I took my '99 Disco II into the dealer the first week of Sept for some last minute warranty work to be performed. My 3 year warranty with AUL was expiring the following weekend. The problems I had seen and reported were the three lights coming on together (ABS,TC,HD),thermostat light would come on more and more often indicating the car was overheating (normally after about 30 minutes of driving),hot air was coming off the engine through the firewall and almost burning my feet(long occuring problem).

After about four days of going over the car the dealer put a work order in with AUL. They found that the transfer case was leaking,head gasket,thermostat was sticking,and an ABS code for the shuttle valves was coming on as a soft code. An appraiser/adjuster came out declined some of the work order. The transfer case had too many different fluids on it to prove it was just leaking one fluid through the seals. They actually approved the head gasket and the thermostat,but didn't approve the ABS. Apparently the ABS lights wouldn't stay on and would reset after turning the ignition on/off a few times. The appraiser said it wasn't a hard fault code so it was denied. The dealer said most warranty companies don't question this practice and they hadn't dealt with AUL too often. So the dealer tells me to keep the loaner car they said they were going to see about degreasing the transfer case then add dye to prove the leak. Then they said they would drive the car for a week and try to get the ABS to come on and take a picture for AUL and go ahead with the other repairs.

About two weeks go by (no returned phone calls) and I finally get a call saying AUL approved everything but the ABS sorry we drove the car around and couldn't get the lights to go on. I was upset over the ABS because that was one of the priciest issues. Another week goes by and they call me and tell me to pick up my car. So I head over pay $300 on $4000 in work (that wasn't related to the original work I intended to have done),go over what was done,and am told to flush the ABS with brake fluid to clean the shuttle valves. After heading out of the shop about three blocks away I hit the brakes and the ABS lights come on! Pissed I turn around and and explain what just happened and they said don't worry about it we'll take care of you. As we're sitting there the thermostat light comes on! I shook my head and gave them some piece of mind and said keep the car as long as you need to I'm out of warranty and we can't open another claim. So the service guy says I'm gonna take it up to our repair guy in a second and turns off the car. I said wait! why did you turn off the car the lights are on? sure enough he turns the key back over and the ABS lights disappear! He told me not to worry about it and they would do what they could.

Well two weeks have passed and I've gotten no communication from the dealer other than "we can't get the code to stay on I'll keep in touch". I asked what about the thermostat light coming on and the guy acts like he'd forgotten about it! I also asked about the heat coming through the firewall..he said don't worry "I'll take care of you I ordered a thermostat on the house" I said you already charge me for one! He said don't worry I'm waiting for one and I'll let you know when it get's here. He also explained that the thermostat comes on because the tranny is getting hot and it's normal when you've been driving for a long amount of time,but your car isn't overheating. I said it's not normal when I'm driving 10 miles in 65 temps! He said "don't worry I'll take care of you!" LOL

Not sure what I should/can do in this position if anyone can offer there advice I'd appreciate it. As of now they've had my car for a month and haven't even fixed the issues I took the car in for!

 

I would suggest you get a second opinion on these problems, just take it to an indy shop and have a mechanic confirm these problems in writing, then explain to the dealership that you have a receipt that says these things were fixed but an ASE certified mechanic says they were not, and if the problem is not resolved in a reasonable amount of time (I would also ask the indy shop what they think that time would be) you will report them to the motor vehicle repair bureau (or whatever government agency handles these situations where you are), as well as the BBB, and your Lawyer if it gets to that point. If you want you can even throw in your local news station as well, bad publicity threats can go a VERY long way. I would also do the same thing with AUL and explain to them you initially made the claim about the ABS and a certified third party will attest to the fact that the problem is there currently.

I would suggest you contact a lawyer before you pay a single penny because the initial work should have been under warranty, so the repairs should be as well.

sorry to go on a bit of a rant here but I hate when people try to take advantage. Put up enough of a fight and you will usually get what you want. Keep one thing in mind, the people you are dealing with are representing there businesses not themselves and if they think you will make enough noise and get them in trouble (or fired) they will usually go ahead and give in.

 

As a retired service manager I would be glad to help you if you send me your tele. number.

 

Talk to Mike. The problem you are having is with the service writer, and some times, they are totally retarded. (no offense Mike). Just try to stay calm and don't start yelling. Usually they will work with you, and if not, keep going up the chain. I wound up at dinner with the owner of the Cadillac dealer here. Not a fun time once he asked how the service was.

 

From the sounds of it is the trans fluid temp light and NOT the engine overheating.
You can buy a new temp sensor (common fault on DII's) and fix it yourself in 30 min.
The trans is not overheating, the sensor is faulty.
http://roverparts.com/Parts/AMR4948.cfm

As for the ABS issues, forget it, your on your own, they wont help you.
Get your truck back, be glad they covered the $3,000 in repairs and now get handy with a wrench.

 

You know it's funny you mention a second opinion. My mechanic diagnosed these problems before but the lights on the dash were not staying on. He said to wait till they become more consistent...sure enough right as my 3 year warranty comes to an end they show themselves the last few months with consistency.

I'm not going to start making waves just yet, but I feel like I'm in a precarious situation with my warranty now expired and a miscomunicating service writer handling my ticket. I made a point to tell them to keep the car as long as they need to in order to get in fixed with the warranty ticket open. I was supposed to get a call monday and here it's mid week. I will say I'm fortunate to have a loaner car.

Does anyone know if running brake fluid past the shuttle valves in the ABS can stop the lights from coming on?

thanks for all the replies everyone

Mike you have a pm

 

you also have to realize that because AUL or whomever has paid for your repairs, you may not be covered under a parts warranty or whatever LR offers on genuine parts. Different states have different laws regarding who the "customer" is... in most states the person who owns the vehicle is the "customer" in some, where "Direct Repair" is legal, whomever is paying for the repair is the customer, and they would have to be the ones having the warranty repair completed.

the Genuine Parts thing brings up another point. Insurance companies and aftermarket warranty companies often won't pay for OEM parts. in certain instances in certain states they must use OEM Genuine Parts, in a LOT of cases they do not. Most states that have "Direct Repair" laws do not require the use of OEM parts.

While you may be under the impression that your t-stat was "Genuine" or OEM, AUL may require them to use a "Quality Replacement" part. If that is the case, LR won't give a hoot about your problem because the garage didn't use a LR part, so their Parts Warranty Policies won't apply to you.

Let the Service writer do what he/she can. and remember, while your vehicle is the only one you have at the dealership, the service writer and the tech have many, many more. I'm not making excuses for "no call" situations, however, a little understanding on your part will go a long way.

It sounds to me that they have already gone out of their way, cleaning the transfer case to highlight the leak so they warranty company will cover it (they probably won't be compensated for the time to clean it) most warranty companies don't pay much, if anything for diagnostic time.

just my $.02 from my 18 years of dealership experience.

 

I am covered for genuine LR parts...not an issue

They said they replaced the thermostat and charged me already for it when I picked it up. Now they're saying they need to replace it and they're waiting for the part! LOL

while they may have gone out of their way to clean the transfer case they soaked me and the warranty company for almost $3200 in labor on a $4000 tag.

I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and have given them a lot of breathing room (probably too much). My main issues are more to do with the lack of respect they have for this customer. They obviously overlooked something,have taken far too long in diagnosing,and have a complete lack of communication with a customer who has already had $4000 in work done.

 

DON'T use the RAVE Manual for replacing your transmission temp sensor!!! It will tell you to dismantle the entire front end of your Rover. Do a search on this, there is a post showing how you can remove one plastic shield in your right front wheelwell and get to the sensor there. Will take you about the half an hour, quick and easy through the wheelwell.