I am posting on this forum even that I do not have an LR3 (have LR2) because this forum seems to get a lot more posters than the LR2 forum.

Now to the problem: one week ago I brought my LR2 to the dealer to check on the intermittently not working AC-I told them I saw the radiator fan not always engaging/spinning when AC ON.

The dealer kept the LR2 for 6 days (including two weekend days).
They claimed that they could not see anything wrong, and (after 6 days) I went to pick up the LR at about 6 pm-when I opened the driver's door I noted that the seat was moved all the way back, and backrest was reclined about 45 degrees. When I pushed the button to move the seat forward, the seat moved with screeching noise and some vibration. I immediately pulled back to the gate where you drop the vehicles, and called the service writer who was on duty at the time (not the service writer who I dealt with), and told him that my LR did not have the seat noise when I dropped the vehicle off 6 days ago. The service writer took the LR in, gave me a loaner.

Next day I spoke to the service advisor I dealt before and then to the assistant of the service manager-both told me that dealership is not responsible for the seat problem "because we needed to get into the vehicle to test-drive it, and all the tech did was that he pushed the button the same way as you would do it, we cannot be blamed that the seat broke".

MY LR2 has 49,900 miles, out of the warranty in the end of April of this year- in fact the day after I picked it up with broken seat and "properly working AC", I brought it back and showed the einsteins that the radiator fan was not working, and now they say they "fixed the problem" by replacing the fan and its control module. I will be picking it up tomorrow.

It took some persuasion of the LR CS to have Land Rover to cover the repair under "goodwill" even that I brought the vehicle twice in for the same problem before the warranty expired 6 weeks ago.

I need your advise on how to go about the broken seat- short of going to the small claim court, I can't see what else can be done. The dealer told me that the splines were stripped on the gearing of the mechanism requiring the replacement of the whole seat frame/motor unit at the cost of about $1300 (tax included).

If anyone had the same or similar problem please post what you've done-the dealer seems to be very firm on not paying for the seat they broke...

Thank a lot.

 

no, sorry but when you give the vehicle for anyone to drive its proper procedure for them to move the seat. Unfortunately, it decided to go bad when it did. If you had a warrantee you wouldn't have an issue. The seat could have gone at any time. Instead you didn't go for it and now you are stuck with a seat that failed after warrantee. Oh well. My best advice is to have a second opinion to see if just the seat frame needs replacing or something less. we can get alot of parts for the seats. you still have to take it apart but you can still save money.

Sorry but its required to move the seat at anytime. plus you can easily move the seat by having your leg on the side and it brushing up against it.

Dealers are responsible for they they fix. Not stuff they didnt.

Remember you could have bought a warrantee. You didn't so suck it up. Thats the cost of ownership of any vehicle out of warrantee.

 

And there are many land Rover seats in salvage yards awaiting new homes -adopt one today! Usually seats go for $30 - $50. They can be a source of parts, or let an upholstery shop swap your "good" leather to the replacement frame. IMHO you might want to look at the small gear drive items that the motors operate, there is usually a flexible drive cable between the motor and a gear drive. Mine were on the "corners" at the base of the back of the seat. If you don't want to experiment with yours, buy one to dismantle. Save that $1300 for the head gasket fund... Most seats come out with four or six bolts.

 

I would not expect the seat frame to go bad from normal use -they did something to it because usually those seat frames are good for the lifetime of the vehicle, at least I have not had one go bad before.

Anyway, on your advise on 2nd opinion- the dealer finally fixed AC -replaced the rad. fan and its relay, and they "fixed" the seat by pulling it apart and lubricating the gearing with heavier grease. And it is all quiet now-there goes estimate of >$1100+tax

I believe the dealer should be held responsible if they broke something, just like I would be held responsible if I broke their loaner car.. Right?
I guess the answer will be influenced by whether you work(ed) for the dealer or not...

 

but they didn't break it. they moved the seat. No different then if you had a valet park your car. If you are small person and the valet is of average size he has to move the seat to drive the vehicle. Same thing. Sorry but you don't have a warrantee and guess what when the vehicle breaks again you have to pay. Oh well. Suck it up. its one thing if its over a 100 grand but just out of warrantee is your fault for being cheap. Remember there are many owners of thousands of vehicles that opt to buy a warrantee and all is covered when something goes wrong. Then there are those like you that opt not to and complain and moan and bitch because their car broke down and they have to pay for it. Suck it up. You were cheap and you can pay the dealership now or pay twice when it breaks. And now you will be paying twice when it breaks.

 

Rovin4life,

I posted here looking for advise, not to "moan and bitch"-and if a valet driver brakes something in the vehicle, they should be held responsible just as the dealer should be held.

The splines on the gearing did not brake from "normal use", they WERE BROKEN, I'd hope unintentionally. And if they did brake from "normal use" at 50,000 miles then these LRs are really of sh**ty quality- and I am sure you don't think they are.

I expected an advise on how to fix the problem and to deal with the dealer, not on how I should have gotten an extended warranty-thank you very much!

 

jUst an aside - I noticed a receipt I had from the salvage yard for leather seats for my Disco - $26.77 each, in very good condition. And the parts that stripped were ones that could be salvaged off seats that are ripped, etc. So even if the General Manager won't budge (he or she has more flexibility than the Service Manager), it is not an extreme repair if you DIY. The GM can make the differenc esometimes.

My wife's new car was in the body shop after a tree fell on it with 2000 miles. When I went to pick it up, the porter smacked both doors, and they wanted to use body filler to repair. I wanted new doors. I told them I would call the insurance company, they had just gotten back on the preferred provider list. The GM quickly got involved, my car was never seen again, I got a new loan at a slightly lower interest rate, and the next level car (went from a Nissan Sentra to a Stanza) for the same money - with 28 miles on it. Even though I had bought my car from another dealer! Wifey was sure surprised when I showed up with new wheels.

 

Thats not uncommon at all. with 2000 miles it was in the dealers best interest to get you out of the vehicle and out of their hair. In this way, they would get you out of the vehicle and into one of their vehicles for about the same loss that it would cost to do both doors. It probably would have cost a grand or more to fix so getting you out of the vehicle and selling it worked. Plus they probably made a killing selling it as a used car.

Then you became a client and they made out by selling the vehicle as almost new. Their mistake would not have been listed in carfax and the person would have bought the car as is.