I am back with lots of news!

Apologies to you all - I am now back proudly unveiling our brand new daughter Imogen Anna Melrose! (Riding the steep learning curve of fatherhood has kept me away from my blogging temporarily- but I am now used to the sleep deprivation - so here's to a renewed energy on the blog posting front!)

Lots has happened since I last posted - not limited to the arrival of Imogen!

Imogen was driven home in a brand new Audi A6 Avant - Land Rover cut me a cheque and refunded the full purchase price of my second Discovery 3 HSE - and boy am I glad to see the back of it. In the next post I will tell you the sorry story.

PS Land Rover - you've just enjoyed the calm before the storm - please don't think you've seen the back of me - there is too much meat on this bone and consumers deserve to hear it straight!

Comments

[Stephen T]

My last four cars have been German and pretty faultless, but like many people I needed more space and practicality for family & two kids. I test drove everything (X5, Cayenne, Touareg, XC90, new A6 Avant) and the LR3 really did tick all the boxes. The only thing that stopped me from test driving the E320 was that too many people I know have had problems with Merc quality and it really is an issue apparently.The XC90 was close but I felt, even in T6 form, the engine was crude and uninspiring. I had ordered the LR3 in TDV6 HSE form before I had found this site,and effectively before i could cancel it. I imported it through an excellent broker (who bascially gets bulk discounts from Spain based on importing over 400 cars a year form LR. Interestingly UK dealers are uninterested in offering him discounts depsite his bulk buying so he ventures abroad and people like me get 10-12% discount. He does a 100 cars a year and has been doing it for 10 years. As an example, if one were to buy the SE and want the 19" alloys standard on hte HSE: UK dealership £1000, Europe £450!)
So I was happy with the deal but I am happy with the car? I have done a thousand miles in two weeks and it has been faultless. Its also been everyhthign I hoped for. This site and the fact that I do not trust anything outside of German engineering has had me wathcing for every niggle but so far so good. Comfy and qwik for a diesel and the ride is better than any car I I have had. Satnav has worked well, as has the bluetooth and voice recognition system. I even averaged 32mpg or 500 miles on a full tank on a long m/way journey.
I think the dash and LCD readouts are poor and uninspring and I miss my BMW's fascia but its a balance right? I do beleive there are pehaps too many electronic gizmos and this may not augur well for the future given LR's appaling quality reputation in JD Power. However, my plan is to keep this for three years, whilst under warranty and then switch to what I believe will be the standard bearer for all us fuel consuming SUV'ers...and that is hybrids. I think they are expesnive and potentially unreliable now, and will cheapen up and improve over the next five years.
One last point to note:of all the longer term tests I heve seen in car mags, none have mentioned the electronic problems mentioned so far with the LR3. There have certainly been niggles - rattles, Satnav beign odd, a leak when it rained but nothing more..and this is after several thousand miles. I have no idea whether my Sep05 LR3 is a beter build than early Disco's or I am just lucky or its all about to go pear shaped. All I am sayign is so far so good and I hope everyone who has one from now gets a much deal than the posters above. PS I am inn o way connected to LR I am just a regular carbuyer who has seen his fair share of cars.

[Adrian Melrose]

Thanks Stephen, I am really glad that the Disco is behaving itself for you. I loved the car too and agree there is nothing out there that rivals it until the Audi Q7 is launched (by the way the Audi hybrid engines look very promising too) - I miss all that the Disco offers right now but I am sure you understand that my personal experience led to a total breakdown of trust in the brand.

[Stephen T]

Your personal experience sounds just grim and cannot blame you for moving on. I'll post again if anyting happens negative, so hopefully you wont here from me again! Q7 indeed looks good, albeit apparently nearly the length of an S-Class Merc. I think it will sell very well. New M-Class gettign rave reviews also.Bets of luck with your choices.

[fiona]

what a pretty baby you have- i am so glad that unlike some other fathers i know you didnt decide to post a picture of your baby dressed up like jeremy clarkson about to test drive an audi quatro

[Luca Monterzino]

I had lots of mechanical and electonical problems on my two last VW (same as Audi) cars. The first was a Passat Variant TD 1.9 '02 and the actual is a VW Touran 2.0 TDI. On the Passat I changed two times the radio, one time the anterior suspensions in the first year. On the Touran there are electronic malfunctions on the car-alarm, radio, road-computer, internal lights and so on. The cooling impeller engine was substituted before the car was consigned to me (same thing was done on all Audi A3 sold in the end of 2003). Now I ordered a D3 HSE and I'm hoping that it will be a good car!

Best Regards,
Luca Monterzino

[Brian Jones]

Oh god how sad you are. Single issue bored and nothing else to do! I've just been through 16,500 miles. 15,000 mile service and no problems. I love the Disco, but of course you'd rather pull down the company. You had the opportunity to add value with your initial comments. I look forward to your washing machine going wrong. Hey set up a blog site. that'll keep you busy, afterall think of all of that pent up frustration you've got.

[Adrian Melrose]

Brian, you are totally entitled to your viewpoint, thank you. However, if you had been unlucky like me and unearthed what I have with hundreds of other owners with exactly the same problems you would have taken it public too. Perhaps you don't understand the difference between a washing machine and a £45k purchase? Why did Land Rover give my money back in full???... because their product was faulty over and over again. I am trying to bring this to the public's attention. In any event, I hope you continue with your pleasant experience of your Discovery 3.

[Brian Jones]

Adrian

You don't make any sense. You advocate buying an Audi SUV before you've even driven it! VW quality is now an industry joke. They're legend for electical problems. A great company gone bad. Do you have any commercial interests at all with this company?

As for your hundreds I doubt that.

[Adrian Melrose]

Brian,

No commercial interests at all... the quality of the new Audi A6 I have is superlative... if you read my archives of this blog, I conclude that nothing currently on the market rivals the Discovery 3 and I hold out hope that the Q7 (built on the cayenne/touareg chassis) combined with the engine that my A6 has will introduce a valid contender to the Disco.

As for your claim that VW is a good company gone wrong, you can say this about Mercedes too that suffers from a terrible Quality problem....

As for the hundreds, maybe I am being euphamistic but I have at least 50 emails from UK Disco drivers with similar problems and double that from Australia.

Believe me, I really miss my Disco 3 - but after being left stranded by three separate vehicles which broke down on us... you would feel the same way.

I only had to talk to the Recovery People to find out that this is a common occurence.... almost as common as the BMW 7 series stopping in its tracks.

[Brian Jones]

I don't think you mean 'euphamistic'?? Exaggerate more like. You don't even own the car any more. Why not offer a 'service' to Mercedes owners or VW etc.
As for its on the same chassis, so what. A car is more than a few common components. Again no need to guess the answer recommend a car you haven't driven yet. As I said earlier I thought you had some points make this blog first started. I think you've lost the plot now.

Not worth bothering with this anymore, but do check your 'euphamistics' from your 'exaggerates'. First prod and no substance. Shame, such a sad life, but then again a single issue....

[S Phoenix]

Have had a landrover 3 HSE since March 05. One initial nigal with the CD which we put down to dealer incompetence. Rear number plate fell off for same reason as above. Sat nav seems always to work but only talks to us when it feels like it. The car however is simply the nicest SUV we have ever had and we have had a few XC90 included. Diesel engine pulls well space is huge and driving position is unequalled. Will struggle to sell it when warranty runs out.

[J Young]

If anybody doubts that this is not an isolated incident I suggest they check out the numerous Discovery 3 forums on the web where suspension failure and electronic issues are common... and in case it's not clear, I am a Discovery 3 owner who has suffered / still suffering to try and get his £40k car running properly...

[Paul Van Veen]

Hi

I have just sold a 20 month old BMW 530D Touring new shape model and compared to the problems you have had this has been a nightmare.

Problems:

Sunroof would not shut
Doors squeak
Cd player did not work
Nav crashing
Phone broke
Steering grinding
Anti trap function
Airbag fault
New manifiold
Rear suspension stopped working
door would not lock
New I/drive screen
Excessive coolant use.

To name a few!!!!

Still current:

Steering grinding
Nav freezing
Anti trap window function.

This car cost me £44k and we did 15000 miles in it before we sold it for £19k less 20 months later.

It was off the road for 35 days in the first 6 months alone and BMW would not give us our money back! I think you have had a very good service and to get your money back is excellent.
The Audi A4 I had before was better but no where near great. The 2 VW Golf's were very poor indeed. The Mazda was excellent as is a current Ford Mondeo with 110K miles and never missed a beat in 8 years.
It's the luck of the draw and having just ordered a D3 I am hoping it's better than the BMW. To be honest if I have as few problems as you had I'd be happy (not saying you should be)to have such a few problems after the 5 series.
Don't count your chickens on German cars though!

[chris sellers]

I bought my Discovery 3 in April 2005. Since then, I am sad to say, my experiences echo those of other disappointed Discovery 3 owners - I too had to be recovered for a suspension fault (the valve on the compressor pump, I am told) - I have also had hand brake problems and a squealing noise (Sounds like the hand brake has not fully disengaged) when pulling away - despite the dealer trying to fix the problem it persists. I am also privileged to have suffered from what I believe to be a unique fault - that of a piece of packing foam (so the dealer informed me!) having been left in the fan box, which became apparent after about 14500 miles and manifested itself as a violent and noisy vibration which could be felt through the steering column! I share what seems to be the majority view which is that Land Rover has let down its loyal customer base and its own dealership network, and is compounding this felony by appearing to ignore customer complaints, hoping that modifications/updates to this vehicle will assuage customers' anger and frustrations. I have to take exception to the sneering attitude of one of the respondents to this website who accuses the sitemaster of being a sad, single issue protester. To keep matters in some proper perspective, and having spent some £43,000 on a brand new vehicle, which had received so much press and media hype at launch, I think that one would be entitled to feel rather let down by Land Rover!

[Dirk Baker]

Got my LR3 one year ago and have driven over 20,000 km with this beautiful machine! I was expecting some quality problems with LR, but I have had NO issues whatsoever, believer it or not.Have owned an Audi that drove me crazy with all kinds of electric problems, and was 8 weeks in service within 2 years and less than 40,000 kms...
My previous car, and Alfa Romeo was ok, but suffered especially in the first year a list of minor problems.
The LR3 has been offroad and been tortured many times, but I have had none and I really mean NONE of all the above problems you mentioned.
This drives so good, better than a Range Rover (which has a terrible loud BMW diesel engine..),quieter, smoother and good performance.
To me this is the ultimate car that drives like a Jaguar and outperforms a Landcruiser on the terrain. I love every mile in it.
Period.

[Dirk Baker]

I must be totally honest:
During washing my car, I found a little rough spot on the passenger door, where the paint had not sticked very well, when looking thoroughly I found another spot on the front of the car.
My dealership took some pictures and 4 weeks later I got a call that LR had issued them to repaint the door and front completely. Got myself a loan Disco and got great service. My car was even washed and cleaned inside and out.
I love the top service, that I've never seen with any other brand.
Only little point of annoyance is that in extreme heat, the outlets of the airco make the plastic of the dashboard squeek when they blowing in the cold air, during the first minutes or so.

[chris sellers]

Since posting my last comments on the Discovery 3 in January 2006 I have changed my vehicle for a later build model Disco 3. I must be a naive optimist! I took delivery of the vehicle pm Friday 3rd January, and it was back in the dealer workshop am 6th January! The offside dipped beam unit was broken/unattached and had left the factory in that state - I had spent a fraught journey on the previous Saturday night, looking for Lancaster bombers on the M5 motorway - the beam was pointing upwards and was blinding oncoming traffic - to be blunt, this brand new vehicle wouldn't have passed its MOT! This problem was immediately rectified by the dealers (Matford Landrover, Exeter) who couldn't have been more helpful! To clarify an obvious point - it is not the dealer's function to check beam alignment - the PDI inspection, as issued by Landrover UK, does not require that point, as the headlight beam adjustment is (or ought to be) a function at the factory prior to release to the Dealership. The Dealerships are just as much victims of Landrover's 1970s workpractices as are their customers. I have subsequently raised an invoice to Landrover UK for £750 which partly covers my lost working time and inconvenience at having to take the vehicle back within 72 hours - I have NOT billed the dealership - it is neither their fault nor their liability. It is high time that Landrover UK updated their human attitude towards Quality Control - it is simply not sufficient to produce state of the art vehicles which are not fit for purpose, due to the "jobsworth" attitude of their assembly line/quality control personnel - I have an Armed Forces background and am not inhibited by Political Correctness or a dread of offending lazy/sloppy individuals. Landrover really needs to wake to what is becoming a scandal of their own making - the first step would be to carpet some their line managers (if they have such creatures!) Watch this space!

[Brian Peacock]

Oh dear! What do I do now? I have test driven the Disco 3, and I like it - but I've had years of trouble free motoring with Mitsubishi and am kind of nervous about an over-reliance on Land Rover electrics. The car impressed but as everything seemed to be an optional extra it works out to be expensive and proberly over-priced by the time one gets to the top of the range. Tp buy or not to buy? That is the question.

[D R MacDONALD]

My Disco 3 is now approaching being one year old and so far has been a joy to own especially after the nightmare experience I had with my previous TD5 but that's another story. Just two niggles so far. On delivery steering wheel was in the wrong position (strangely my TD5 was the same) and after about 6000 miles electronic handbrake seems not to release properly though applying and releasing seems to clear this.This only happens now and again and to date I can live with that.I would wish also to praise the Land Rover after sales service. This is superb,and says a lot for the staying qualities of the dealership personnel,as over the years they must have taken some abuse from irritated customers. I am on my forth Lr and apart from the 3rd the experience has been rewarding.

[Adrian Thompson]

Dear All,

As a chauffeur I've driven and dealt with all those above and put good mileages on them. May I say that ALL manufacturers have their lemons.Eg:2002 Mdl Bentley Arnage for instance was redesigned as previous models engine thermostat was at such a position it 'airlocked and would stick'. Even the most basic engineer could have spotted that problem by lifting the bonnet. (I used a soft hammer to hit it to unstick it. Yes A BENTLEY!)
The Q7 actually worries me, it has taken the WORST aspects of the cayenne and tourag and added VW parts cost and lack of availabilty.
I can only take example from the A8's here. One has waited 6 MONTHS for a grill of all things.
The Range Rover Sport, so far, seems to be fine - I don't advicate the use of electronic parking brakes - get an auto! Ma'ams LR3 is a manual - gets used very hard, if she cant break it or the kids can't tear it apart - it seems quite well put together.
I hope the Q7 is a good road going SUV, but, like all those following the same path, are purely BEEFED up road cars. If you want FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, stick to a manufacturer who knows how to build them, ie, Land Rover, Jeep, Toyota.
If you want all the lux. Stick to a high level saloon car.

[john]

ok just about to buy a disc 3 hse modle what do you all think ??? buying from a dealer ib west mids any thoughts on price negotiations ?? thanks john

[chris sellers]

Hi John - Good luck with your prospective purchase of the Disco 3 HSE. I also have a tdV6 HSE (3 weeks old) - points to watch out for are too numerous to put down in this blog - however, I have had several phantom suspension fault warnings (1600 miles on the clock), I have had a xenon headlight replaced (within 72 hours of taking delivery it hadn't been fitted properly!) and my audio equipment is playing up, with the radio cutting in on the CD - also the radio deciding that it doesn't like the particular channel that it is on and suddenly changing to one of its own choice! In summary you are taking a leap into the unknown because each Disco is an individual with its own quite novel and inventive in-built faults! If your dealer is anything like mine (Matford Landrover of Exeter) you should be in good hands though - my dealers have moved heaven and earth to sort out the problems as they arise and in effect they carry the can for Landrover UK (quite unfairly in my view) In summary - if you can rely on your dealer to bail you out WHEN (not IF) your Disco throws a tantrum, then go ahead - the option is to play Russian Roulette! Just a point to bear in mind - WHEN your Disco does go mad, you should invoice Landrover UK for your wasted time - I have received some compensation already (if you don't ask you don't get) I would not have soulght compensation if the dealer had been obliged to meet it out of his own pocket - instead it is Landrover UK who are coughing up (added to which they are no doubt clocking up many thousands of pounds on meeting warranty claims!) Ford should be asking Landrover UK some awkward questions! Good Luck.

[SteveC]

I have read a great number of postings on this site and it strikes me that ALL manufacturers believe that to stay ahead of the competition, it is necessary to be a the fore front of technology and provide consumers with increasingly more complicated products, reliant on computer controlled systems that are inherently unreliable and difficult to diagnose when things don't go as planned. Often the manufacturer has to rely on technical departments to re-write software patches to overcome problems as simple as a sensor that gives the ECU a signal that is outside the normal range, illuminating any number of warning lights and shutting down vital systems to protect the engine. ALL these systems are linked and can cause problems when no mechanical faults exist.
We all curse our home and work PC's when they don't operate as we expect, but with a little knowledge and access to the operating system we have a chance of resolving the issue, NOT so with a vehicle, the software is both beyond the end user and importantly THE DEALER'S hands. They are supplied with updated patches as and when they are available from the manufacturer.
NO Manufacturer wants it's customers to be unhappy but ALL are slow to respond to the need for fast solutions to highly technical issues, this leaves Dealers, who believe it or not want happy customers, somewhat grounded, they lend you their Demonstrator and await a response from the manufacturer (they can't write the software!! even with your best interests at heart) Customer satisfaction hangs on the speed of response and quality of the fix from the manufacturer over which the dealer has little charge(whichever manufacturer).
The facts are, that despite your obvious anger (hence this site)you were rightly loaned a number of equivalent vehicles, none of which the Dealer expected to give you problems, but each of which alledgedly did, can you imagine how frustrated and stupid this made them feel, do you not think that they would have tried their utmost to resolve your problems.
Ultimately your purchase has been refunded, no-one can ask for more than this surely and yet you continue a personal quest... why??
The Land Rover Discovery 3 is a great vehicle with many satisfied customers (and a small number by comparison not, although this is undeniably evident with all manufacturers! including German vehicles) In these days of technology some tolerence is necessary despite the cost of these vehicles. Work with your Dealer they are there to help, but be patient if they don't get the swift backup they need from their manufacturer (whoever they are)
Hey, we expect a lot from our cars these days for £45k we use them all day everyday,we want all the toys, leave them out in all weathers, we don't read the handbook, we continually criticise the Dealer (good or bad)
we live in a technology age with failure all around us from cars to pc's, NHS systems,air traffic control,aircraft,space shuttles(anywhere computers are involved)..no-one want's them to go wrong, but they do from time to time, we can't turn back the clock so we've got to work on improvement. I'm guessing you're originally American?, and as you've been refunded,to continue to batter Land Rover is a little unfair. All manufacturers have their horror stories. As a parent with your daughter, will you constantly remind her of her failings or allow her the chance to change things for the better once you've made your point. You obviously have a talent for the web, why not try to channel it to more useful ends and worthy causes. Your Audi salesman must be very worried about your post sale follow up call even before the Q7 is launched (you are building a reputation). Hey, be nice and a little more tolerant it will get you better service in the long run! (sadly experiences with any manufacturer's car are often far from flawless) 23yr Experience trying hard to keep customer satisfaction amoungst the best in the UK mostly at cost above our margin!! Discovery 3.. depends who you deal with!
Please leave this post

[Shaun]

Hi Guys (And Ladies) It's amazing to read the post on this page. I'm from South Africa, and I thought we were a 3d world country with reference to after sales service. My previous vehicle were a Volvo XC70. I loved the car, but the electronics were a nightmare galore. At the time I was convinced that I was one in a Billion who got a "DUT". The car costed 250k (ZAR). 3 years later, and at a cost of well over 750k to Volvo South Africa, I finnaly won and got my money back. Would you believe it, I BOAGHT A LR DISCO HSE?? How stupid can a guy get. There is plenty sites that tell you how to fix any Volvo yourself (ELECTRONIC WISE) so no more getting stuck. I was actually looking for a Disco 3 site that tell you the secret backdoor to the electronics. There MUST be some. VW, Merc, Toyota and even Audi have secret backdoors to the car's computer. Like resetting the faultcodes, getting out of the "limbo (Cripple)" modes, turbo boosts etc. Can anyone help???

Thx

ps. The Disco 3 turbo (Alpine) isn't the fault. It is the "Coil" for the turbo. It can be reprogrammed and Viola, off you go!!!

[Kristina Macgregor]

Came across this website and thought I would let the public know of the problems with my 2005 Disco. The month I got it (July 05), the turbo went. August 05 the air bag needed replacing, few weeks later the rear sensors stopped working along with the gear selection sensor. Dec 05-park break fault like the ones described on your website. LR returned the car saying it was fixed, but it wasn't! Jan 06, rear sensors stopped working again...Feb 06 the window washers stopped working on this all weather vehicle because it was cold. It turned out to be the fuse. This month (May 06) suspension light comes on and there's something ominous happening with the radio. I feel the dread welling up inside me and I can't take more of the "I think this car is haunted" feeling. All the hassle has been mine. I checked with my local authority (trading standards) and they say that LR is at the bottom of the list in terms of quality of after sales customer care - and don't I know it!!! I had to chase all the problems while they tried to charge me for the petrol for taking the car back to the garage (they gave me a disgustingly dirty freelander to drive while the LR3 was in). I am so disappointed with the LR Disco 3. My husband is considering getting this car again BUT I hesitate greatly. When I think of all the problems, I just feel dread!
I think I will look at the Audi Q7

[Kristina Macgregor]

I cannot subscribe to SteveC's "be fair on LR" crap and likening this whole sorry state of affairs with the LR Disco 3 to the analogy of a parent with their child - what is that all about???!!!! I would not wish this kind of hassle and complete lack of confidence in a car on my enemies!!!!! People at my work have noticed just how many times my LR3 has gone back to Rossleigh. My car got fixed eventually, but there's a cloud hanging over it because I don't know what's going to go wrong next!! FEEL MY ANGER. I say go ahead and continue to batter LR!!

[Jason Simkins]

What a pile of rubbish the new disco 3 is. Had mine since July last year it has been back to the dealer every month since. The car cut out on me at high speed. The air suspension failed and dropped to access hight whilst my wife was driving with my 2 year old daughter in the car. It has had 2 new headlights because the old ones misted up so bad we could not drive the vehicle at night. It has had 2 new coolant bottles fitted as it kept telling me the coolant level was low, I have now had to resort to filling the bottle over the recommended mark to stop the problem as ther dealer quite obviously cannot fix it. The rear seats have become stuck in the flat position when I lower them to load anything into the back, resulting in the need to have new seat belts fitted. It has had numerous engine management downloads which make the annoying pings and flashing lights even worse. If I had taken the vehicle back to the dealer every time a light flashed up it would have been back in every day.
My dealer no longer offers insurance on courtesy vehicles so every time the car goes back for a fault I have to pay to have the courtesy vehicle put onto my insurance usually £30.00.
My vehicle is again in the dealers as I write this, the rear seat needs ANOTHER new seat belt (the seat stuck down whilst I was in the south of France) I have been advised it also needs 2 new tyres and new brakes AT 19000 MILES!! The tryes have serious uneven wear on the insides with good tread everywhere else but Land Rover insist this is our fault!!
I could go on and on but the conclusion is Land Rover are sub standard overpriced piles of crap.

[Phil Balderson]

Just bought a LR Disco 3 TV6HSE. It's the best car I've ever driven - full stop. Just got rid of a new Audi A4 2.0T AVANT - which whilst good was bland, and had a number of electronic faults (keys, airbags etc). The Land Rover is FAULTLESS. Unbelievable engineering.

Clearly some posters here have had a bad do, but my theory is Landy drivers are more vocal, and that other brands (look at Mercedes build quality for crying out loud) are just as bad, but their drivers can't be bothered to make a fuss.

[Mark Paranjoti]

I have the perfect solution! Just sell LR to Toyota. I am now on my sixth(Land Cruiser) over the past 25 yrs and I have never been let down.

[Ken Newton]

I recently ruined my Landrover Discovery engine which started to lose power, leak water from a hose top left, which was noticed and tightened up about half an hour before overheating and frying. I bought another engine for £900, which has been slotted into place but an overheating problem still remains. The water in the engine block heats up okay but everything else forward of that remains cold. My garage have renewed the water pump, checked the thermostat, radiator and water impellor all of which appear to working properly, as far as they are able to tell. Nevertheless, the coolant just isn't flowing the way it should be when compared to other another similar land rover. The garage chaps are scratching their heads and wondering if the circulation problem could be because the replacement engine I got is a duff one. Given that the original engine was overheating as well though I am optimistic about an external fault being found. Has anyone got any ideas what else might be causing the circulation problem? It's a 1996 model and I've become very attached to it!

[chris chedgey]

I have had NINETEEN problems with the VW Touran in three years from new and now the 20th catches me out of warranty. The passenger door flew open today and would not shut as the door was `sagging`. The dealers told me I either needed a new door or they could put in a plate and repaint it. I asked what had caused the door to `drop` and they said the `weight` [of the door ?] had caused it and it would cost me £200 to fix. Other problems have included a faulty alternator and total collapse of power steering. I know about `Friday afternoon jobs` but this is ridiculous.

[chris sellers]

At long last and after much soul searching I have come to the end of the road with Landrover. I have had two Series 2 Discoveries and I am on my second Series 3 Discovery - I was optimistic that the second Series 3 might be less troublesome than the first one - some hope! To date, the problems have been: main off - side headlight not fixed in its mounting at the assembly plant, front driving lights on the front bumper (as advertised for that purpose by Landrover) could not be kept at a permanent setting - they constantly wobbled about and there was simply no facility to tighten them up sufficiently as to keep their setting, replacement steering arms fitted, "driver's door open" indicator appearing on the function screen accompanied by a loud beep from the alarm system when trying to lock the vehicle while using the remote key - this, I am told, is probably due to a faulty door lock micro sensor - this has now been replaced, but the problem persists, front fog lights now seem to be blowing their fuse with alarming regularity and, finally, when changing the spare wheel, no warning is given by the design genius at Solihull, that 9 times out of 10, the retaining wire and bracket will break and will need to be replaced before the spare wheel can be re-mounted beneath the vehicle! (Who on earth thought of positioning the spare wheel to act as a ground anchor for what is supposed to be an off-road vehicle?).

Much as I have loved driving this vehicle (the engine is very refined, if somewhat under-powered) I have simply lost all confidence in the marque (I don't say this lightly) and I am returning to BMW. I will miss the relative freedom of access to rough tracks (although not TOO rough - the Discovery 3 WILL NOT cope with that sort of thing on road tyres - I have tried it - I was reared on Landrovers in the Army so I do know a bit about off - roading, from the sands of Sharjah and Dubai to the mud of Belize - certainly the old Defenders could cope far better than this white elephant!)

My heart goes out to the sales and service staff at my local dealership - Matford Landrover, Marsh Barton, Exeter - they have a simply thankless and impossible task and have never let me down, regardless of the franchise with which they are lumbered! In parting from Landrover (I suspect for good) I would like to express my thanks to them, one and all.

My rear seat belt will not move on my LR 2000 Discovery series 2. Right now my seat belt is pulling super hard with no slack on my leather. The thermostat is not working properly and engine is overheating. The enine pings louder everyday. THIS IS JUST TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crankshaft fell out, transmission had to be replaced, cup holder broke twice, rear back door motor will not open. The rocker arms in the engine had to be replaced. I am sure there is more cause I get a new problem every 3 weeks. These cars are great big piles of crap.

[Richard Stockwell]

Reply for Mark Paranjoti...

Mark I too have had overheating problems and , amongst others, a replacement engine with exactly the same results that you have experienced. Infact the Disco is currently outside my house having been returned there by the AA recovery in Cyprus. The replacement engine was working fine until the head gasket blew. I had the gasket replaced and the head skimmed by a local mechanic who had trouble getting the cooling system working: the engine was getting hot but the front was staying cold. When it finally did get going everything seemed to be ok, but it overheated and gave up the ghost 60 miles down the road. I am still trying to make up my mind what to do, I'm starting to think this may be a radiator problem. Have you got any further with yours?

[Patrick Hogan]

I'm now up to about 40,000 kilometers on the Disco LR3 HSE and I would do a few things differently with hindsight. I guess when it's the first edition of a new model the buyer has to be prepared for glitches.eg would not buy the HSE (not value for money), air suspension now OK after software upgrade, some accessories like the rack pretty useless, scissors jack useless, voice recognition capricious. The dealerships here in OZ were clearly not prepared for the Disco LR3 in any systematic way and so it has been a learning experience for them as well as us.
Take tyres for example. A previous contributor has discovered that there is no serious off road tyre available for the 18" rim. After 28k and just before a trip to Cape York I changed the Wranglers to Pirelli Scorpion Zeros (dealer's advice). When I rang them from a location 2500km further north marooned with full thickness tread tears in 2 tyres they said that tyres were not really their problem and that I should go to a tyre dealer next time. But there is a lack of knowledge out there-What happens if I put 265/60 R18 COOPERS HT on? One dealer says OK while the other says the greater circumference will confuse the computer, speedometer, odometer etc.
I still enjoy the car but I now
wonder about the next trip-would it have been better to buy a Landcruiser?

[JonM]

Should i buy a disco?
My dad purchased his first mercedes in 1996 - A C36 AMG (handbuilt engine im told!?) after a lifetime of vauxhalls (wen he had me!) and various sports cars. It was the best car he'd eva had, nothing at all went wrong, excellent build quality and dealer backup(Portway of Milton Keynes at the time.. pre DaimlerChrysler) but due to financial issues had to let go of it in '98. Shame. Should have kept it today - nothing we've had since has come close.
Forward 4 years and he'd just purchased a MB C270 CDi. BIG mistake, to start the build quality was crap also the dealership backup didnt seem anywhere as good as it used to be (MB Kettering). The gearbox regularly broke (not shure wat tho i was 2 young) either causing complete loss of drive or rear wheel lockup, nice wen your on the fast lane of the M25. Eventually it went 'back' after numerous unsucessful attempts at various repairs.
Next, an new (2003), shape E320 CDI. My dad never learns.
1st day from delivery. gearbox locks. wont budge, towed away. Command (satnav, radio etc.) regularly broke in various ways, my favourite one was its habit of playing white noise at full volume and having no control over the system. 'Disconnect the battery' were told, arkward wen u've got a full boot of luggage, its dark and raining 100 miles from home and your elderly grandmother in the back...
Still it broke, sunroof wind deflector shattered, A/C faults, and plenty of other electrical issues. Not to mention the further gearbox problems, so it got Part EX'd in. For a W220 S320 CDi (2005 '55 plate). Will he ever learn??. I was told that it would be far less likely to have the problems of the E because 'its been around for a while'. I was with him at the dealership and i was the one who ordered the final spec. Black AMG bodykit + Rims, TV Tuner , Bose etc. Now, i must make a point here. Despite its faults, the E class was a good car- brilliant 320 CDi engine (wen it worked!), well ergonomically designed interior and most of all Bloody good Bi-Xenon lights, and handling.
Dealership said the S class would be equivalent and better, after all it 'is an S Class'.
Ha. dont get me going...
Delivery day. Numerous scratched and dents, big one on the roof which looked like the transport covers were removed with a chisel.
Lights (supposedly Bi Xenon) were outwright CRAP.
So were the brakes. We were told that they would bed in, but they just got worse.
The seat would not drop low enough to comfortably sit my dad. He's definately not significantly tall or overweight...
By this time, unknown to me, my dad had purchased a CLK 270 Cdi (used) for my mother and an A170 CDi(new) for my grandad. Here we go again!!
CLK - Parking sensors often failed or went off randomly, there was regular clouds of excessive black smoke, and the Glovebox regularly broke away. It was under a 1 yera warranty, but despite what seemed like weeks worth of time at the dealership, MB of MK at Kingston, none were resloved before the year warranty ran out. NOT happy ,especially when the CAT basically exploded a couple of monts ago. I must greatly thank our new location for our MB servicing AutoClass of milton keynes. Honest and SO much cheaper than dealership! they diagnosed a faulty cat which should have been picked up by the dealer months B4. The CLK also chewed through front tyres, Autoclass said that the steering and other parts had been dismantled by a dealership at some point and had not been put back together properly. Tracking was 22 degrees out!!
This has cost us more than enough to all repair.
To cut this long story short, the CLK is still broken in varios ways, but has had a new cat.
The S Class has scince had more problems and has been in the hands of the dealership for a year.
we're now currently involved in 'legal proceedings' I say no more at this point. So were looking for a new car, which brings me here. A Disco3 seems to fil all our needs, my uncle and several of my friends have them, and they have not had any significant problems.
I have come accross a selection of ex G4 V8 HSE's some which have been on the challenge, others which have been 'for show'. Theyre orange, but that doesnt bother us.
5,000miles, £26,000.
seems a bargain so were going to have a look at some...
Or would this not be a good idea???
Looking at some of the above comments im now wondering this.
All i can say at this point is that, in my opinion, all modern 'prestiege' car manufacturers and dealers are trying to build very technically advanced cars at the lowest cost, but as a result, The build quality seems to have dropped loads across many different manufactures, i know of enough people who have had bad experiences with prestiege/high performance cars as well as plenty of people who've never had a problem.
In my opinion it would aslo be a better idea to buy a newish used vehicle, because they have oftern had the 'niggles' ironed out. Just get it checked first!
I think its all down to luck with new cars, and if you dont want problems you should buy a focus?!
If any1 wants to reply to the G4 D3's idea please let me know!!
Thanks 4 reading my rant!!
j

[johny poohl]

Dude I enjoyed this blog imenselym cant help but feeling a bit concerned though.

After so much you have done to help the good folks and telling the whole truth about the L-R-Mafia, arent you concerned that something might happen to you?

[johny poohl]

Dude I enjoyed this blog imenselym cant help but feeling a bit concerned though.

After so much you have done to help the good folks and telling the whole truth about the L-R-Mafia, arent you concerned that something might happen to you?

[JonM]

johny poohl - RU suggesting something!!??
oh and my local LR dealer have gone strangely quiet on the G4 D3 front, 4 sum reason they seem reluctant to speak 2 us??...

[jnk]

Hi, been trying to decided whether to buy a D3 or not, we have had 3 LR's over 7yrs, a 300, that was a disaster we must have had the engine rebuilt & renewed all elecs I used the vehicle for work and would take my child with me, it got to the stage where I would tell my husband what road I would be on and ring him before I left to make the journey. LR Assist must have thought I was taking the mick and Id get embarrased to phone and say it had broke down again. The sump went while I was on the dual carrageway,it looked like it was on fire with the smoke giving off from the oil burning thankfully not causing any accidents, my son and I was on the roadside for over any hour as we waited for the LR assistance after the fire brigade had been. In 2001 at the local dealers (I was there getting another cam belt which had gone after 300 miles) and bought a brand new model TD5 GS7 thinking it had been revamped so this would be ok. This one was ok a few teething probs but not much to worry about. Rear window washer never wanted to work no matter how many times the motor was replaced . I came to pick it up and noticed my passenger door had been hit, the snobby spoken manager told me that it was already there and I should park it more carefully. It wasn't there before and he put it down to me being a woman driver. I would like to add that I'm a very good driver, never hit any of my cars thanks. In 2004 I swapped it in for a brand new GS7, this one broke down (with only 3000k on clock) on a busy junction in the city as the gearbox failed, absolutely nothing. The "brand new" gearbox they replaced it with wined badly in 3rd gear but LR would not have this and wouldn't look at it,I was convinced it was a reconditioned box. When I bought these vehicles I asked that because of my work and the children when the car was in for a service I have a Discovery for courtesy car , this wasn't a problem they told me, but a few times they tried to phobe me off with a freelander, which I couldn't get my work stock in and it didn't even have rear safety belts long enough to strap my childs seat in, so much to their disappointment I would take the discovery demonstration car for the day. We started to have a few elec probs with the car and with the decision of moving to Italy decided to sell it back and we picked up a £3,000 renault senic to see us through the move. We are now moving to our second property which has much larger roads and can take the LR but this good old senic has been so great Im unsure whether to change it, and of course you dont want anything to big on the road when you meet an Italian in the lane. We'll watch your site as we love the landrover despite of the probs, but I am not convinced buying another is right for us after reading the above. Any advise from other readers on a reliable 4x4?

[nuala cunningham]

my new discovery 3 went on fire ?

[John in Oz]

My Disco series 2A nearly broke me. I love the British Legend, the technology is always at the forefront but the build quality has always been a little bit based on the luck of the draw. I am on my third Disco over 8 years.

I fully believe people who have had bad experiences with them of all ages, I had mine with the 2A, however every maker, including Toyota have had problems. So far nothing bad to report from me on Disco 3.

I am cotemplating the tyre change. Landrover informed me some bigger rubber would be suitable on the 18 inch rims, but I would need to get the speedo reset for the new size.

I do worry that if transmission problems etc were to occur whether I would be supported. If I get them to reset the spedo at least I can prove they had knowledge of what I was doing to the vehicle.

Lets face it, they do have an out if I modify the vehicle in any non approved way and they could use it.

Hoping for better thigs from Disco 3.

Good luck all.

[Neil]

Breaking news (to me anyhow): To those of you with the squeaking handbrake problem. There is a software download now available which should get the handbrake to release fully. The car will need to come in for a brake strip down (all on warantee). What annoys me is that if I hadn't have gone in with an unrelated fault I wouldn't have known!
Faults so far:
Squeaking handbrake - watch this space.
Clock re-setting on radio display - unit replaced but fault still there.
Driver's door not locking - part on order.
My faith in LR has had quite a knocking over the last year.