First time LR owner, and so far, although a little scared at what I might not see, I am very impressed and love the Rover very much. I have owned the truck now for a week, and although I am still under a 50/50 warranty, I thought I would ask for some advice or even see if anyone has experienced similar issues. So here are the stats...

2005 LR3 SE, just under 100k miles.

The day after I brought the car home, the low coolant light came on. I checked it, and it is right where it is supposed to be. I did some research and found that the sensor/reservoir was not designed properly and the float would often get saturate with coolant and drop. Seeing this has been a common issue, I was not too concerned, but the little 'i' is on in the display. Does anyone know if I can just disable this "feature", or do I have to replace the sensor? Also, does the reservoir need to be replaced too?

The next day, I plugged my phone into the power outlet, and noticed it appeared to not be working. I unplugged it and plugged it into the cigarette lighter to see if it was the plug or the cord I was using. The phone began to charge. I assumed blown fuse for power outlet. Just then, the check engine light came on.

I took it up to Autozone to have the computer read and was told there was an issue with the thermostat (temperature out of range) and the Camshaft sensor bank 2 sensor B was also out of range. I was told the thermostat most likely needs to be changed and that either one of the cam sensors is bad, the crank position sensor is bad, both or timing needs to be done- hopefully not timing chain.... The odd thing is, the engine seems to run great. The codes were all reset and I was off. I looked up the code I had, which was P0018 - Crankshaft Camshaft Correlation.

about 5 days later, I again plugged my phone into the cigarette lighter. Check engine light again. Is there some way this is connected or just coincidence? I had the codes read again, and they were the same. I checked the fuses, and sure enough, blown fuse for the power outlet- actually, all the power outlets, row 1, 2 and 3. Not sure what the person who had this before me was trying to do. Any thoughts? I can take it in to the dealer I bought it from, but its about a 1.5 hour drive, and the nearest LR dealer is about an hour- If this sounds like nothing or something I could do for relatively cheap, I would like to try and not have to make the drive. Thank you in advance, and sorry about the length....

 

Thermostat is most likely solution for the first code. There is no disabling the low coolant message, and the entire expansion tank needs to be replaced, not just the sensor.

The P0018 is not common, but is generally either due to cam timing being off, or an oil restriction in the feed for the VVT actuator on that bank. I would start this by firstly changing your oil and clearing the code, as it is possibly it is nothing more then bad/low oil, plus always a good thing to do with a new vehicle.

No correlation between power outlets and check engine light.

 

So last night the CEL went off. I checked the oil and everything looks ok- looks pretty clean and according to the sticker in the window, I am not due for another 1500 miles. I think I still might change it just to be safe and so I know what is actually in it. Now, I always thought that the CEL will stay on until the code is erased, even if the problem is fixed- or will it turn off automatically? The only thing I did was replace the blown fuses for the power outlets, but even then, the CEL was still on for about a day. Do you think this is something I should have someone look at or do you think I should be OK now that the light is off? I am fine with replacing the expansion tank and thermostat- both easy enough and cheap enough jobs. Its the other part I am/was most concerned about...

 

Unrelated, but I suggest changing the transmission fluid, transfer case fluid and differentials fluid. Still thinking about the issued with the lighter.... have you tried one of the other lighter outlets. There are two there, one in the center 2nd row seats, and one in the rear cargo area. It is possible a wire is coming loose at or in any of these plugs causing a short.. I would take them all apart and inspect them carefully... If you give them careful visuals, maybe that will give you a clue where to look first.

 

Are you suggesting a change of fluids just for peace of mind, or because it should typically be done at around 100k? I plugged into the other two outlets, and nothing- I will have to check the fuses, but each one has its own fuse. I only checked the front row fuse and replaced it. I have been charging my phone on it ever since. I even tried plugging the phone into the actual cig lighter in the front to see if the light would show up, and nothing. I am starting to think that A- either there is a short somewhere, or perhaps the power outlet was causing issues not having a working fuse, and perhaps it took a few ignition cycles in order for the computer to realize and turn off light, B- it was just a fluke and pure coincidence that the light lit after plugging in, or C- there actually is something that is starting to go bad, but it is not quite there - like the readings are normally within range, but are bouncing off the thresholds.

I definitely do want to poke around a little and see if I notice anything, but I do have a little more peace of mind when driving now that the light is off. Still worries me a little as to why it was on and if it will show up again in the near future (hopefully before the warranty is up) but who knows... Thanks for the ideas- I know I don't really have much to go off on and most thoughts are shots in the dark. I guess I was hoping others have experienced issues similar to these and there was a known reason/remedy.

 

So the CEL went off. I tempted faith and plugged in the phone to see if I could repeat what had happened before- somewhat hoping to see the light come on, but nothing. It does appear there is no correlation between the cigarette lighter and the CEL. The light remained off for several days, but then came back on one morning. later that day, the light went off while driving. This continued for about 3 days but is now still on. In regards to the p0018 code (camshaft/crankshaft position sensor) does anyone think this code is being thrown due to bad sensor or is there actually something wrong? Where is the best place I can start without taking it in to have someone look at it? I checked the carfax on the car and according to it, the expansion chamber was replaced in 2006. From what I read, this was a common issue, but I am not sure when this issue was first discovered and when changes were made to the design to prevent this issue from recurring. perhaps it was replaced with the same faulty design? Again, I am not too worried about that and I am also not too worried about the thermostat. The temp appears to be right on where it should be, but I do intend to change it soon. Thanks again!