Reliability survey results - Don't read this!

**Tote** · 29th July 2010, 08:10 AM

I've got a D3 and a BA Falcon. I see the same trends when both are serviced. Apprentices do most of the work with little or no supervision and they are "guided" by diagnostic procedures that work 80% of the time. Due to the nature of the diagnostic procedures they do not think about the fault and what may be causing it, rather they concentrate on the test and it's results.
I had what I thought was a compressor failure on the D3 over the weekend, the supply fuse was blown and the vehicle was logging a suspension fault.
My repair strategy would have been to replace the compressor first and ask questions later.
The dealer needed to apply 3 firmware updates that had an effect on compressor behaviour first. Then they put in a new compressor and found the fuse had blown. replaced the fuse and all was well. Swapped the old compressor and found that the fault was actually caused by bad connections on the plug connecting the compressor. Refitted the old compressor and all is working (at the moment).
My service strategy would have fixed the fault but at considerably more expense.
Their strategy took longer and inconvenienced the customer more but was a better financial result for LR.
What service organisations need to do is better communicate and staff appropriately so that they can perform these procedures without inconveniencing their customers and stopping them complaining.
I dont think that we are going to stop the "dumbing down " of the service force as this is a strategy seen across the computer industry as well where multinational companies do not invest in their workforce and figure that if they can employ a service person for $5 less and hour by reducing their training and quals they will.

/rant off

Regards,
Tote

**trobbo** · 29th July 2010, 08:27 AM

Must be a thing about owning landrovers. Have an 06 Volkswagon Jetta TDI from new. Annual Rego was the only recuring fault with that vehilce. It was economical enough to make stopping at a petrol station a novelty and apart from servicing doesn't cost a cent to keep on the road.

Funny story from a couple of years back I headed up to Fraser from Melbourne with a few mates. I had my 4.6 V8 94 D1, there was a diesel 80 series wagon and a 2.8 GU wagon.

So off we set early one morning with campers en tow. We knew that we were going to have to stop every 300 km or so so that I could refuel, so our first planned stop was on the NSW border 3 hours later. That wasn't a problem because we all had kids with us and mine were the youngest being 3 & 6. The stops were therefore needed and well spaced.

We made it 30 minutes up the road before the 80 starting blowing steam from under the hood. Damn thing just wouldn't stay cool. So we pull over, let her cool down, fill it up with water and continue on to the next town where she is hot again. Same process as before and we leave our mate in town to get his problem sorted at a local mechanics. $1000 or so later and he is on the road again. He caught up with us that night about 10.00 pm. Interesting thing is he had had the cooling system replaced about 12 months earlier.

The rest of the day is going swimmingly until we are about 1 hour out of Forbes in NSW and the call comes over the radio that the GU is now getting hot and the battery light has come on. Pull over, pop the hood have a look around and his car spat the harmonic balancer so he had no ancillary systems operating either.

I continue on to the next town to work out how far it was and to find a place to set up for the night, find a tow, and try and find parts for the GU to get it fixed. Found a nice caravan park where I leave my camper and then back to the GU. I had to tow him back to camp, with his trailer, cause the local tow operator wasn't interested in the job. It wasn't far enough out to make it worth his while.

We were stuck for 3 days in forbes while we sourced a replacement harmonic balancer. Eventually had one driven up from home as we couldn't find one anywhere within 600 km in nsw.

It was the beginning of January high 40's every day and we had a date further north so we needed to get this thing back on the road. We ended up doing the job ourselves in some borrowed space in the truck mechanics workshop as no one could fit the job in for at least 10 days.

The rest of the trip mechanically was uneventful, and it was always fun racing off effortlessly in the D1, leaving the two slug turbo diesel's stuggling on every hill we came to. I also had the lead job for overtaking so that I could scout ahead and give the other boys the all clear on the radio so they could wind their cars up to get them round slower vehicles.

**Dmmos** · 29th July 2010, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by PAT303

Considering Toyota has recalled 8 million vehicles and 40 people have died in thier cars coming 6th pretty much means the JD survey is meaningless. Pat

Although I can see why Land Rovers are rated so lowly (lets not get carried away) it would be nice if a manufacturer ranked lower than Toyota actually called them out on this!

Thread: Reliability survey results - Don't read this!

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