[Doc Fluty]

I bought a used 2006 LR3 HSE a few months back and it has been nothing but trouble.

The dealership I bought it from was a large, seemingly high end place... not a corner lot. They made me sign a bunch of forms that certify that I know I was buying a used vehicle with no warranty. This, apparently is how they sell all their used cars.... this LR3 was supposedly traded in by a dentist who was the only previous owner (saw the carfax)... so it was supposed to be good.

problems started a month or so after owning it.

1. if you leave it sitting for a week or so the battery dies.

2. large clunk when going over speed bumps or offroad.... which has now turned into a violent death wobble when braking. goes away with hard braking.. worse with softer braking.

3. I get random screen warnings all the time... one day it will be DSC, HDC Fault System Not Available, parking sensors.... ect...

one day there was a transmission warning and the thing wouldn't turn... gave it 20 minutes (me sitting in a parking lot), then it starts up just fine.

Got a check engine light, went to autozone and they did a reading... said is was an o2 sensor.. cleared it.. hasn't came back for months now.

sometimes ill just be driving calmly down the road and hear a loud ping...

4. as of last night... the ac doesn't blow out cold air... blower works... just not cold.

5. random low battery mode while driving... radio wont go past 20... coincidentaly, this happened right when the AC quit. But now the radio goes back up but still no cold ac.

I love the ride of the car... love the driving position, off road capabilities, ect.... but its having a helluva lot of issues.

Im not sure if its worth trying to sell and just accept my losses or what.

Because i think with the cost of the work i need done (im thinking control arms bushing for the wobble and clunk) that I will have to invest a few thousand into this..

the chevy dealer i bought it from is two hours away.. so its not like I can just roll up there anytime. Thinking of taking it to a land rover dealer (1 hour away) and see if they can reflash the computer, check some fuses/relays or something.. since they would know more than the chevy dealer anyway.

uuhhh.... this suck because i love the car... just hate the issues.

Thanks for letting me vent....

 

[Doc Fluty]

:::::UPDATE 30 minutes later::::::

after not using the LR3 for 36 hours but opening the tail gate a few times to get stuff in and out... its dead again.

not even the dome lights come on...

Had the battery and charging system check a month ago.. everything was good... all the cores were working... now im sitting with a dead vehicle again....

ugghh.....

 

[cnfowler]

The batteries are notorious for causing a lot of the electrical issues you're having. Voltage that passes for good in a regular vehicle is too low for the LR3. You have something that is drawing power when the vehicle is off. You need to find out what that is. It could be a short somewhere that's killing your battery. My LR3 could sit for weeks and fire right up.

The clunking is most certainly the control arm bushings. About $1,000 with parts included.

Have the AC system checked for leaks. That may be the cause of your AC not blowing cold.

This won't help you this time, but maybe in the future - too many people rely on CarFax. CarFax is junk when it comes to the maintenance history of your vehicle. The best way to get the history is to have the Land Rover dealership run your VIN. Trust me, there is a ton of stuff that doesn't get reported to CarFax and a lot of stuff that would be a page long on the service report but ends up being an entry in CarFax like "electrical system checked".

Colin

 

[disco biscuit]

When considering going up or down generations on discos, I thought 06 was the best year for the 3rd platform.

 

[Doc Fluty]

Im going to see if someone can give me a do it yourself fix for one or more of these issues...

Im guessing its a bad relay, fuse or wire touching something jacking everything up...

Then going to the dealer to get the bushings replaced.

I saw someone say instead of replacing them with OE parts, and having them fail again, to have them updated with a new version... not sure what thats about but id love to learn more.

Also, not sure if this is related... just remembered, over the last few weeks when the car sit a few days that only the front would lower... the back still stayed high.

I thought this was due to the minute slope of my driveway... now im wondering of there was something to it.

 

[cnfowler]

You've got a leak either in the airbags themselves, the piping/fittings, or the valve block.


Colin

 

[Eniam17]

Don't let these issues make you frustrated. It sounds like you bought an 8 year old complex vehicle without doing a lot of homework so now you have some kinks to work out.

In the same post you said "worst car I ever bought" and "I love the ride of the car... love the driving position, off road capabilities, ect" so it can't be that bad.

The electrical issues and warning lights could easily be a low battery issue and Colin is right, you have a leak somewhere in the air suspension. Control arms are a normal wear and tear item, as is battery replacement, and fixing an 8 year old EAS system. None of these things are that bad.

Regarding the control arms, a lot of people put the Range Rover Sport ones on because they are a little more robust. You could ask the dealer if you're going there anyway. You can also search disco3 uk site as there are some write ups about it on there. I don't have the link. While you're at the dealer, it shouldn't be hard for them to diagnose the EAS issue. It's worth having someone who knows what they are doing look at it and help you figure out whats wrong with it.

There is plenty of help here on the forums so you will get this stuff figured out.

 

[belew]

Don't blame the truck just yet.. Your's is a typical Rover story we see over and over.. Previous owner didn't keep the truck maintenance in order. Traded it off and now you get to sort it out..

Item 1, 3 and 4 are likely all the same issue. Week battery or charging system. Best guess is battery. Don't trust the "Parts House" battery test or that the battery you have is correct for the truck. The LR3 takes a strong charging system. Don't skimp on the replacement battery, it is literally the heart of the electronics management system. Alternator voltage running will need to be well over 14 volts, any less and it will cause all the issues you described.

As they said above number 2 is likely the front bushings. You can upgrade the bushings to Poly or go back with a factory OEM or aftermarket replacements. Their are pro's and cons to either. Cost/Reliability/Ride quality. Most folks are cost focused, so the aftermarket (Dorman) lower arm and bushings are OEM quality and you can expect them to last as long as the first pair, they are a wear item like tires and brakes. Buying the entire lower arm w/ bushing is usually less than the added labor to have bushings pressed out and the new ones back in.

You can save a bundle changing them yourself. It is pretty simple and strait forward. That said if you have never done this before or have the tools/skill this is likely not the place to start. You can run into issues fast as the bolts tend to seize in the bushings and have to be cut out. Side grinders and or torches required.

Don't expect to simply live with the clunk either. With the bushings shot your tire alignment is out and you will be wearing tires un-evenly and fast. Will need an alignment after arm replacement also.

 

[Doc Fluty]

Thanks guys. I have posted these issues in another LR forum... your posts are the most helpful.

It sounds like you bought an 8 year old complex vehicle without doing a lot of homework so now you have some kinks to work out.

In the same post you said "worst car I ever bought" and "I love the ride of the car... love the driving position, off road capabilities, ect" so it can't be that bad.

Yes, this is 100% true. I bought it for its legendary offroad capabilities, optional 7 passengers in a non-full size vehicle and because tailgate lifts as it does... so i can open the back glass and do photo shoots out the back while someone else is driving.

I bought this vehicle to be my work rig.. I am a photographer and love to go into wild off locations to get cool shots (check my facebook page if interested)... So since I will be using it on long travel, I need it to be dependable.

And yes, I trully don't hate the car... its just that I have a big paperweight in my driveway now and its been sitting there for days because I cant figure out the best coarse of action. its just frustrating when you have the wobble... then the radio turns your music down on you, cant do anything about it... then your AC goes out and you have to drive in this mississippi humid heat.... it just gets to you.

I got a good deal on the car comparable to other LR3 HSE's of the same year and mileage... so I thought even if I needed to spend $1000 or so cleaning it up and fixing it, i would still come out better than buying something with lower miles (this one had 95,000).

I dont mind spending money to fix the clunk... can you guys give me a link to the required parts for the upgrade? I dont want this issue to pop back up again in 50,0000 miles.... I have a mechanic who is a good friend on my old car club, he should give me a good deal if i get all the parts together.

I will replace the battery.... seems it already has once since there is a die hard gold there now... but I will try it again just to be sure.

Any tips on how to check the system for air leaks?

Just ordered a new brake switch from amazon, will be ordering a battery as soon as i figure out which ones best... you guys recommend the interstate?

Thanks for all your help guys... here is a shot of my rig before i died the other day...

 

[Derel1cte]

I just did the front control arms last month. First time it had to be done in 135K miles (and thats with a good amount of hard driving and off road use).

Here's the parts you'll need:
Control Arm Complete Front Lower Left (Genuine Part # LR028249) - Land Rover ball joints\rod ends from Atlantic British
Control Arm Complete Front Lower Right (Genuine Part # LR028245) - Land Rover ball joints\rod ends from Atlantic British
2x Control Arm Hardware Kit - Does One Side-Lower Arm - Land Rover ball joints\rod ends from Atlantic British

You should take care of the rear sway bar bushings too, if the front bushings are spent, these will be too:

2x Sway Bar Bushing Rear (Genuine Part # LR015336) - Land Rover bushings from Atlantic British

As far as the battery, I've heard the Interstate Platinum is the way to go.

 

[cnfowler]

The Land Rover replacement battery is made by Interstate. That's the one I'd go with. Do a quick search for the right part number for the LR3.

The picture you posted is friggin' sweet, too.


Colin

 

[disco biscuit]

What he said^^^^^^^©

 

[wags]

Hey Doc I just got a Lr3 HSE 06 with 94,000 for $12,800.00 after a lot of looking. If I may ask what did you give for yours? Looks just like yours, what color?

 

[tlt]

A dealer should be ashamed to sell it knowing the issues are there, it tarnishes the name. If you're still having trouble PM me with your e-mail / phone if you want to talk through your remaining issues. Proper maintenance is the key to Joy, and some efforts are going to be required to get it there.

You also should change your diff oils, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid etc. Diffs, every 30k or so, transfer case every 40-60k, transmission every 75k.

 

[Doc Fluty]

Thanks for all your tips on these issues guy. I will be ordering the replacement battery later this week (in addition to the already order brake switch). Then I will schedule it to completely checked up at the LR dealer for the control arms.

Thanks for the help tlt... I'll be heading to austin and dropping it off with you for ahwile lol

its going to cost me... but when I take it to death valley I need it to get me back home lol

 

[tlt]

Ship it over here, I'd be happy to get all the issues resolved for you, and drive it back to you.

 

[SafariDave]

My Discovery 3/LR3 has been the best car I have ever owned and most reliable. Drove from NYC to LA through a 2 day winter storm in -16F. Went off road in the desert through rocks mud in 106F up to Big Bear mountain through an off-road road for 7hrs. Have driven it in intense NYC traffic and LA traffic. Handles awesome in any terrain. I have put it through hell!
I changed all it's fluids, had control arms replaced and thermostat and housing) replaced.
Dave

 

[War577]

Hang in there Doc

I'm a recent first time Land Rover buyer, and I can say I got a beating in the first three months. This is me: http://www.landroversonly.com/forums/f41/first-time-land-rover-owner-68426/

All the issues have been fixed (knock on wood). Like you, I always enjoy the driving position.

After three months, I still have that "new car excitement". My wife wonders why I occasionally disappear after dinner... last night she caught me polishing an already shiny Java Black LR3.

-War577

 

[tlt]

Right on schedule one month out of the replacement warranty my battery got dodgy. It started with an HDC fault when starting after sitting for two days, two weeks later it was after one day, then it reset the computer / trip meter on startup two days in a row. I went down, this time I saved my receipt, and got out of it for only 93.00 with tax. I should be good to go for another two years. This would be I think the 4rth battery, maybe 5th for me. It is expected.

Be sure to clean your battery terminals inside and treat. I use 3m clear electrical sealant 1600 I believe. This also seals the negative terminal which has a tendency to off gas on LR3's and corrode things.

Let me know when to expect your rover doc!

 

[Derel1cte]

I must've gotten lucky with my battery. I've had my LR3 for 6 years now. It still has the battery that was in it when I bought it... and I'm pretty sure that it's the same one that it left the UK factory with back in Sept. 2004!

I know it's only a matter of time before I start getting faults