Lr2 rear differential - Land Rover Forums

GoodLife23 · #1 12-07-2011, 12:32 AM

Just purchased a 2008 Land Rover LR2 HSE with 39k miles. I realize they can be expensive to fix, but all of a sudden i find out that thousands of people are having rear diff problems at UNDER 50k miles, without a recall?
Does this differential FAIL happen on most LR2's?
Just paid cash for the thing, dont feel like dropping another 5k into it in a few thousand miles. Should i be worried? Maybe ill flush it with SEAFOAM!! haha... seems to solve everything...

Any opinions, recommendations etc welcomed...

Savannah Buzz · #2 12-07-2011, 05:01 AM

May be related to the infamous "peeling interior coating contamination" issue - see this post

Land Rover Forums : Land Rover and Range Rover Forum - View Single Post - 2005 LR3 HSE Rear Differential Major Problem HELP

on another forum that describes parts for indy rebuild. Stock answer is change diff oil every two oil changes, use high quality like Royal Purple, or another synthetic, perhaps move up to 85W140. A shade tree trick to help clean out without taking apart - buy a cheap garden sprayer, and a gallon of WD 40, spary inside everywhere you can reach after drain, both high an low. Object is to wash out as much as possible, etc.

threalassmikeg · #3 12-08-2011, 07:58 PM

Don't panic my friend, you bought a good vehicle.
You have a 4 yr 50,000 mile warranty (unless you're out by time already)
What exactly are you reading where "thousands" of people are having problems?
If you have a warranty issue in the warranty period it will get fixed under warranty.
If you don't have any issues, don't worry about it
...and keep the seafoam away from it.. lol
Congratulations and enjoy your new ride!

TurboDan · #4 12-20-2011, 12:59 AM

GoodLife -- This is an amazing coincidence! I actually purchased an '08 LR2 with 39K miles last Wednesday! Mine was bought in Princeton, NJ, though, not Boston, ha.

But in any event, I had similar concerns about the rear differential. I ended up buying the car anyway, since I really loved it, and I got a pretty good deal. I had a mechanic look at it before purchasing, and he said he checked the rear diff, but I'm probably going to have the fluid changed at my first oil change (due in about 3,000 miles according to service records) and then go every other oil change from there. I'll be doing some beach driving anyway, since I live on a barrier island in NJ, so can't hurt.

I'm really wondering what percentage of LR2 owners this affects. My previous car was a VW Passat, which had an oil sludge issue affecting a percentage of owners, of which I was one. Even though the car was otherwise completely reliable to 152K miles when I traded her in last week, that one glitch was an annoyance, and I ended up bringing VW of America to my county's small claims court after they denied my warranty claim under strange reasoning (we settled out of court for a corp. credit the value of what I paid to get the engine remediated). It was a hassle all the way, and I'm hoping to avoid the same thing with this car.

Disco Mike · #5 12-20-2011, 10:13 AM

This has been going on since the LR3 came out and has continued ever since. In some areas of the US, Rover was actually back ordered on both front and rear diffs.

TurboDan · #6 12-20-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco Mike

This has been going on since the LR3 came out and has continued ever since. In some areas of the US, Rover was actually back ordered on both front and rear diffs.

In that case, this has to either constitute a recall or, as VW did with the engine sludge issue, an extended warranty on the part in the event that it breaks. At least you'd think.