Ownership Experiences
(New
Mk III Model Introduced in June 2002)
In this section we are compiling
the experiences (whether good or bad)
of Range Rover owners to serve as a resource for others who may be
considering buying one. This
section is intended to catalog the overall experience of ownership; for
specific details of the most common problems
encountered by owners, please see the section on common
problems and fixes. If
you would like to contribute your experiences, please send them in to me via email.
Identifying information about the owners and Land Rover dealerships is
removed. We
also have a new bulletin board
for discussing the new model Range Rover.
(Photo at right courtesy of Bob Pearson)
November 2006: Bob Pearson
purchased a new 2005 model last year in France, and found "it spend
seven months of its fourteen month life in the dealer's. broken". The
main culprit appears to have been the notorious front diff failure.
February 2005: "I feel very disappointed in the
Range Rover with the 2 Front Diff failures. Not impressed at all.
I have decided to return to normal
motoring and am very impressed with the New Audi A8 car. The 48 Hour test drive along with the Dealer
experience and build quality has swayed me to change."
February 2005: "I
purchased a 2004 model end 20004 and to date it’s
been a great joy to own. Previously I owned a 2004 model Discovery TD5,
and
whilst it also was good to own, the difference in quality of interiors
was noticeable. The down side of the V8
Ranger Rover is the incredible
thirst compared with the TD 6. Under
half the fuel consumption stings
just a
little!! I’ve had to install the
optional side step due to the height
stepping in and out of the vehicle. Something I was initially reluctant
to do
as it spoils the over all look of the vehicle. Other minor complaints
relate to the silly light cream
leather interiors the agents order their vehicles with. Unless I placed
a
special order (min 3 months) I had to have a vehicle already in stock.
Needless
to say once a week we clean the leather. Also electrics are far too
complicated. However, all vehicles are the same these days.
I use my vehicle extensively off road most weekends in Oman –
fantastic."
August 2004: C.B.
Reports "I was so proud
and pleased when I brought my new 04 Range Rover Vogue (diesel).
As I'm
writing this I am waiting once again for Land Rover recovery to come
out again, this being the fourth time to fix my flat battery. Why does
this keep happening I ask? Not forgetting I have paid nearly
£60,000 for
the man to tell me and he's not the only one the other men who have
came
to get me started again have told me the same "you're not driving it
far
enough you have to give these cars a good run 1 or 2 a week." Well I'm
sorry I just dont buy that load of bull. Its not just my battery
either. My car is going in to the dealers in 2 days to also get another
problem fixed -- THE SHAKING STEERING WHEEL. Whenever you hit 55mph it
starts. This will be the third time it's been back with this problem
too,
despite them keeping it overnight to fully charge its battery too (that
was useless). First they said it was due to tire pressure; because tyre
pressure is not included in the warranty we had to pay £45.00.
The
problem happened again so they balanced the wheels, this worked for a
couple of days and now it's back again. Oh, and not forgetting the
radio
fails to work, I dread to think whats going to fail next. But if it
comes back this time and the problems are not fixed it's either change
my car or refund me my money. What happens if I'm out at night with my
children, far away no mobile so I cant call for recovery and the
battery goes again? The anger I'm feeling at the moment with this car
(a
car they say is the best 4x4 you can drive). And I've only had it 2
months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 2004: "I owned a
2003 Range rover which was a replacement for my 2000 rover (replaced by
land rover). I am sad to say that I just replaced it with a G55. I
started to hear a metal grinding noise as I accelerated...This would
happen after a long drive...Dealer could not replicate and told me it
could be the differential and that it would have to fail for them to
replace it or at least hear the noise....I drove up to LA and heard the
noise again. That Sunday I ...picked up the G55. Bottom line...for a
car that cost so much it should be built better...I also had many of
the other minor problems noted by other owners in addition to having
the radiator replaced at 10K miles..Again, for a year old car too many
problems. Hope Ford can improve a beautiful car...."
"Like most air suspended cars the
low speed ride is a bit bumpy compared to coil springs."
"I have a 2003 Range Rover
and in general have been extremely
happy with it. But that’s not to say it has not had its share of
problems. Having owned a Discovery for a number of years prior to
owning
this car, it was not unexpected."
"I recently purchased a new 2003
Range Rover. I was extremely happy when I purchased it. Unfortunately I
have been having a difficult time. It's been in the service shop 4
times so far and I only have about 8,500 miles. The problems
consisted of:
1. Something to do with the steering column--by the 3rd time it was
entirely replaced;
2. The driver's window would often times stop working--dangerous in the
rain when you can't return it to the up position. The service shop
could not locate the problem so on the third attempt to fix it they
replaced every part in the door that has to do with window movement.
3. On a road trip to Niagara Falls with my wife, for roughly 100 miles
we had a strong gasoline smell coming from the air vents that caused
both of us to get headaches. It occurred after I personally filled the
tank (no, there was no overflow). They have yet to reproduce this
problem.
Quite honestly, I enjoy the car tremendously, however, for the
huge price I paid, I don't feel my experience is appropriate and I am
very disappointed. I have written to the president asking for a new car
because I am terribly worried I will have more problems... I found lots
of people with stories that were much worse than mine regarding their
RR. However, I would still recommend the car--it's a work of art."
"I live in Edinburgh and have
recently purchased a new 2002
Range Rover 4.4 V8 Vogue. Over the past two years i have also owned,
and
tested both the BMW X5 and the 4x4 Merc. However, Range Rover is by far
the most capable on, and off road, it is simply unparalleled. If anyone
who reads this is considering purchasing a luxury 4x4, TRUST ME, go
with
the Range Rover. Its combination of high luxury and Land Rovers famous
off-road capability make it the most impressive 4x4 to grace the face
of
the planet. Truly an amazing vehicle I will never buy anything other
than
a Land Rover again so long as I live".
"I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE
EXTERIOR AND THE HANDLING OF THE NEW
ONE [but] THE INTERIOR OF THE NEW RANGE ROVER HAS BEEN CHEAPENED
BY
THE OVER USE OF HARD AND RUBBERY PLASTIC.... NO CONOLLY LEATHER,
ACCOMPANIED WITH A RICH PLEASANT SMELL OF FINE FURNITURE. INSTEAD THE
INTERIOR
REEKS OF PLASTIC.. THE SEATS ARE FLAT AND EXTREMELY HARD. THE
SEATING
POSITION IS WORSE AS THE SEATS NOW SEEM LOWER AND THE DASH LINE HIGHER,
ADVERSELY EFFECTING VISIBILITY."
"First off, they've done a great
job with this truck. Here
are some observations:
Torsional rigidity, handling, general tightness, absorption of
impacts....etc
etc. It's a fabulous chassis/body.
Engine: typical BMW. Smooth, aurally tuned...could use another
50hp...
Tranny: smooth. good shift program.
Steering: very good, direct,correct effort, but odd sensation
when braking. I've tried another 2003 to confirm. I think a
computer
is at work here,
Brakes: strong, no fade, nothing extraordinary one way or other
Weight: why another 500lbs over the 4.6, i dunno. You
certainly feel the weight and it's not desirable.
Wheelbase: much more directly stable; better ride; worse 'turn
in'
Build quality: magnificent. really top notch.
Styling: weird, but draws a crowd. Gills are particularly
weird. I've gotten used to the styling. It's somewhat handsome in
an odd way.
Seats: quite good (tough act to follow old one)
Nav sys: ergonomic disaster. various bugs."
"I have recently purchased a 2003
Range Rover after looking at
X-5s,
ML's including 55 AMG's, Cayennes, Lexus LX 470's, H2's, etc etc etc
and
let me just say this vehicle is rewarding to own. Every time my wife
and
I go somewhere, we rave about how nice this vehicle is............Yes
it
could use a few more ponies but it still performs extremely well and
rewards
the driver with a sense of operating a high performance luxury vehicle
with incredible on road smoothness as well as off road worthiness the
others
dream about. After all, these things weigh close to 6000 lb. It doesn't
have to race stoplight to stoplight against anyone to prove a point. If
the opposing driver knew the credentials these incredible vehicles
hold,
and could afford one , he too would own one......If you want a sports
car,
buy a sports car. If you want a truck, buy a truck. On the other hand,
if you want a luxury vehicle that makes you feel proud for your hard
work,
will get your family into Gods country and back without causing
internal
organ relocation, and still performs beautifully on twisty roads FOR A
6000 LB SUV, Buy a Range Rover. You will be overwhelmed!"
History of a New Model Land Rover Range Rover
Vogue 4.4
First registered 01Sept 2002
Date
Description
Days at Dealer
02Sept 2002 New Range Rover Vogue
supplied.
23Sept 2002
Air
suspension inactive after pressing “on
the move” lowering button. Dealer reset it. Could not find the fault.
1
28Oct2002 to 01Nov2002
Re occurrence of "Air suspension inactive" after pressing “on the move”
lowering button. Dealer working on it - Tuesday it is decided to order a new compressor - this arrived Thurs
31Oct2002. They loaned me a 2.5V6 Freelander for the duration. New
compressor fitted.
5
11Nov2002 Range Rover in for intermittent underside Suspension knock when steering
right. Checked out – nothing could be found.
1
14Nov2002 to 15Nov2002 Underside knock is unresolved. Car kept
overnight. Again nothing found. It was decided to get the factory to
look at it. Loaned a 1.8ltr Freelander.
2
28Nov2002 Underside knock persists.
Telephoned dealer to find
out what was happening. I was told that they thought that this had been
resolved and that that no further action had been planned. This was not
my understanding of the situation. Anyway I was told that they would
get back to me by the end of the
day.
29Nov2002 Heard nothing. The
intermittent knock is far from
satisfactory on any car let alone one costing £60K. It surely is
no
coincidence
that there was no knock before the compressor had been
changed.
05Dec2002 Factory Rep to inspect
car with regard to suspension noise. Decided to some new lower
suspension parts. (ball joint & arm). Parts ordered. I was
loaned a new Range Rover Car in from 10 till 2
1
13Dec2002 to 14Dec2002 New Ball Joints fitted to both sides.
No Improvement. It is decided to change the entire front subframe. Car
will go in again on Wed 18DEC2002 I was loaned a Discovery
TD%
2
18Dec2002 to 20Dec2002 Front subframe being replaced - I
was loaned a New Range Rover HSE Problem now solved.
3
27May2003 First inspection Service
Mileage 15353. Dealer damaged front bumper and agreed to have it
repaired. 1
02Jun2003 to 03Jun2003 Bumper repair above & warranty work
required from service:- Replacement O/s/r hub flange distorted &
o/s/r outer gaiter split. 2
06Oct2003 Front Brake Pads
required
1
25Oct2003 Total Loss of Drive
– car had to be transported back to the dealer. On inspection – Prop
Shaft Diff Splines worn out! Fitted New Diff & Prop & Realigned.
Given a hire Jag X type due to total breakdown
4
14Feb2004 Noticed that the Climate
Control had “lost control!”. Reported this to the garage.
19Feb2004 to 20Feb2004 2nd Inspection Service –
Mileage 30522. New ECU fitted for Climate Control
Loaned a Freelander 1.8
2
23Feb2004 Squeaks coming from the rear suspension and a
knock from
the drivers side front suspension. Booked in for 26Feb2004
26Feb2004 to 27Feb2004 Went out with dealer technician – the car
produced all the noises below to order!
Suspension noises -
dry bushes to rear. Knocking
from from Drivers underside over bumps.
Squeaky Brake Pedal
& Tailgate New O/s/f Shock
Absorber & Suspension arm fitted. Discovered that
the problem was the steering rack
- now on back order to be replaced. No loan car available.
Collected car and was told
about the back order situation regarding the rack. Suggested I book it
in for 05Apr2004! – a month with
this fault!
2
3 March 2004 Update: They
are picking a "steering rack" from the RR production line to keep me
happy. Delivery of the rack "BMW" sourced is indefinite!
"I
LOVE my Range Rover and feel
that it was money very well spent in virtually every respect. It is
beautifully put together and is soooooo comfortable. Within 3 weeks of
purchase I took it on an offroading session and having offroaded both
my Freelander and taken my Defender across the some of the nastier
parts of rural Scotland, it is a wonderful machine offroad, certainly
as capable as my Defender, possibly more capable as my Defender doesn't
have HDC or Traction Control. It has been to places on it's road tires
that my Defender needs it's Grizzly Claw mud tyres to go! This beast
has to pay me back in it's fun factor. Off road there has never been so
much as a squeak or rattle from the body or trim.
(Photo at right
courtesy of Tim Oliver)
The TD6 engine is only just powerful enough for the job, at low
revs it
doesn't have enough torque or power to drag such a heavy beast along on
normal roads, there is also a noticeable lag in requesting more revs
and
them arriving! However, floor the loud pedal at 50mph and it just
picks up it's skirts and flys, smoothly and quietly and can certainly
give some hot hatches a nasty surprise. Mid range power and torque is
quite sufficient for most folks - it is a diesel after all. The
waste-gate on the turbo is too loud for a limo - taking your foot off
the gas results in a quite audible whistle as the waste gate opens and
closes... The
TD6 has a wonderful growl when 'provoked' into a quick blast but at
tick over/ idle it is too noisy for a luxury car. LR have done an
exceedingly good job of masking the diesel engine's vibrations, you
just don't feel them.
[On taking delivery] I drove the car from Stirling in Scotland to
Southampton and back
- a round trip of 990 miles. On the trip south the fuel economy was so
good I had to pull over at fill up because I thought I had found my 1st
problem - a lying fuel computer and gauge! I had managed 500 miles on
3/4 of a tank of diesel - in fact my spreadsheet and the trip computer
concurred that I had been using diesel at 28.8 miles per imperial
gallon! On the way north the fuel economy was a bit worse but nothing
to sneeze at for a luxobarge - I managed 28.2mpg! Consider this - for
all but about 60 of those miles the car was sat on the motorway with
the cruise set at 69mph... I could have done
the trip south on a single tankful.......... The 60 odd miles were
town traffic and cross country in the English Lake District on the way
home - all up hill and down dale with little 5th gear work, all 3rd and
2nd gear! OK so Mercedes S Class diesels can get 40mpg but they are not
a luxury SUV."