Thread: Hand brake actuator (D3) Squeal/Bang !!!

Originally Posted by weakestlink

Took D3 to URL, wanted the whole parking brake looked at but with two sick kids in tow setteld for a very speedy adjustement which fixed the squealing. Gent waiting with me suggested he had two parking brake actuators replaced. His D3 had 215000km of the clock mine with 210,000. Is replacing the actuator a good idea or common on D3, D4 or rangies with similar parking brake set ups?

My D3 has just over 50,000km and on the AULRO forum trip just last weekend my handbrake started squealing and failed for the second time since I have owned it and I had to do the manual release to get going.

Still within warranty and whole assembly was replaced on Tuesday as well as the a/c compressor which developed a leak whilst at the dealers (good timing).

This is probably my only issue with the D3. I find it hard to reconcile why this part is designed in such a way that if you use the vehicle off road even a little bit in muck and dust etc this part fails.

I try and get off road reasonably regularly (read 1 a month) and last week we did go through some mud and bog holes etc and before that I did 2 days driving in the Vic High Country and some other day trips around Lithgow/Newnes but this is a real design problem and one that does not seem to have been rectifies in later models.

Even mentioning it to the dealer at service time to make sure they clean and adjust does not seem to really extend the life and if a Mike (rocmic) advised me on the weekend that the cost to replace the actuator unit is $1,700 (done under his extended warranty) it should be dealt with by LR and fixed.

Rant over and other than the inconvenience no big deal this time but I would be pretty P@@sed off if I have to spend those type of $$ on replacing this regularly if owned for a long time.

Regards,


George

I have to agree it is a P..s poor design.
Whats wrong with the old fashioned hand brake??
Having to clean the brake drums and adjust after a weekend of wheeling on dirt roads ????? WEll you know

Our local LR mechanic has mentioned that it just comes down to having the drums taken off and cleaned and maintained at every service.
If the acuator keeps on jaming, over a period of time it just burns out the motor.
To save money, the bottom line is maintenance.

G'day Forum

My Disco 3 MY09 TDV6 SE, had the same issue last week. After driving on some slightly wet muddy gravel roads my hand brake / park brake made a squealing sound followed by an error message. This happened once I had stopped, applied the EPB and tried to drive off after a short time.

I have read a lot of forums from the UK, SA and AUS since the problem with my car, and it is very clear that this is a very common issue with all D3's. These cars obviously have a faulty design and this is clearly a safety issue.

Through the collective power of all D3 owners and possibly driven by the large Landrover forums around the world, due to the hundreds of complaints regarding this issue. It should be possible to get acknowledgement and rectification from Landrover.

Regards
Birky

I had the squeal problem again one month after a service where the EPB was adjusted. This time I did it myself following the instructions and it has worked like a gem. Its time to do it again if you hear that metallic clink when the brake goes on.

Well the EPB went on the wife last weekend (while she was parked, not hers literally!!) - I get the panicked phone call at work and talk her through it...all ok until 2 days later when it goes again and this time she has to call the breakdown guys.

Took it in for it's 98k service today at Knights Rover, Brisbane and I just got the call that the acctuator has gone - that'll be 1100 bucks to you sir !!

I'll survive without it for now I think...esp when the part here Famous Four - New Parts for Discovery 3 - Brakes is 345 UK pounds ($520)