Just had the new Defender towed off by a flatbed with a coolant leak after 307 miles on the clock. Coolant level warning light came on...pulled over to check the coolant level and the reservoir was empty. Then I noticed a pretty significant leak coming from under the passenger front door area (almost ‘running faucet’-like leaking). Called roadside, which took over 4 hours to dispatch a tow truck. When we called the driver after ~3 hours of waiting, he suggested that we ‘just leave the keys under the mat’ for him (wow). This is my 4th Rover, and officially the only one to ever leave me stuck due to a mechanical issue...not a great start for the new truck. Having it towed to my local dealer, where hopefully they will have a chance to look at it on Monday (guess that camping trip I had planned for Monday night in the new Defender will have to wait).

Anybody else experience any coolant leak related issues?

 

I thought TFL had a low level of coolant in one video I watched. I just figured whomever prepped the vehicle didn't top it off. Anyway sorry for the bad luck. Hope luck turns around for you. I put my deposit down today, I'm told it will be at least four months before it arrives and for this kind of money it's a shame some folks have run into issues. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

Lousy luck sorry to hear. I am fully convinced that the Defenders are a terrible investment. We all had high hopes but the overall ratings are in the tank for this $75k+ luxury SUV. JLR had one job.

 

Sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. Thankfully you shut it off right away and hopefully they can fix the issue quickly.

If it's any consolation, I once drove a brand new A4 off the lot with 8 miles on it, came to a stoplight, pushed-in the clutch pedal then had nuts, bolts & springs fall on my feet as the clutch pedal went flat to the floor. Nothing like trying to match engine speed to road speed on a brand new car to shift gears without a clutch and make it back to the dealer.

 

Sorry you experienced the coolant problem.

I had a different problem with a brand new (as it was back in 1997) BMW 328i Cabriolet in Japan. Not quite as quickly as yours but the car was about 2 months old when I took it to the Japanese Alps where the autotbox gave up the ghost. A lot of waiting until a flatbed arrived with a replacement to get me home and to take my BMW back to the dealer in Tokyo. It was off the road for several weeks. Things like this should not happen with expensive vehicles - but unfortunately they do. It's whether they keep on happening that counts.

Incidentally I've still got the 328i as I hate getting rid of cars....and mechanics all say "BMW don't make them like this anymore - hold onto it!" and I suspect in 1997 they said that to owners of the older ones at the time. Probably that was what the Series owners were told about their vehicles when the 'old' Defender appeared....

 

With Volvo turbo the same. Brand new, new design, and we came to learn it had a General Motors transmission (unfortunately). It did not take well to cruising and downshifting at 90 MPH, with parts left over the interstate and in the end multiple software upgrades trying to find a shift regime by which the transmission could hold together. Long story short, two engineers flew from Sweden to the U.S. and had the car for several weeks and at the end said we had found a driving approach which the design could not accept. This prompted the dealer to take it back, in exchange for a good deal on new MB, which over the years has prompted hour after expensive hour after expensive hour in the shop over several years and models, with all sorts of "small", sensitive-vehicle issues, but no severe failures during high speed driving.

Still, no Toyotas for me and bless those who love them.

 

Thanks everyone for the kind words and relatable experiences. I agree and understand that these things are bound to happen on a new vehicle, especially one that is truly totally new...what matters is how they are handled. So far, we aren’t off to a great start with the less than stellar tow service. I’m hoping I get a phone call from the dealer bright and early tomorrow morning, and they set about making this right to the best of their ability; that’s all I can really ask for. But what I’m guessing will happen is that I will have to follow up with them and hound them about getting things dealt with, as I didn’t purchase the vehicle from them (they had 2 in stock when I was shopping), and they are mostly a ‘Range Rover dealer’ (all of our local dealers sell and service almost entirely RR Sports or full sized RRs...one of them once told me I’d need to change the tires on my LR3 before they would service it, because they ‘were oversized and out of spec’).

I’m hopeful that I’m totally wrong here, but I suppose we will find out tomorrow.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the issue. Can you please do us a favor and keep us updated on what the mechanics say about the issue. What they think caused it? How it was fixed? Thanks

 

As expected, I had to contact the dealer this morning, and when I did they said ‘oh these keys here with no information must be yours then’...good job roadside.

Service advisor told me at 8:30 this morning that he might be able to look at it today, but it will probably be Tuesday. Hasn’t called or messaged me since. Good stuff. Will
keep folks posted on the cause.

 

Latest update here...dealer says the heater core is cracked, and that radiator fluid 'exploded into the interior area of the vehicle'. They ordered a new heater core, and said that they will 'replace any impacted carpets, etc'. They were also sure to let me know that they have no idea how long this might all take, since the heater core is not very accessible, and the extent of the interior damage is currently unknown...oh, and they don't have any loaner cars available, and can't tell me when they might have one available. Given that radiator fluid was essentially aerosolized and shot out the vents of the car (this happened with my wife and 2 year old in the vehicle on the day prior to the coolant light coming on, and we had no clue what it was), I don't really see the dealer's solution as a viable option. I'm just not comfortable putting my 2 year old back into a car that has been fumigated with hot radiator fluid, unfortunately.

I've reached out to LR North America customer service, as well as a personal contact at LR corporate to see what can be done about swapping this vehicle for one that doesn't permanently stink of radiator fluid...will keep the thread updated on the outcome.