Newbuyer

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Hey Willie,

Happy to hear you've had a great experience with the LR4! I guess all I really want to know is what the preliminary findings seem to be with the LR4...
 

GME2815

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go to truedelta.com

you have to join, but once you do, you can see the only existing reliability data on the lr4. and it's not bad at all.
 

e24kgold

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I trucks and they know they can't just rely on having an esteemed marquee. I think the switch from Ford to Tatum made a big impact. Land Rover really seems to be focusing on customer experience.


Tata not tatum
 

LR4mywife

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We have 3K miles on our two month old (6 week actually) LR4.....

And so far, it's been as steady as a rock! If I had any complaint about build quality, it would only be that some plastic trim parts (parts around the drivers seat base) are maybe not as sturdy as they could be. I've knocked it off (it pops back on easy enough) a couple of times. I was surprised at how flimsy it was, and it made me think about what other items might be equally "flimsy", but other then that, she's been a model of quality so far. If I had any complaints about anything on the vehicle, it would be:

1) NAV access while driving and not just when in park. Really, this is annoying!
2) Seats should be ventilated / air conditioned like any other vehicle in this price category.
3) Doors should automatically "all" unlock when the vehicle is put into park.
4) Auto Rain Sensing wipers should be an electronic button (momentary) and not a "hard switch" that requires manual shutting off when you stop the vehicle. Why, do you ask.....well imagine your wife forgets they are in the "on" position, and she drives through a "non touchless car wash", well.......you get the picture. While they didn't break when this happened, I know someone's that did on another brand of European vehicle and the cost to repair the "ripped off" wiper assembly, and motor replacement was over $600. Expensive car wash!!! Our outgoing BMW X5's auto wipers were on an electronic switch. Required you to "hit the on button" every time after starting the vehicle to activate the feature. Make sense to me!
5) Horn should "honk" or there should be some other audible noise to confirm you've locked the vehicle upon exit and as you walk away. Right now, you just hear a simple light "click" as the doors lock when you push the button on the door handle, or hit button on the fob.
6) Rear seats should have a "recline" feature (albeit just a mechanical which would be fine).
7) And the issues with the Sat. Radio always going to "hits 1" is real annoying. As far as I know, there's no software fix for this yet. My dealer didn't seem to perturbed by it when I brought it up to him. Seemed like he insinuated that we simply "live with it".

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not dissatisfied with the vehicle at all. As hard as I try, I've never found the "perfect" vehicle. So far, the L4R has been about as perfect a family vehicle as we've ever owned. Here's a list of my wife's past vehicles:

2007 BMW X5
2004 Lincoln Aviator
2000 GMC Denali XL
1997 GMC Yukon
1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
1991 Nissan Maxima

My past vehicles:
2008 Cadillac CTS 4
2004 Infiniti G35X
2003 Infiniti Q45t
2000 Infiniti QX4
1997 Infiniti I30
1993 Audi 100
1991 BMW 318iS
1990 Ford Mustang LX 5.0

There's not a single vehicle in either of those lists I'd take over the LR4 at this point. And none of those vehicles were "completely" reliable. I can live with a few minor issues here and there, so I'm not worried. I lease vehicles and get rid of them about the time they are coming off of warranty. That said, I'm SUPER glad I decided to lease our last vehicle (BMW X5) it was a real piece of @#$%! Not reliable at all. Electronics issues, interior trim issues, exterior trim issues, brake issues, and many more things that would require me to keep going on and on. Suffice to say, any vehicle can be reliable or unreliable. You just sometimes get lucky, and or unlucky. So far, so good for us with the LR4

Good luck to you!

Cheers,

Joe
 

Newbuyer

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Hi Joe,

What a great reply- extremely appreciated. Seems like you've had some pretty fine cars in the past and to know that the LR4 has been amongst the best is a relief to hear. Those listed peculiarities seem a little unique, but nothing that would put me off buying one. I wish you the very best with your new car and many happy miles on the road with it...
 

vivaldi1

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I would concur with many of Joe's gripes.

I wasn't thinking on that level though. There are lots of what's referred to as 'usability' issues with the lR4, but typically they are easily overcome.

In general the UI of the touch screen and nav is pretty bad. You can't set a destination while you are moving the vehicle. You can't go up and down channels with Satellite (you have to know the channel you want or have it pre programmed), the satellite radio loses signal with the slightest of bridges, the resolution of the DVD screens is pretty low (if you get that option), the voice command system is not very user friendly, the bluetooth phone system is erratic, etc.

But, I still love it. Damnit. Once you sit in the Captain's chair and drive one you'll understand.
 

Stomachdoc

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. You can't go up and down channels with Satellite (you have to know the channel you want or have it pre programmed),


You can go up and down by station number by using the < or > hard key in the center stack (not on the steering wheel which just jumps presets). I agree, the UI is pretty weak overall, but WAY better than the 5 series with iDrive that I had before.
 

vivaldi1

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Stomachdoc,

Actually thanks for that Pro Tip! I spent a while trying to figure that out and even consulted the manual but never figured it out. That will be very helpful on long trips.
 

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