Hi. So yes I am a girl so please forgive my lack of mechanical knowledge or terminology. Bought a 05 LR3 with 118,000 miles 2 weeks ago. Day 2: the air begins to have issues and I realize some shifting issue's. (didn't drive it really on day one) Long story since then of taking it to a few mechanics then Land Rover for a diagnoses.

Story goes like this: turn on heater and it is making a mild squealing sound intermittently and gets louder as you turn it up higher. Also, the air was blowing hot air only on the passenger side of the car from front to rear. The drivers side blows freezing cold air. Then gets worse over a weeks time and is so annoying then just shuts off and won't turn on again. When I try to turn it on it makes a small mechanical moving part kind of a noise like maybe a flap opening and then closing near glovebox but that is all and won't turn on. First mechanic says blower is bad but then removes blower and tests it and it works fine but has some play in it. Checks all fuses and says that they are fine. Says it is an electrical issue. This is a friend without any experience with Land Rovers. Next mechanic: Says it is a resistor and blower issue and changes both. Test drives it and has it blowing but as he returns minutes later it stops again. He says the blower is losing power between blower relay and fan speed module (resistor) and that they do not do electrical at his shop. Take to land rover next: they have hard time figuring out where electrical problem is coming from and can't finish the first day. They say "checked the hvac head unit and was good jumped across to where relay sits and found no power to the relay. Pulled maxi fuse and it is blown. Replaced it now working but air temps are all different. Needs new evap/heater box. temp blend door is faulty."

Sooooo, my questions are if it was a fuse then why didn't mechanic one and mechanic 2 find this? So I replaced the blower and resistor when ends up being a fuse? And as far as the box, they say it is $2700 for them to replace so how can I be sure this is really the problem? Could it be something else causing the different temps? Also, if it is that wouldn't there have been some codes coming up regarding this malfunction? So far in this experience I got a lot of what seems to be "not knowing for sure" so how do I trust this heat box diagnosis? Uggggh

Next: often when push accelerator it hesitates and then jumps/lurches. Then when approaching stop toward end does a hard downshift jump/lurch. Almost got creamed one day turning left in traffic because it hesitated for so long and left me hanging in the lane of the oncoming traffic. I got onto this site researching that and over and over people say it is a software update issue and that most people had this problem corrected with the update. Sooooo Land Rover says this about that "checked updates and some available. also found the trans sleeve leaking. with the amount of miles on trans it would not benefit doing either repair or update as it could cause the trans to fail completely. recommend r&r the trans" this they say is around 9,000$.

So I have this car for 2 weeks with these issues and find this out and want to pretty much cry. I have wanted a Land Rover forever and I sure don't have 12,000$ to throw at the repairs. I am hoping to hear from some experienced people that there are other things that could be causing these issues that are less expensive and simple fixes. Any advice would be so much appreciated.

 

I got an 06 LR3 a month ago and I had some similar problems. This is what I did. I wasn't getting hot air so I changed my thermostat, problem fixed. I had fluctuating idle and the stop go lurching/hesitation, I cleaned my MAF Sensor, throttle body, problem fixed. With that many miles you should get your diff oil, transmission oil, changed. I use an ultraguage mounted to my air vent which tells me engine temp, idle, trouble codes, etc... Its a cheap but great investment.

 

1. Have mechanic do this https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...uations-55860/

2. AC system is much more complex than grand dad's Buick. In olden days, we moved a lever from heat to defrost to vent. The LR3 has a group of stepper motors to control the flaps with precise movements. If a motor is unplugged, burned up, or just stuck the air may not go where you want it.

3. Pay for repairs with a major credit card. That way, if you feel that you have been taken advantage of you can dispute the charges and the card company takes the money back from the vendor.

4. The main AC duct package under the dash uses small motors to control things and these are most likely available without changing the whole part.

5. I have attached some sections from the shop manual, which show the level of complexity. Also a maintenance list of what you can expect to do for the truck.

 

where are you located?

 

Wowwww! Ask and ye shall receive! Thank You so much for the advice. I will be looking into these things that you Gentlemen posted as other possibilities for a fix. I am in Phoenix Arizona. So here is another cool thing that the LR3 does that I didn't mention as it is the lesser of the 3 evil's at the moment. If I go over speed bumps then slowly begin to accelerate again, there is a thumping sound that happens. A series of around maybe 10-12 thumps in a row. Slow paced then up to a faster pace of noise then goes away. Comes from the back and underneath it seems. Does it after driving up into a slanted entrance/driveway into parking lots as well. Any ideas boys?

 

I'd hate for it to be the rear differential. You may want to look at having the fluids serviced (it uses a one type only oil).

 

well the delay in the pedal means you need a remapping. i wouldnt worry about the sleeve leaking. that's the expensive part of that estimate.

not sure about the heating problem.

the increasingly fast thump def sounds like a drivetrain problem. the way you make it sound it is only in first gear. try command shifting the tranny and see if that noise is still present.

 

Hi! Yes, that would be correct. I am just in first gear. That is the only time it does it. So there is a place I go that has about 12 speedbumps around the whole building. I have to go there twice a week. So bump....slowly accelerate.....bump....slowly accelerate x 12 = annoying. But this is when it does it like every time between every bump. So the drive train is what I was worried it could be of course. I had researched on here and saw some other things like "loose parking brake cable hitting something" and easier fixes. I should go and do the same series of stop go in first gear without the speed bumps and see if it still does it. If it only dose it when the bumps are involved will that be another helpful clue? I of course don't "want" it to be the drive train! lol. I will try it in the command shift mode on the speed bumps also. Question: With command shift you shift up through the gears but if you break does that auto shift it back down? Like I don't have to down shift right? It will do that part itself? Do you use more or less gas in the mode I have wanted to know as well. Thank You!!

 

I agree! I think you are right. That is the cheapest place to start, right! Tell me what you think about this other issue:

Hey Guys....does anyone know how to tell if the dynamic stability is really on? I read the manual and from what I am reading it says when you first turn the key and it does the system checks the little symbol should be on but not constant? Does that mean it should be flashing if on? I have wondered about this because this thing seems to float all over the road. I had an Escalade and its program would pull you back into place if you hit any bumps and went of to the side it would whip you back where you were. This LR3 is like a nosey puppy out for a walk. Any little thing it catches it goes off onto a new path. It feels like driving a car with a lot of "play" in the wheel but there is no play in the wheel. Makes me wonder if dynamic stability or other programs that control this are on or working.

 

Oh hey Ed I forgot to ask. You mentioned remapping? Is that a software update that you are referring to?