The Range Rover Experience

[TAZ]

Hello To All;

I am totally obsessed with my Range Rover. After 7 years and 39.000 Miles on it my 1999 4.6 HSE sometimes makes me happy and sometimes drives me crazy.

With this new thread, I wanted share my experiences with all owners and enthusiasts hoping I might be able to exchange views, comments and suggestions.

Up to this very date my problems were as follows:

- Gasket Leak ( Changed ALL GASKETS )

Even though I change all gaskets every year; the problems seems to presist which drives me crazy ; I feel like owning a dog continuously marking its territory. I really do not know weather its faulty engineering or a way of life but Oil Leak is something I had never seen in any of the other cars I had purchased and owned besides my Land Rover. Sometimes if I dont see a leak, I tend to get worried thinking that maybe the oil pan is empty Would appreciate any suggestions on a final solution if there is any

- Water Leak Into Passenger Footwell ( O Ring Replacement )

I guess its a habbit; Land Rovers letting all the water in, letting all the oil out.

- Sunroof Water Leak ( Cleaning Drains And Water Passages )

When you look at the handbook, there is a remark; the best 4x4 By Far, should I take this comment seriously? If letting all the water in during a slight rain or a car wash, I wonder what would have happened it this vehicle was used under heavy offroad conditions. One other thing, its a British car, it rains nearly every other day in England, may God help British owners then.

- Exhaust Rattle ( Changed Complete Exhaust System )

I can live with it, its been 7 years, I guess it was just time.

- CD Changer Failure ( Lens Cleaning )

I can live with this also, for 7 years it did not even skip a single track.

- BECM Failure ( Had To Replace BECM )

This was a very scary experience. Thankfully a friend of mine found a second hand BECM which was off a 2001 4.6 HSE and the problem was solved just by replacing the upper section of the BECM.

- Creak, Rattle and Various Noises From Doors ( Silicone Spray To The Rescue )

Silicone spray seems to be a temporary solution to the problem, after a couple weeks the noises tends to come back again. Some other friends and owners say that its a big car and quite normal but give me a break, havent heard anything from my X5? Well, skip the X5, its not even a 4x4 compared to the Range Rover but a friend of mine also owns a Land Cruiser, its a big car too right, and its nearly soundproof even in the worst road conditions. If any have a suggestion to this issue, would love to hear about it.

- Heated Seat Failure ( Changed Wiring Under Seat )

This also seems quite normal since even the latest models of different makes seems to have the same problem, including my BMW.

Well I think this is about it; thankfully no problems on EAS yet and since the summer is on the way terrified of even thinking about the possibility of an engine overheat. Would appreciate any suggestion on precautionary measures on this issue as well; changing neccessary parts before they break down maybe thermostat or water pump?

Besides its negative aspects which tends to drive me nuts, I like my Range Rover, nevertheless "Only hiking is better offroad if you dont own a Land Rover".

Best Wishes To All. Bye

[1st rover]

boy o boy did'nt u take ur time to post. all the details u have in there are great. well be glad to help .
first of all watch ur fluids.

[Disco]

TAZ! If your Range Rover was a horse, I would have shot it! No, just kidding actually. You will find, or have found, if you've been lurking, that we all love our Rovers, despite their individual characteristics. You have come to the right place if you are seeking advice. Although we don't always get it exactly right.

[Landy-Andy]

Hi Taz,
Welcome.
Sounds like you have been busy over the years with the RR!
Rover owning is all good character-building stuff, love hate relationships are normal!
I think all your points have been covered many times before in the Forum, may be worth doing a keyword "search" in the "Range Rover" section to view past remedies...
Good luck,
Andy

[OkieRover]

I too know what it is to have serial problems.

I just swapped out a motor and the day after I loose an output seal on the steering box and develop a brake system problem and the radiator clogged up.
Not to mention I need new catalytic converters and the radio died when the steam from the blown heater core filled the cab while I was on the highway a few weeks back.
And I need bushings all the way around.

I feel your pain.

[hamrendan]

In the interest of telling all my rovers dirty laundry..

No dash illumination lights ( the were working at one point, and the gear illumination strips were NOT, now that the dash lights are out the Gear illuminations strips work again )

AC fans wont come on.. along with AC.. still need to get on that Summer is coming soon ( no its not the relay that would be too easy!)

power door locks are intermittent.. but mostly work..

power seats go back but don't go forward.. Drive like a lowrider ( holale vato )

only one brake light right now..

Black magics non op.. leaky..

Hmmm good thing I only have a million OTHER projects going on right now, or I might not have any time for her!..

[TAZ]

Hello Again;

I would like to thank you all whom had shown interest on the posted thread and shared thoughts.

Temperature rising day by day and instead of waiting in terror hoping that engine does not overheat, decided to take some action and made a couple of changes.

First of all with the advice I did check my fluids and hoses making sure there are no leaks and in addition, changed thermostat and water pump ( almost about to rest in peace it was a nice choice to check and change ).

I guess I am a bit over nervous and tend to change parts before they break down but its a habbit

Best Wishes To All.

[Moto One]

Danny, check the main bus wire from the battery, that could be your fan, seat ect problem, Remember your Mom's, my old LWB did that same thing. Now for my problems: Last week the front dif just disintagrated, no warrning, no noises, all alignment SDs were done. Just; BANG-ZING-Please select Neutral, thank you. Then on the flatbead going to local dealer(35miles) it almost falls off the truck when tow driver almost rearends the car in front, drive the last 5 miles with on tie down strap and right front wheel hanging off. We arrive at dealer and there are two other flat beads (4.6, LWB) ahead at the light.
Luckly all was repaired by Tuesday.

But I may have lost that loven feeling.

[TAZ]

Hello Again;

While sharing my experiences I stated that I was only terrified of an engine overheat and also added that had no problems with EAS so far; well it happened

I do not know what is; I dont get any fault messages on the instrument cluster or a blinking light of any kind but after a normal drive, as soon as I park the car and position the gear to "P", the vehicle tends to raise its head slightly and vice versa with the rear end of the car then turns to normal. It looks like slight adjustments but I had never seen this happen before, maybe this problem even occurs while driving but since its so millimetric I may not be even aware of it. Height sensors maybe? This problem occurred right after the vehicle was raised only slightly on a car lift to check underneath.

I will search the forums hoping I find a reasonable answer but if any of you are familiar with such a problem, will be glad to hear what you have to say about it.

Thank You...

[TAZ]

The problem concerning the height adjustment just dissapeared, I dont know what had caused it and how it got back to normal but in all cases I should be happy about it cause now everything seems ok...

[TAZ]

Hello People;

Even though all Land Rover vehicles seem to have their own "individual characteristics" as Disco put into words, we all have a tension point and I guess my tension point is very very near.

After my recent problem concerning height adjustment which I thought was over, I found out that the problem was presisting. Yesterday while driving on the highway, after a sudden break the vehicles head tilted forward and only after a couple of minutes it was able raise itself back to level off to a normal height position. If the vehicle was on a merge or a turn, this could even have caused the car to flip over

First I thought the vehicle might be in need of a calibration adjustment since the fault first occured after the vehicle was raised slightly on a car lift. Height sensors were checked and calibration adjustment was completed but that was not the problem. Then I had the suspensions checked for a possible air leak which was not the case also. The problem later turned out to be due to the valve block. I had seen some repair information on http://www.rangerovers.net concerning the valve block but it does seem like a long and complicated process indeed. Besides all of it, what freaks me out is that the valve block is quite expensive.

I am aware for the fact that the car is 7 years old but it only has 39.500 Miles on it and it is nearly in a showroom condition. Under the mentioned circumstances and conditions I am getting sick and tired of the "Never Ending Problems". I used to spend my week-ends with different hobbies but now feels like trying to find solutions and answers to the engineering fault of the ages.

I think if it keeps up, I am going to have to say "Farewell my old friend Landy, best of luck with your new owner"...

Best Wishes To All.

[KK20]

TAZZ you wrote:

- Water Leak Into Passenger Footwell ( O Ring Replacement )-

did it solve the problem?

thank you.

[TAZ]

Hello KK20;

Well I had two occasions where there was a water leak into passenger footwell;

- First occasion it was due to the o ring and yes after changing it, it did solve the problem.

- Second was caused by the pollen filters, after changing the filters, instead of trying to tighten the screws of the filter covers, its best to use some kind of double sided adhesive tape or similar to tighten the cap, think of it as some sort of gasget and yes that did solve my second problem.

[cellulararrest]

am I the only one whose rangie has been extremely reliable?

[TAZ]

Hi cellulararrest;

Well nearly after 8 years I dont have a friend or a business associate who owns a Rangie and says his / her car is "extremely reliable".

To be honest havent seen any "extremely reliable" British car maker; Jaguar, Rover, all the same; using probably the oldest technology on the planet and still electrical gremlins, waking up everyday, turning the ignition and hoping everything will work out fine.

As for 4x4 s, travelled nearly all around the world and in some places its a neccessity to use a 4x4 since what they call a highway is probably the worst road condition you would ever get to see. The only 4x4 s still "alive and kicking" on those conditions seem to be Land Cruisers and Pajero s.

Style; YES.
Elegant; YES.
Smooth; YES.
Comfort; YES.

But Reliability; I dont think so.