Thread: Still refusing to fix under warranty

Originally Posted by Pocket Rocket

Following on from my thread that was lost before the aulro fix - I was told my that the backlash on my 90 was unfixable under warranty.

For those who didn't see the first post you can feel it all the way from the front to the back and are often left wondering if something has been left behind in the ground.

They decided the transfer case is the issue.

Initially I was told that Land Rover had changed the design on the transfer case to be all one piece to eliminate backlash in the MY15 and MY16 models. I also spoke to the mechanic who advised that mine and another defender had this issue. I asked if the part is not fixable then why are they not replacing it.

Then last Friday I was told that they had driven another Defender and it fine - wasn't like mine ( in terms of backlash). That the backlash on mine was noticable and that my transfer case was sitting on the floor the workshop awaiting measurements to be sent to Land Rover for them to decide whether it was within tolerances or not to determine whether it will be replaced.

Today I was told that the transfer case was back in the car. Apparently ALL the MY15 and 16 defenders have backlash even though my daughters same model 90 has not and that replacing the transfer case would not make any difference. No fix! Deal with it. They had a Defender 'expert' look at it who said this so it MUST be true!!

So I'm trying to work out what the truth is seeing as I have been told 2 stories.

I've read a lot on here about how people get stuff fixed under warranty without having to go into battle. So I ask - how did you get stuff fixed with no issues. It seems that 3 Defenders in the family all bought from them is not enough to even get a consistent answer. Methinks the next stop is going to have to be an independent review and then going to consumer affairs.

Its the rear axle shafts that have changed to one piece in the last of the 90's, not the transfer case.
The backlash commonly comes from the splines of the drive flange on the rear wheels where seperate axle shaft / flanges are used.
Of your rear hubs have the rubber dust caps then you have two piece setup.

To check them for play, just jack up each ba k wheel, pop the dust cap off and turn the wheel back and forth to see of there's any play between the flange and the shaft splines.
If so take it back to the dealer and show them. My experience is that they know about half as much as they'd lead you to believe when it comes to Defenders.

Originally Posted by Beery

Its the rear axle shafts that have changed to one piece in the last of the 90's, not the transfer case.
The backlash commonly comes from the splines of the drive flange on the rear wheels where seperate axle shaft / flanges are used.
Of your rear hubs have the rubber dust caps then you have two piece setup.

To check them for play, just jack up each ba k wheel, pop the dust cap off and turn the wheel back and forth to see of there's any play between the flange and the shaft splines.
If so take it back to the dealer and show them. My experience is that they know about half as much as they'd lead you to believe when it comes to Defenders.

Thanks for this!! That's more helpful than anything I've been told in the last 10 phone calls to them!

Originally Posted by Beery

Its the rear axle shafts that have changed to one piece in the last of the 90's, not the transfer case.
The backlash commonly comes from the splines of the drive flange on the rear wheels where seperate axle shaft / flanges are used.
Of your rear hubs have the rubber dust caps then you have two piece setup.

To check them for play, just jack up each ba k wheel, pop the dust cap off and turn the wheel back and forth to see of there's any play between the flange and the shaft splines.

I asked today when I spoke to them if they had checked this and they'll get back to me tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Beery

My experience is that they know about half as much as they'd lead you to believe when it comes to Defenders.

Quote of the day.

Your other option is to take it to another dealer for their appraisal, if you have one reasonably close. I had dealings with 4 dealers in two states.
I have a 2011 Defender, and had serious backlash problems as well. The flanges, well one side anyway, were changed on mine which made a very noticeable difference. I'm pretty sure from memory the axle was changed at the same time too.

Originally Posted by Chops

Your other option is to take it to another dealer for their appraisal, if you have one reasonably close. I had dealings with 4 dealers in two states.
I have a 2011 Defender, and had serious backlash problems as well. The flanges, well one side anyway, were changed on mine which made a very noticeable difference. I'm pretty sure from memory the axle was changed at the same time too.

Unfortunately both WA metro dealers are the same company and the other one is in Albany. When we pick it up if its still not any good we'll take it to an independent (probably DazzaTD5) for a report and then go from there.

We have similar in Melb, but luckily for us, the second place we went to finally, saw our side and dealt with it all. Mind you, by this time, I was starting to get pretty angry about it all.
Our biggest problem was their continual referral to "a truck",,,, not happy Jan. Other than the time factor they had the car, I guess they did alright, even if I did have to have it "piloted on a dyno" myself.
But as someone made reference to before, "they seem to know about half of what they lead you to believe". Between this and the fact all they seem to do these days is swap out parts, as opposed to diagnosing the problem,,,, it really makes you wonder why we take our pride and joy back to them.

Originally Posted by Chops

We have similar in Melb, but luckily for us, the second place we went to finally, saw our side and dealt with it all. Mind you, by this time, I was starting to get pretty angry about it all.
Our biggest problem was their continual referral to "a truck",,,, not happy Jan. Other than the time factor they had the car, I guess they did alright, even if I did have to have it "piloted on a dyno" myself.
But as someone made reference to before, "they seem to know about half of what they lead you to believe". Between this and the fact all they seem to do these days is swap out parts, as opposed to diagnosing the problem,,,, it really makes you wonder why we take our pride and joy back to them.

It's really poor eh....

Once the warranty is over I plan to never go back. Which means between me, loneranger and our daughter they lose 3 customers.

I understand about being angry. I got to the point that I had to hand over dealing with them to loneranger this arvo as I've had a gut full.

They place more value on their customer survey results than how they actually treat their customers. In 2 and a half weeks I've had only 1 callback. The rest of the enquiries I've had to chase them up again and again. And when I dropped the car off instead of getting a loan car simply asked for them to dròp me off at the train station (pre arranged). They took 45 mins to find someone to take me and I was late for work.

It's definitely been a Land Rover experience I won't forget in a hurry.

Originally Posted by Pocket Rocket

Once the warranty is over I plan to never go back.

I think you answered your own question here.
If you are taking it back to them for warranty reasons (that is, to have the protection of a warranty), and the warranty is not being honoured, then what is the use of going in the first place?