I cross posted this in the Range Rover forum...

This is a long, involved issue... but I'm going to try to abbreviate. My vehicle has maybe 8000 miles on it. 8000-10,000, but I'm not sure because I haven't seen it in weeks.

In October or November I noticed that my 2014 Range Rover HSE was shifting funky. Kind of like it would jump gears as I was starting to move. It only happens in the lower gears. I honestly didn't think much of it, since the vehicle has had a very sensitive transmission since I took possession. I compare the way the Range Rover takes off to my Harley Davidson. If you're not careful with that gas pedal, someone's getting whiplash. As a first-time owner, I assumed it was part of the higher performance vehicle (I traded in a Honda Pilot for the RR).

In December, we had some serious ice here in Pittsburgh. One morning our driveway looked a little slick, but my husband felt certain he could get us out of the driveway safely. We started to slide a little on the ice, he steered into the slide (we were moving MAYBE 5 miles/hour) and he gave it a tiny bit of gas to straighten out and get to the road. BAM! The transmission jumped and we slammed into our retaining wall.

$5000 in body work (no exaggeration) later, we were back in business, or so I thought.

The "jumping" problem did not resolve, and in fact seemed a lot worse. We took it back to our dealer (Land Rover Monroeville) on 12/30/14 and they were able to replicate the problem. There's something wrong with the computer system and the hydraulics (it was raising and lowering on it's own... like driving in something possessed).

So... I was given a case number by Land Rover customer service. I was told last week that it will take 2-2 1/2 weeks to get a field technician to Pittsburgh to look at my vehicle. In the meantime, I have a loaner (because I paid for the VIP service with my dealer, not because of some altruistic Land Rover behavior) that has restrictions on use. This is not acceptable, as we're in the process of working on a parcel of land we purchased and I need a vehicle I can use off-road.

Anyway, late last week I was told that our case has been escalated to the executive level, but I've still not gotten any answers and no estimate of when I'll get my beloved Heddy back (that's her name). The last email I got from our executive contact (I hesitate to use names because I'm not sure it's appropriate. If that's okay, please let me know and I will share.) told me this:

The concern with your vehicle is not a common one.

I will keep you posted on our progress as I get news. At this time they are testing the terrain response system on your vehicle. Fortunately they were able to replicate your issue on a test drive and we are narrowing down the cause.

Has anyone else run into anything like? Also does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this impossible customer service? I honestly expected a whole lot better when I bought the Range Rover.

 

Honestly I'm sure the dealer wants it fixed and done as much as you do, it's not like they're enjoying a hard to fix problem any more than you're liking not having your vehicle. Unless they try and return it to you without properly repairing it I wouldn't be too outraged about the situation as long as you have a loaner in the meantime.


Sucks you can't really take the loaner offroad if you feel the need, although I don't know if I'd want to flog a '14 RR that hard offroad either, considering it's value and age.


Maybe you guys could buy a cheap Disco to serve as a beater truck while you work on your property and save the wear and tear on the newer Rover.


At any rate, good luck and hope the corporate field rep tech from LR gets you squared away soon.

 

Thanks, Kenso.

I do know the dealer wants it fixed. That's not in question. My problem really lies with the amount of non-communication I'm experiencing from LRNA corporate. We were given a contact and she hasn't said anything other than the expected, "Oh, no! That's awful. We're working on it."

We've asked very specific questions of them and have asked to be informed about what EXACTLY is wrong with the vehicle. No one is giving us any information at all.

We were also informed, by the dealer, that the particular field engineer assigned to the case does not like working with our dealer and will deliberately ignore/slow down the process to aggravate the dealer's service people. Apparently, one of the service guys said something once that pissed off the engineer. I don't know those particulars, either, but it was the service department that told us this.

Very unprofessional, I know, but there it is. My question in the OP is more whether or not anyone else has dealt with this level of rotten customer service and if there's any advice that could be handed my way.

Also, we're not running her hard off-road. We have quads on the property that we use to gather trash (there are several semis worth of dumped tires in random places on 30 acres) and then tow out tarps full of junk using the RR. She hasn't made it more than 100 feet away from the road (on a gravel/mud access road), but it sure is handy to drag the bigger loads out with her. The quads can only pull so much.

The loaner is a problem because they don't want us using it like that and they've told us we can't put the dogs in it. My husband has a Jag. It's no use for off-road and since the dogs normally travel in their crates, we would have to put them in the backseat of the Jag with our sons. Not really ideal or safe. The dealer has also been warned that if we get into an emergency situation, the dogs WILL go in the loaner. I can't foresee it, but I really want the convenience and security of my own car.

Thanks for luck. I think we'll need it.

 

Sorry to hear about the problem with LRNA. Not surprised. I had a problem with a new 2000 RR and LRNA ended up replacing the TC and AutoTrans. Process took just under a month, but I let my attorney take care of the BS. If this was a Porsche I could tell you who to kick in the nuts to get things moving. It's the REGIONAL SERVICE MANAGER(you are calling them "field engineer") in either case. The 800-LRNA contact will just handle you. You want the name/contact info for the RSM DIRECT.


If that doesn't happen start looking into your states Lemon Law. You can call The DMV or The States AG's office. Here are a few links, but I would still call your attorney just to get the ground work started.


Pennsylvania Lemon Laws - Lemon Law Attorneys at DMV.org: The DMV Made Simple


PA Lemon Law - Free Pennsylvania Lemon Law Help


Safety Recalls -- NHTSA


And re: The Loaner car and dogs..... F them! Drive it the way you need to!

 

Sounds bad news. IMO it's either the torque converter or the autobox valve block. If it were me I'd 'lean' on them a bit harder and find out what's wrong. If it's the autobox insist on a new box and similarly the torque converter.

The money that RR's cost you expect top 'kid glove' service not a lot of drivel from them. Again, I would set a deadline date in writing for the return of the truck fully sorted or a total refund of your hard earned cash. I'm sure there are adequate consumer rights and laws in the US to cope with this scenario.

PS. I've just read OverRover's missive, too true. It's amazing how a letter from a lawyer can focus their attentions more particularly if it looks like they may have to shell out dosh for damages.

 

Interesting reading regarding the lemon law in PA, looks like they have up to 30 days to fix your issue, after that the law would most likely apply in your case. If they continue to drag their feet then an attorney may indeed be helpful.


Unfortunate that politics between the dealer and LRNA may be to blame here as well. May not hurt to bring up the lemon law issue during your next conversation with the corporate rep assigned to your case. Could help light a fire under someone's posterior at LRNA.


If it's only a little dog hair and light mud, I wouldn't blame you for using the loaner as needed, worst case scenario you could always have a quick cleanup done at a car wash before you return it and no one at the dealer will be the wiser I suspect.

 

Update... the dealer STILL has my RR. It's been 22 days.

The field engineer finally made it into my dealer... and stayed for less than a day. He's claiming that it's the parking brake control module. Can anyone tell me where this is located in the vehicle?

 

Since a fault caused your RR to hit the wall, are you going to ask LRNA to pay for your insurance deductible?

 

Probably not. I can't, with an absolute 100% certainty, prove it, so I doubt that asking LRNA to pay anything would be worth my time. I'm not a lawyer, but I figure any lawyer would tell me I'm not going to get anywhere. At this point, they're trying to blame the lurching problem on the body work that was done AFTER the accident... the problem existed well before my husband hit the retaining wall.

I'm not sure if it's worth trying to get them to buy back my vehicle, though. Not sure I'll ever be comfortable in it and I am sure I don't want to deal with this abysmal level of customer service for the foreseeable future. I'd hoped to have the Range Rover for at least 10 years.