I have a 2003 Discovery with the manufacturer's defect found on the Technical Service Bulletin issued by LRNA on 3-14-2003 stating that the failure of an oil pump is a design defecr. LRNA has refused to repair my Rover even after the Service Manager and the Dealership owner have informed them that I have the technical alert in hand. I have turned this over to a lawyer who specializes in this area. The dealership owner told me he could not believe that LRNA is refusing repair and setting itself up for litigation like this, however it is now in the attorney's hand and I am ready to see them go down. LRNA has the ethical and moral obligation to make good on their admitted defect. [/align][/align]I have given LRNA every chance to right their wrong and they have slammed the door in my face. The VIN range is all 2003 Discoverys ending with 3A771801 – 3A808362

My attorney is getting ready to file a lawsuit on my behalf regarding the 2003 Land Rover Discovery Oil Pump Failure causing the need to replace the entire engine assembly. He is also reviewing it for the possibility of a class action lawsuit. If interested, you can contact him....Michael Wing at 251-433-7468.


The Technical Alert can be seen at:

http://home.comcast.net/~bhcmbailey/lrna_tsb.pdf[/align]

 

Interesting... Please keep us posted.

 

Having worked for Rover I have to tell you it is Ford that is causing the problem, they are broke, want to get this sale finalized and be done with us once and for all.

 

Are you the original owner? If not do you have a extended warrenty? How many miles on your truck?

 

I purchased this vehicle when it had 21K miles. It has been serviced by the local Rover dealership from the time I purchased it. Land Rover of North America had every chance to check for the problem listed in the technical alert and did not. The owner of the dealership (whom I know well) told me that LRNA told him personally that they would not repair my Rover. He told me that he could not understand their position because this is not a warranty issue, this is a matter of repairing an admitted manufacturer's defect. There are approx. 36K vehicles that fall in the VIN range listed in the Technical Alert. Some people have reported having their Rover repaired at no charge and others are in the same boat I am in.

My Rover has 78K miles. I do not have an extended warranty but this is not a warranty issue. Warranties are used to cover components that break during the given warranty period;manufacturer's defects (plainly admitted in the bulletin they issued) are a completely different issue. In the words of the owner of my local dealership, I would be irate if I had a vehicle in today's age that was properly serviced and I was forced to replace the engine at 78K miles and that does not take into consideration that the manufacturer has admitted their error on paper. It has been at the dealership since mid January where they attempted to repair the vehicle. This is the type of situations that Class Action Lawsuits are made for. I personally prefer to file suit against them individually. The defect was discovered by Land Rover and reported on 3-14-2003. The Technical Alert is what Land Rover uses to notify dealers of issues regarding specific models and years, etc.Land Rover should have notified all owners of thevehicles in the VIN range of theproblemat the same time the dealers were notified. Instead they sat back and waited torespond to the matter on a case by case basis whereit is apparent that they knew at some point in the future they would stop covering the repair of the defect in an effort to avoid replacing all 36K engines. This would have been expensive but it also would havebeen the right and ethical/moral thing to do.

I have concluded that LRNA has been told to refuse coverage to keep the books as clean as possible until they complete the "SUCKERING" of TATA MOTORS.

 

Ok here is how they see it and how i understand it by no means im taking no sides. A TSB is technical service bulliten and is intendid for helping the technician in diagnosing. If you never complained about the oil light coming on during warranty time they will do nothing about it.

Now lets say if you came in at 30k miles saying your oil light was intermitantly coming on the tech would go onto GTR look up the tsb and follow diag procedures wich is not putting a motor its checking oil pressure and replacing the front cover wich houses the oil pump assembly wich is causing the fault now 90% of the time that will fix the issue. And yes the motor will now be replaced if the front cover fails to fix problem.

If you just show up at the dealer with a tsb printed out demanding a motor and never complained about it then its not going to fly. but if you showed up at the dealer with recall number and it said the motor failed then yes you would get your motor. Like i said a tsb is just information that landrover tech line puts out to warn other dealerships of known problems that have been occuring and how to go about diagnosing and fixing. Not all those rovers that fall within the vin fail. 3 years i've only done 2 front covers and no motors for this bulliten.

 

socalrover84:

I greatly appreciate yor input because I have wondered how they viewed this matter.

The timeline with this issue as like this....In the fall the oil pressure light came on and I immediately turned the Rover off in fear of ruining the engine. I then went online to try and find possible causes, etc. to this problem where I stumbled across the Technical Service Bulletin. I called the LRNA customer services number where I was told that I needed to get the vehicle into the dealer to first diagnose the issue to see if the problem arose from the issue discussed in the TSB. Because this is an extra vehicle, I left the Rover alone as I had another car to drive, procrastinating until January when I finally aranged delivery of the Rover to the dealership. I was told that the oil pump failed and had to be replaced at $1,450.00 + or -.

In early March the dealership informed me that they had worked extensively with the LRNA technical service team, replacing the pump, replacing the oil with much heavier oil, etc. trying every trick to get the Rover's oil pressure about the minimum mark but could not. They informed me that the only fix was to replace the engine. I was told to call LRNA and discuss the matter where LRNA told me they would look into the matter and get back with me. After several days they called and informed me that they would do nothing.

I discussed the issue with the Service Manager and was told that the cause of this problem was directly related to the defect of the dowel pin alignment covered in the TSB. If that is not bad enough, he informed me that the engine is no longer mass produced and therefore the cost has incrementally increased. He told me that LRNA contacted him to discuss the matter and he relayed his opinion that LRNA should play some rolein the repair due to the manufacturer's defect and that engines should not have to be replaced after 78K miles. He said he truly felt that LRNA would offer the parts and leave me with the cost of labor and that he was surprised at their response.

I had requested from the beginning that any parts replaced be retained and returned to me. Upon picking up the replaced parts, I discussed the matter with the head technician (who performed all the work on this issue) and was told that the new oil pump and the thicker oil together only raised the pressure by about a half of a pound and that if the engine was as it should be the old pump would have worked fine but that over time the misalignment caused damage to the engine. In other words I had to pay $1,450.00 for 1/2 pound of oil pressure and the continued problem of the oil pressure light coming on at idle.

I am a reasonable person, however I do not know anyone who, after reading a TSB stating the facts as this TSB does, and then experiencing the problem as I have experienced with the associated cost now faced with repairing the defective parts would not feel that Land Rover (with the type written admission of the defect in the TSB) should not play a large role in the repair. As I said, I am reasonable but wanted to see some form of "olive branch" from LRNA due to the fact that this is not simply written off as normal wear and tear. The dealership owner also contacted LRNA where he was told immediately that LRNA would not play any role in the repair.

I am now at the point where it has become a crusade where if an international corporation has no ethics or simply sense of standing behind their product then it is my duty bring this injustice to the surface. I have read some nightmare stories online from people who have been "thrown to the wolves" by LRNA regarding this issue and it is simply not right.

I understand what you explained but I feel that I should have an engine that has the same chance of long time survival just as the 4.6 engines that do not fall within the specified VIN range. Apparently my engine had 2 strikes against it from the first mile.

 

I understand why LR won't just replace every engine that's within the VIN range.
I also understand why there's not a recall, but a TSB. That TSB shows LR's willingness to admit mistakes, and that's respectable. LR may not even be legally responsible for replacing the engine after a failure of the oil pump after the warranty period has expired... But...

The amazing thing is that after admitting the error on the TSB, there's no support when it actually causes engine damage. This is the kind of support that, when is just for the few engines that are affected, would solidify the loyalty of that customer for future LR purchases for a relatively small investment. It's not a smart strategy for a company to cut expenses by ignoring quality and service issues, especially at this level.

 

Fidlaw states, "In general terms, the law requires that a product meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. When a product has an unexpected defect or danger, the product cannot be said to meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer."

I agree with you (Different Drummer) that Land Rover is not taking the best long term approach regarding quality and customer service. I am of the opinion that Ford is stapped for cash and taking the short term quick buck and refusing as much repair coverage as possible as an act of desparation to survive and has the attitude that it will face the reprocussions later.

After finding the large number of people online who report experiencing the same problem as well as those I am sure who are not posting, and then to see the TSB on top of everything else, I have no real doubt of the outcome of this matter, it just seems it will take a while to sort it out.

With regard to the above mentioned Findlaw statement of liability, without a TSB I feel it is reasonable to expect the engine of a $40K+ vehicle that has been properly maintained to last beyond 78K. The TSB simply confirms suspicion that there must be something wrong if a number of vehicles of the same make, model, year and engine type allexperience similar problems. I would think that LRNA did not want the TSB to get into the hands of the general public by being posted on the net by a good samaritan, however once it had been posted, I am astonished at their refusal of repairs now knowing that their admission of liability is on paper and free to the public. After reviewing previous cases where auto manufacturers knowingly disregarded such issues, I have found that the punishment through monatary means to such companies is getting worse as a type of warning that such behavior will not be overlooked.

 

One more thing....this is my second Rover (had a 1998 Disco I) and I am very capable when it comes to repairs. I enjoy working on them so I am not someone who bought a Roverand did not know what I was getting into because I am familiar with the quirks and such that accompany these vehicles. I continue to like my rover even though I have already replaced MAS, Fuel Pump, Stereo, driverside seat switch, 4 O2 sensors, faded fender flares, window motor, hornand the two horn button horn assembly on the steering wheel.

None of these items were even mentioned to the dealer, I simply purchased the parts and replaced the broken one's. There are many people online who apparently feel these items would be enough to deem the Rover a lemon. I knew what I was in for when I bought it. I simply feel I am owed a fair shake with regard to the engine/oil pump issue.