Thread: D4 Reliability

I'm with you Graeme. I'll be driving mine for many years to come and mine is one of the first and allegedly most bug prone. I'm not jinxing myself with any claims but its a dependable vehicle. In my (3 car) family it is regarded as the king of motor vehicles and the only one that the family is happy in when road conditions turn ugly (rain, snow, hail, shine, city traffic, twisty mountain passes, corrugated dirt roads ... its all the same to the Disco).

I would say, having had several 'yotas, LR's and many other marques, that Landies are very much (my opinion of course) a car persons car. They require, at times, a level of mechanical sympathy and understanding (or a very fat wallet) beyond a lot of other lesser vehicles.

Anyway, Craig, I would say if you're generally happy with it, persevere with it - your issues don't sound a big deal to me.

Also worth noting that reliability surveys are number of returns for rectification of issues - not actually vehicles crapping themselves on the side of the road. I've found it easier to get LR to admit and fix issues than pretty much any other manufacturer (particularly the Jap ones).

On another note, this is a thread that could really go places ...

Epic hit it on the head...
Those surveys are a combination of too many variables.

For instance a Blown bulb is included.

A Great Wall is 4 Fosters cans glued together and tied with string.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Epic hit it on the head...
Those surveys are a combination of too many variables.

For instance a Blown bulb is included.

A Great Wall is 4 Fosters cans glued together and tied with string.

Not quite ...........................

The one with the string (and a Cummins engine is the Foton Tunland).

The Great Wall doesn't have the string - just the glue.

Interestingly, I was driving out Albany Hwy in Perth on the weekend and spotted the Foton Tunland dealership. The business name is proclaimed in big signage - "Perth Motorsport". I'm still trying to figure out which part of the Tunland is "sporty".

What the heck is a foton tunland ? Sounds like a kind of mattress or something.

Originally Posted by CraigA

Land Rovers remain the least reliable car on the road (US figures 2012) and for a luxury brand, that's appalling.

I dont place any relevance on US figures - what are the Aussie figures??

Originally Posted by Tombie

Epic hit it on the head...
Those surveys are a combination of too many variables.

Plus they're American...

The thing is all modern vehicles are complex pieces of machinery. Things will fail on them from time to time. This is true for all makes.

If you are going to operate any vehicle in an area where there is limited support, you need to have an understanding of it's systems and some basic troubleshooting skills. For those of us brought up on vehicles whose most complex piece of electrical equipment was a set of points, this requires a different mind-set.

Most "electrical faults" are not showstoppers. With a bit of knowledge and ideally a fault-code reader you can easily get yourself going again. I had a few in the D3, but they never stopped me. If I can do it anyone can.

Of course you can be unlucky, but most of the failures you see in the bush are due to the drivers not operating their vehicles sympathetically. I include myself in that. The one showstopper I had in the D3 was caused by me being impatient.

If you like your D4 then keep it. There is no reason why it won't take you around the country.

Cheers,
Jon

I drove into Farina SA a couple of years ago, in my P38, and passed a tip truck with a RRS on the back heading out.

The next morning I got talking to a bloke who was telling me that it was his mate who had had to get his RRS taken back to Adelaide because he couldn't get the handbrake off.

I asked if they had tried to release it using the emergency release under the transmission tunnel.

He knew nothing about it and was embarrassed when I told him it was all illustrated in the drivers handbook.

When all else fails.....

A bit funny, but all the way to Adelaide every Tojo driver would be saying "Stupid Landrover" instead of stupid driver.

Maralinga, Emu etc in the D4...

No spares - just hit the tracks...

Was a marvellous trip, and the vehicle faultless...

Why worry? Thats what Premium assist is for and the only times I've ever needed recovery was a bloody hard animal strike disabling the cooling system in my TD5 Disco