I have an 04 Discovery with 44K on it. I was driving this morning and had accelerated to about 20-25 mph when I felt something give and the truck turned off. When I would try to restart it it sounded like I was doing more damage so I had it towed to the dealership. Luckily (I think) it is under extended warranty and with a $100 deductable it should get fixed.

There were no signs of anything prior to it happening. I have owned it for about 3 months. The differential hasnt been rebuilt but there was not any vibration prior to that. It was a very peaceful breakdown, the car just shut off.

Couple questions:

Am I going to get any hassle from the dealership with this warranty? Anyone have any bad/good experiences with dealerships and extended warranties?

Any thoughts on what it may be? I am hoping that this is not going to be the beginning of a rough road with this truck, It is however under warranty through 11/10.

Thanks to everyone for any input.

IM

 

Can you elaborate on your description of what happened: "accelerated to about 20-25 mph when I felt something give and the truck turned off".
[ul][*]Did the engine hesitate, surge or flare up before it stopped.[*]Did it feel like it went in neutral and then it stopped.[*]Did you hear anything mechanical give (loud sound, knock, etc.)[/ul]You're fortunate to have a warranty.

 

Yes the warrenty company will give you a hassle, they are in buisness to make money not fix cars.

And yes, we need more info to make a guesstimate.

 

Who is your extended warranty thru, have you read it line for line at least twice so you will be ready for what is to come?

 

Ok - thanks for the responses guys. The warranty is through Land Rover. I spoke with the tech who looked at it and he said that my spark plugs looked to be saturated with gasoline from a fuel injector leak. They will be looking more into it and giving me an update within the next day or two.

As for what happened, that was really it, the truck simply turned off going about 25 mph. There was no bang, no vibrations, no noise whatsoever. What I mentioned I felt earlier I am assuming was the loss of power steering and overall power. The battery was fine as my friends and I listened to the radio as we waited for the tow truck (we were on our way skiing).

The tech I spoke with said that the warranty covers anything that is not a wearable part (spark plugs are not covered) I figured this is pretty standard. He said the spark plugs would be covered however if they were damaged by a warranty part malfunctioning (fuel injector).

I hope this helps you guys give me some insight as to what it could be and if it seems I have purchased a truck that has been poorly maintained or will have many future problems. Any experience with this that you could shed some light would be great.

Thanks again guys and please note that I am not very mechanically inclined so if some of my language is off then I apologize.

IM

 

Sounds like a bad crank sensor to me.
And the plugs are wet from cranking the engine over after it stalled.
Let us know.

 

I only tried twice to turn the engine over and didnt hold it for more than 2 seconds each time... Do yo think thats enough to flood the engine?

 

IM
If they come back with some crazy estimate, get back to us before you allow them to go any further.

 

So I got an update on my Discovery, the diagnosis - NEW ENGINE!!!

Apparently 4 of my pistons touched valves? I am not sure what this means but they are saying it requires an engine replacement.

Now the truck is on extended warranty which means it is covered as long as it wasnt a result of misuse... I drive the thing very conservatively and it hasnt been off road since I bought it 3 - 4 months ago.

Any ideas of what could have caused this? they are having a review to determine if it is something they will cover. Is there any way that they can come back to me and accuse me of misuse? could this have been a defect of the engine? Was it abused prior to me buying it?

And if they do replace the engine is that a good thing for me? Do the trucks take new engines well or will this be a cause of more problems down the road for me?

Thanks again guys.

IM

 

How do they know a valve hit a piston? That would punch a hole in the piston so yes you would need a new engine, but the only way to know for a fact is to pull the heads.
Anyway, yes a new engine is a good for you thing, these engines will last 300k or longer.
Keep us posted.