Thread: Has your defender ever let you down

My TD5 110 with 180,000 has never been towed... Never let me down. Plenty of Fendery type issues, but these are mostly fixed. Warranty expiry is really Godsend on getting these fixed....

My 2 year old PUMA 100 with 40,000 has been towed twice now. Once with a dealer damaged fuel tank that leaked diesel when filled. And once when the brake vacuum pump imploded, leaking oil and losing brake pedal boost. All the same TD5 Fendery type issues exist in the PUMA, but they've also added more through worse build quality and general cost cutting in the manufacture.

Never walked home in a Series or Defender over the years.
I think over time you get desensitized to some of the issues that some are complaining about, I just accept that things like driveline slop are normal.

I have had 6 Land Rovers over 35 years and have only twice been stranded. First was a broken timing chain in a Series III diesel SWB in the Jenolan SF. The second was a failure in a wiring loom in a County in suburban Canberra (plastic insulation had hardened and fatigued after many years (at a hot spot near the engine). I have limped home with a hole through the top of a piston in a Series IIa, and a damaged radiator after a prang in a Disco II. I was also flatbeded once as a consequence of a dealer not reafixing a fuel line correctly but I don't think that counts.

When asked what Land Rovers are like, my standard answer is "not perfect but they always get you home".

Cheers
KarlB

Has your Defender ever left you stranded?
Yes. My 2003 TD5 (bought new) coughed and spluttered and the engine stopped several times when I was in Newman in 2007 and eventually had to be trucked to Perth with the camper attached.
LRA picked up the cost and reimbursed us for some expences but it still meant a ruined holiday.
But the worse part of it all was it took nearly 3 weeks for it to arrive in Perth!!!
I suppose we were lucky it happened in Newman not out in the bush where we were headed.
LR in Karratha tried to diagnose the prob., so did Rovertech in Bentley but both were wrong in their diagnosis as it turned out to be the throttle potentiometer.
No one in Newman would or could even look at it which is one of the worst things about LR ownership.
I was into the extended warranty after the original 3 years so had to pay for the fix myself but was told afterwards that LRA would have fixed it for free if I'd taken it to the stealer!!!
But as I was having a hatred of their (the stealers) service manager at the time I didn't consider going there.
He's with the stealer in Cannington now I believe and I wouldn't trust a word he says
Other probs. were the fuel pressure regulator which was changed under warranty and maybe the master cylinder unit but not sure about that as the memories grow dim
Then I bought a 96 300 Tdi, spent a heap of money doing it up, then chucked a wobbly and sold it
I bought a plastic Prado which has never missed a beat in over 2 years, doesn't leak but requires polishing to stay looking good and I hate polishing!
I wish I'd stuck with the Td5 but the Cook and I didn't trust it or LR after that problem but (now I know senility has set in) I'm considering a Puma should LRA ever get a network of agents in WA/Australia which they used to have up until a few years ago.
The salesman say that it's coming but so's the end of the Earth according to others.
Not sure any of the above will help you.
Alan.

ATH,
I was into the extended warranty after the original 3 years so had to pay for the fix myself but was told afterwards that LRA would have fixed it for free if I'd taken it to the stealer!!!
But as I was having a hatred of their (the stealers) service manager at the time I didn't consider going there.

I'd suggest whether you 'like' the Dealer or not...........if your vehicle is under Warranty, that is the place to return your vehicle when it breaks down.

If you 'have issues' with the Service Manager.....go to the General Manager, no joy there? go to the Dealer/Owner.......if all else fails, get onto VACC or Consumer Affairs.

I've met my fair share of dead**** mechanics/service managers over 45 years of driving, but they'd only make up 5% of the total..............the other 95% were/are fair dinkum and will do the right thing (as long as you haven't abused the vehicle)
I had a Mini Moke some 30 years back which was under a 3 month warranty (2nd hand vehicle) and the gearbox blew apart. The head mechanic reckoned I'd 'thrashed' the vehicle and refused to do it under warranty 'because there were "numerous scrape marks under the bash plate"..............I rang the dealership and asked to speak to the Boss (Ron Poyser) outlined my complaint and my 'defence' (the Moke had been towed after breakdown on the end of a 30' recovery strap by the recovery mechanic in a 4WD Tojo at high speed........and besides which, the gearbox had blown apart on TOP of the casing, not the underside..........where damage would have occurred if I'd been abusing the vehicle.......

The vehicle was repaired under warranty at no cost to me....as Ron Poyser said at the time, "we like to keep our Customers happy, and to buy more cars from us in the future."

So, I suggest when it comes to the crunch and you have 'complaints' follow the 'heirachy of complaint' as above........and it will be resolved. No dealer can afford 'bad publicity'.

Mine did a timing belt out of Lake Grace on New Year's Eve on the way to Duke of Orleans Bay for a camping trip new millenium party. It had 88k on the clock and the dealer had not done the upgrade for a world wide known problem (an employee had made the white paint mark to show it had been done). Not happy.

Another time it was put on a truck in Margaret River (250km sth of Perth) because it broke a rocker arm. Oddly I was stoic about this because it ended up being minorly expensive, the RAC bloke said I'd holed a piston; I really needed to get a Toyota...

It's at 227000km now, a late 96 300tdi. When do I ask myself if it's too old and tired to safely drive into the outback? I can't say nothing bad will happen, but I can say I think it could have another 5 trips in it.

Mine has never let me down in the sense of leaving me stranded. It's always got me home even after suffering various mechanical failures which some would say were a result of driver abuse.....

I have a whiteboard on the shed wall next to where I park it and often one of the first things when getting out of the LR is to update the 'to do' list on the whiteboard. Having said that, mine is an older model and mainly a play toy and gets used hard off-road when it is used. While the fact that there is always something which needs doing is sometimes a source of frustration, its also my hobby and the curious mix of satisfaction and frustration is something that my Japanese vehicles just dont provide. The terms might be a bit strong, but its a love/hate thing for me. And I think I like it that way....

I personally would never spend the $$ on a new 110 but that is just me. If you go into it without any illusions (and there is enough info on here to enable you to do that), find a good dealer and you have a reasonable amount of mechanical expertise(which it sounds like you do) you should be OK.

If $$ are relevant, one thing to consider is that its often cheaper and more practical, even with 2 regos etc, to own an older model 110 and buy a nice Japanese car for a daily driver. You'll get just as much enjoyment of out the LR, it will cost way less in depreciation and you have a comfortable and reliable alternative when you need it.

Hi Pathfinder.
As stated it was during the 4th year extended LR warranty it broke down and according to that the part wasn't covered but if it was a warrantable part the recovery tow etc was covered.
I took it to an after market specialist as I had no intention of going anywhere near the stealer again because of the service managers lying but at my insistence they had, albeit reluctantly, redone the 40K service on the vehicle.
I was satisfied with this and knowing the rumours re attitude towards customers took the option of going elsewhere afterwards. I couldn't see the point of arguing with them as they could easily say one thing and do something else the next time the vehicle went in.
Since then a friend has had great service both with recalls and general servicing from the same stealer on his '07 Defender which should be good news for all owners.
Probably something to do with the bloke I distrusted moving to their other branch
Alan.