In January 2008, I purchased a 2003 Land Rover Discovery Series II HSE with 44K miles. When I purchased the vehicle the selling dealer had performed an inspection which noted the vehicle in great condition. I also received a CARFAX report noting the vehicle had a good history. In February 2008, I brought the vehicle to Land Rover dealer to have a full inspection of the vehicle. This was mainly for peace of mind on the condition of the used vehicle as determined by certified Land Rover mechanics.
The inspection report noted that vehicle was in great condition with no issues
needing to be addressed. BUT along with the evaluation paper work provided by the Land Rover dealer was a Land Rover Technical Alert. The Technical Alert stated the following;”

Discovery Series II (LT) 3A771801 – 3A808362
Situation
Oil pump failures on 2003 Discovery Series II vehicles may be the result of a
manufacturing error. Locating dowel pins may be slightly misaligned permitting
assembly of the oil pump to the engine block, but placing stress on the pump housing which can ultimately lead to leakage or failure.
Resolution
Whenever an oil pump failure is encountered on vehicles within the above VIN range the only effective repair currently available is replacement of the complete engine assembly including the front cover/oil pump manufactured to the latest tolerances.

My Land Rover VIN number falls within the identified VIN number range of affected vehicles. I spoke to the dealer when he provided this Technical Alert. He stated that the vehicle oil pump was fine and that they would not address the issue if the vehicle was working properly.

Jump ahead to 2010.
While driving the vehicle on 26 March 2010, the oil light came and the engine
began to make rumbling sounds. I turned off the vehicle. Fearing the worst, I had the vehicle towed at a cost of $545 to my mechanic. My mechanic confirmed that the oil pump had failed. I spoke to the Land Rover dealer and to Land Rover of North America. Neither would cover the repair in spite of the Technical Alert published and provided by them on this condition. The estimated cost to repair the vehicle is $10, 000.

I believe that I am responsible for the ownership and reasonable risks associated with a used vehicle. BUT, the issue with my vehicle is not reasonable.
Land Rover made a manufacturing “error”, published it and then left the “error” to the consequence and expense of myself. If I had known about this Technical Alert at the time of purchase, I would have either had the issued covered under a warranty or perhaps not purchased the vehicle. These types of Technical Alerts are not disclosed to the public which left me at risk. The first I knew of the Technical Alert was after I purchased the vehicle and received the inspection report

At this time, my vehicle is of little value with an engine that needs to be replaced.
I am stuck with attempting to find the money to cover the repair or sell the vehicle for what little I can get for it and take a huge loss. To make a defective product, sell it and then leave the consequence to the expense of the consumer is unethical and shameful.

Do NOT purchase a FREELANDER!!!
I purchased a used 2003 Freelander with 10, 000 miles on it. The Freelander was under the ORIGINAL factory warranty and had coverage until 40, 000 miles. I had all of my receipts, for the synthetec oil changes. followed all ofthe rules to make sure that if anything were to happen to the Freelander that it would be covered under the ORIGINAL factory warranty. I exchanged e-mails with Land Rover North America, phone calls, talked to
numerous Land Rover certified mechanics and until I logged on to look and see what the latest recall was, did I find
unfortunately that there were hundreds of people in my
my same situation. I get so angry when I think of all
the money that I have put into this car, when I know
that at any given moment it could stall on the highway
going 85 mph with loss of all electric functions, no steering or brakes, over heating, recall on the recalled brake light, the back passenger seat window dropped down because it had wound itself up in the motor which burned up, causing it to fail.
I don't know all of the mechanic lingo, but I
do know that I paid $7, 000 for a REBUILT engine, after
only having the car for a year. It has been in the
shop more than its been in my driveway. I was told
that I didn't have my oil changed frequently enough,
even though I had the receipts to prove it. When I
asked "Why didn't the oil lamp light come on?" I was
told by the Land Rover mechanic "There was so much sludge built up in the bottom of your engine that it couldn't read the level of the
oil!" I have read some of the other forums only to see
that other people had been told the same thing by Land
Rover. A rental car was to be covered under the ORIGINAL factory warranty for 9 months, while my Land Rover was parked at the American Fork Land Rover waiting for the mechanics to find an engine to replace the one that I " supposedly, " ruined. Only to find out that I would be paying for 9 months of a driving a rental car, that cost me $6000, and a REBUILT Freelander engine which cost me $7000. Land Rover decided that they were not going to cover the engine under the ORIGINAL factory
warranty, due to "CUSTOMER NEGLECT!" My credit rating dropped. I was forced to pay for a REBUILT engine, car payment, rental car and insurance while the Freelander sat waiting for a REBUILT engine. I don't want the money. I want what I paid for, a car that should run & not cause me stress when I need to go somewhere, just wondering when and if its going to start.
Nobody should have to go through what I've
been through with a used or brand new car. you can e-mail
me @ [email protected]
Sincerely


Chantell D.





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Its been 4 weeks since Landrover took my car for fixing...
I was promised that the car would be fixed within 10days.
I was not offered a car in the meantime - had to hire a car at my cost
Its now 4 weeks and my car is still not fixed
Did i mention that Landrover has not cared to call me since... i'm the one who's has to call them all the time to find out what's happening - and i never get any tangible answer

Is getting a curtesy car from a dealership while they are fixing your car (and taking more than a month to do so) too much to ask...?

i give up - honestly

Like everyone who buys a Land Rover we felt we were purchasing a vehicle that was top of the line. It is a 2003 Land Rover Discovery we purchased fully loaded off the showroom floor. As of today, this vehicle only has 23,000 miles on it. It is stored in a temp. controlled garage. We are 60 years of age with no children. When the vehicle had less than two thousand miles on it we took a road trip from Colorado to California. When we returned we found grease all over the back rear wheels. Took it into the dealership since it was still under warranty and had to have the bearings and seals replaced. Then we had a oil comsumption problem. Then the high priced Harmon Karmon stereo had to be repaired twice and finally replaced. To this day, the stereo display light does at times does not come on unless (we found out ourselves) we open and close the navagation CD holder. Our BIGGEST complaint now is at 23,000 miles and six months past the 4 year - 50,000 miles warranty, both the passenger window and driver's window started popping whenever the window was opened. It is/was a LOUD popping sound. Finally, the passenger window gave out one loud pop and we found we could not raise the window back up. We can hear that the motor mechanism is still working, however what raises and lowers the window inside the door panel snapped. To make a long story short, we feel a vehicle priced at almost $50,000 and with only 23,000 miles on it should NOT have the cables break that operates the windows. We know from the sound the driver's window is on its way out. We feel strongly this problem is a mfg defect. There has absolutely been no abuse with the opening and closing of these windows. We called Land Rover Customer Service and they were of no help. They could have cared less. We then took our complaint to their Board of Appeals and got a "unsigned" letter back telling us that since the vehicle was 6 months past the warranty - 4 years - and taking into consideration this vehicle does not even have 1/2 the mileage - 50,000 miles - they would not participate in the repairs. We are so disappointed and feel taken by Land Rover. After the warranty period, their customer does not exist. They definitely do not stand behind their workmanship. This is not a problem that has been caused by "normal wear and tear." Their people even admitted something like this should not have happened, but they will do nothing to fix this obvious mfg defect/problem. I would NEVER recommend a Land Rover to anyone. Now we are stuck paying someone to fix this problem.