Why is the "most capable 4x4" so fragile ?

[DMROVER]

Relatively new to the Land Rover community. Purchased a 2016 LR4 about a year ago. It had been babied & looked showroom new with only 17,000 miles on it. In the last year I have put almost 20,000 mile on it including a handful of back country trips. No real ********* off roading, mostly dirt roads with some technical sections out in the Anza Borrego desert.

At roughly 36,000 miles I am experiencing the control arm knocking issue that seem to be a known weakness. Seems to be very low miles to experiencing such problems.

I bought the LR4 knowing very well that there would be reliability issues, but I had always wanted one so I pulled the trigger. No regrets. Love the vehicle regardless.

I previously owned a 2011 Chevy Tahoe and put 150,000 miles with zero issues & the same degree if not more off road driving ( just based on 7 years of ownership. )

It just makes me wonder why Land Rover - touted as such a capable vehicle is so fragile & prone to issues ???

 

[PaulLR3]

Probably not control arm bushings...yet. My knocking noise at about 40K miles was a bad stabilizer bar bushing.

 

[ktm525]

Unless your used vehicle had been beat. Making it look babied is easy.

 

[zski128]

My front lower control arm bushings where clunking at ~40k miles. Replaced under warranty. It was definitely the bushings as I had small drips oil under each one.

 

[avslash]

I would guess that the engineers specced a soft, but less durable compound to reduce NVH in order to keep Suzy soccer mom happier.

Replace with poly bushings and forget about them for a good long while.

 

[ktm525]

Hydro bushings are the secret sauce. Real men press them out of the original A arms with there fingers and replace. Easy Peasy.

 

[f1racer328]

Hydro bushings are the secret sauce. Real men press them out of the original A arms with there fingers and replace. Easy Peasy.

Aren’t the OEM bushings hydro bushings?

 

[ktm525]

Yes. That is what makes the ride so nice. I drive a 2005 Yukon Denali from time to time. If you felt that trucks suspension you would never complain about replacing LCAs ever again.

 

[mflecklr3]

Just my opinion but I think Land Rover reliability issues are a result of weight, design, assembly, and deferred maintenance. These are very heavy vehicles so consumable parts wear out fast if you drive them daily. Land Rover definitely makes some questionable design decisions and assembly can be...inconsistent. I suspect some of my wiring was done after lunch on payday as some wires are run for RH drive and others for LH. Finally, there are major differences between the factory maintenance schedule and tribal wisdom. Transmission and diff fluid change intervals are prime examples. I think my LR3 is reliable but it is NOT low maintenance.

 

[ktm525]

Yes right on the money. I would have liked a larger displacement V8 in the LR4 (6.2L) with the same output and less fancy stuff (DI, cam phasing). In fact they should have dropped the GM 6.2L in there.