Hi y'all. Been awhile since I've been on the forum. Sorry was busy moving from Tacoma to the Tri Cities, WA.

Ok, so after my move i'm more than 200 miles for a Land Rover Dealer. I have a 2004 Disco with 48,xxx miles on it. Two weeks ago I had a mis-fire code on the 1 and 6 cyliner and it obviously was running intermitantly on 6 cyliners.

A mechanic here diagnosed it as a bad coil pack. Since this should be covered under my extended Land Rover warranty, at my considerable expense, I towed the rig 230 miles to Land Rover of Tacoma. I told them to take a close look at the coil packs.

They did everything but look at the coil packs. They wanted to change all the plugs, ignition wires, fuel injector service, serpitine belt, blah, blah, blah, blah and estimated $2000. The labor estimate was inflated appriximatly 300% from the published flat rate of 3hrs for the work of replacing plugs and wires. Criminal in itself.

The dealer wanted to do everything but what was broken.

I've had three mechanics absolutly identify the issue as being a failing coil pack.

So, here's my question. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do when a dealer refuses to do warranty work? Is Land Rover under legal obligation to oblige by a warranty agreement?

BTW, there is a great independent Land Rover mechanic in Yakima. I'm paying him out of my own pocket to fix what the dealer should have done under warranty.

I feel this is criminal business practice on the part of Land Rover of Tacoma. They are not an accredited member of the BBB so that is not an avenue for me.

I'm considering small claims court but there is no way to enforce the payment by Land Rover upon a successful judgment.

 

It is not a coil issue, unless you have already replaced both the wires and the plugs.
# 6 is a common plug/wire misfire.
If you want to verify, have any qualified mechanic read the out put from #'s 6 and 1, you'll probably find they are fine and a major tune up is in order.
If though on the other hand, the dealer reads to coil signals, then he can get authorization to replace that coil.
Should have contacted us before you started with all this unnecessary expense.

 

Ooups, thanks Mike. Yes I should have noted. I have new plugs. installed approximatly 2,000 miles miles ago.

It was determined to be the coil yet the dealer is refusing to do the work under warranty.

 

Just to give you a heads up. Coils don't go bad to often. Like he said check the wires. For some reason the 4&6 always go bad. You'll note a white-ish look to the end that goes on the plug. Pull it off and check it. The boots crack and sometimes the inside gets all black and burnt up. I have seen coils go bad too. But check that wire. The cyl.1 code is caused by cyl.6. They are the same pair.

 

Call you District Rover service rep or customer service, let them know what is going on.
By the way, who warranty is in effect?

 

I didn't catch that last line in your reply Mike.

But if you're asking who my warrenty is through...it official Land Rover extended warranty good through the end of August of 2010.

To be frank, I'm really up against the wall here. Since the dealer has refused to do the work I'm forced to tow to another dealer (another 200 miles) away or pay the independent mechanic to do the work and lose my right to warranty reimbursment.

Either way we know its not the plugs or the ignition wires.

The independent mechanic also mentioned that once in a blue moon a crank position sensor will casue similar issues. But not likely in this case he says.

 

Just an update. Since the dealer refused to replace the coil at their cost (it warrantied!) I paid an independent LR mechanic to do it this weekend. Guess what? Yes it was the coil that was bad.

My fight with the dealer continues....Trying to locate the dictrict service manager now.

 

Your post is making me wonder now who to go with for repair. My LR3 was diagnosed by Firestone svcr as needing two tie rod ends. I have an extended warranty under Zurich and this would be the first time making a claim. Tonight I had an interesting conversation with Firestone, LandRover (in Fife/Tacoma) and Zurich.
According to LR service parts, the cost of a part that they sell to a customer or another dealer is 'list'. Firestone then has a standard markup above what they pay (understandable). Zurich states this is a covered repair but they only reimburse MSRP on parts and published repair rates. Now, I come from a manufacturer's parts background where MSRP IS list. In car parts land, this may not be the case (would like to hear from those with experience). In car parts land, 'list' is above MSRP (in this case, about double what Zurich states is the MSRP cost). It was termed as 'bump' list. I asked if there is a discount when LR sells to a servicer or dealer and they said yes, about 20% off of 'list'. This is still about 30% above MSRP and Firestone's policy is they must charge a certain percentage above 'list' regardless of what discount they can get from the parts dealer.
So, Firestone is charging approx $360 in parts and labor of which I will have to pay $100 deductible and the gap between Zurich's reimbursement on parts and what Firestone has to charge me for parts based on what LR is charging as 'list' (another $100+).
In my conversation with LR, I asked if I brought the LR3 to them, what would they charge me for parts...they said the charge would be what the service contract pays for (surprise! MSRP). The kicker is their labor rates are MUCH higher and the cost of parts and labor for LR is pushing $500 vs. Firstone's approx $360. PLUS....they need to do their own inspection to the tune of $115 which they state would be rolled into the warranty plan with an approved claim.
So, my concerns are these....to those in the know with a service background, does the markup explanation above make sense or is it a story? I also now have concerns about LR of Tac/Fife...what kind of security do I have that they will present the claim appropriately to Zurich for payment? If they get an authorization for repair over the phone before payment, can Zurich later reneg and I get stuck with a pretty hefty bill? Should I just bite it and pay the extra through Firestone vs. trying to work with LR?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Candace

'06 LR3 HE....and 4 dogs who appreciate the smooth ride.

 

Best Service & Repair in Seattle 206-525-0240 does a good job on Land Rovers. Dianosis is free, they also have a test book. They are fair on prices. Some place charge $100 or more just to hook up to the test book.

Willie

 

nice willie....been looking for an independent for a while in the seattle area. Also NWDR have you tried talking with the service department at the Land Rover/Jaguar/Lambo dealership in Bellevue? Their prices are as high as any other LR dealer but when i go in there they seem to at least be sort of decent... for warranty work that is. Might wanna give them a call and see if they can help you out.