Hi everyone!
I'm a new to the forum scene. Wish I would've known about these forums prior to purchasing my 2005 LR3.
My feelings about my LR3 are bitter sweet. I was in the market for a new SUV. I wanted an SUV that would fit 7-8 passengers but also wanted it to be compact. I had previously owned a Ford Excursion and a Chevy Tahoe. They were both too big for my taste. May I add that I just love european cars so I wasn't too happy with the fact that I was driving around in american cars. I checked out the Volvo, but I also needed it to haul our 27 foot boat. That was out of the question. Checked out the Acura. That was also a no. I simply adore the BMW (X5) But not enough seats! Then I saw the LR3. It was love at first sight!!! I just had to have it! I must say, I was warned about the history with land rover having many issues. I said it's ok, they have a great warranty. Yeah, well so much for that! (As you read on you will understand why I say this.) I purchased my LR3 exactly 1 year ago. Not even a month after purchasing I had to go to the LR dealer to get the wiper blades changed. They were falling apart.
I figured that it was from sitting on the lot. Come to find out it's a problem that they have with the wiper blades. Wiper blades cost $30. Pretty steep for faulty wipers, I think. My brakes and pads were gonners sooner then they should've been. Next problem... Low coolant light. It's a recall. They fixed it. Next problem.... Gas cap recall which caused the truck to become sluggish. I did not even know that there was a recall on it. I just figured the truck was very slow. Found out when I took it in for another complaint. Also had a recall for incorrect auto key lock. Didn't know about that one either. Next problem... Transmission jerks when you come to a stop and then accelerate again. Took it is for this and they couldn't fix it. They said that this is the only LR3 with this problem, yeah, right! Next problem.... A/C stopped cooling. LR said that it was out of freon. Those of us who know a bit about cars know that that is caused by a leak somewhere in the A/C system. Next problem... Radio / CD does not work at times. Now, I tried turning the radio on/off. Turned the car off waited a few minutes and nothing. It would work again that very day but the truck had to be turned off for a while. They couldn't figure that one out either so it's still happening. Next problem and the biggest one of all... The back tires were gone by 14 thousand miles. They had uneven wear. It was wearing them on the inside. Got to LR showed the service writer the tires. He was quick to blame it on the tire manufacturer. My husband is an auto technician, so he has a small advantage. He knows what he is talking about. He got the service writer to admit to him that it is a problem with "OUR" vehicle. Was reffered to the service manager. She did nothing for us. Went to Land Rover North America with our big problem. First several calls got nothing accomplished. Then they decided that they would replace two tires but we HAD TO replace the other two. Now remember the front tires were worn but not gone like the back ones. Our reaction was, why?
In the end we had to say yes to this option cause it was the only one that they had for us.
The tires were mounted, balanced, and the suspension was redone. About 5 months after that, the rear suspension broke. Would not come up or down. Took it in (quick) knew that it would cause uneven tire wear and did not want that! Got that fixed. At that time I noticed that my rear right tire was being worn on the outside more than on the inside so when I took it in for the broken suspension they took a look at that also. Their response... speak to the tire manufacturer.
9 thousand miles later and only six months gone by, my right rear tire is worn out again. Worn to the point that it is dangerous. The left rear one is worn but not as bad as the right one. Obviously suspension issue. Here we are again Calling LR North America, and getting the same run around. The difference between this time and the last is that I now know how many other LR3 customers there are out there having these same issues. Now please, do not get me wrong I love my truck but just hate the issues! I was hoping to lease the Range Rover as soon as this lease was over. Honestly don't see that happening anymore.

 

Welcome and thanks for the feedback!

 

Thank you for the warm welcome! I will keep all of you posted.

 

Just curious as we have had others comment about rear wheel alignment issues here. Along the way, were you towing the 27 ft boat with your LR3?. And if so, what tongue weight do you estimate was applied to the back of your LR3? It's possible that if the tongue weight is excessive, that the ride height of the vehicle is not correct and the suspension geometry in the rear is resulting in too much negative camber. The air suspension is supposed to compensate for tongue loading, but I would recommend you make the dealership put the vehicle on a alignment rack---measure all four corners, and show you the values to make sure they are within factory spec. OR-- you may want to take your LR3 to a independent tire shop with a drive-on alignment rack, and have them do the same thing. Then you have some documentation to show the LR dealer to support your claim that they are not properly servicing your LR3. Fact is-- tire wear that varies across the contact patch is not brand specific. The tire is not tracking (in toe and camber) correctly, and this is a suspension geometry issue.

Regards,

Mike McLaughlin
www.eurotekapg.com

 

Hi!
At the time that we purchased the LR3 (August 2005) we had just sold our 24 Ft boat. We knew that we wanted a 27 Ft boat but we were not going to make that purchase for several months. Reason being that the summer months were right about done. We ended up purchasing our 27 Ft on the first week of June 2006. So, to answer your question... No, I know for a fact that the uneven tire wear is not due to towing. Our tires were replaced in February 2006 and we received our boat on June 2, 2006. We only tow our boat one day a week and the marina is about 10 miles from our home. We had towed the boat maybe 4 times when we noticed the uneven tire wear again. We pretty much had our minds made up as to which boat we were going to get so we knew the weight and made extremely sure that the LR3 would tow with no problems. Our boat weight is Right about 4,000. That includes the full tank of gas. The LR3 is supposed to tow 7,700 with brakes on the trailer, which we have. This is according to the owners manual. We know that it's a suspension geometry issue. My husband is an auto technician (fancy word for mechanic). ASE certified, and working for a well known carchain dealership. He knows what is going on with the truck but refuses to touch it, cause of warranty issues. LR checks the issue and says that all of the numbers are correct with the LR specs. LR returns the car to us with nothing to say but contact your tire manufacturer. I've checked out other LR forums to find out that many people are having this same issue. Why won't they own up to it? It is very frustrating.

 

Well-- if it was me, the next step would be to have the vehicle put on a alignment rack and have "measurements only" taken---no adjustments performed--- that could compromise your warranty, and then take this sheet into the dealership. Back in the day when I was a service manager at car dealerships these situations usually required getting the District Service Manager (the "factory guy") involved. And this only happened when the customer filed a formal complaint of unsatisfactory performance against the dealership with the BBB.

Back in the day when the Lexus product line was first introduced, I was a consultant for them in solving NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) issues that had me traveling to dealerships throughout the country to diagnose and solve problems outside of the scope of the dealers experience. These people exist in the Land Rover organization. You just have to "ring the bell" loud enough to get their attention.

Hope this helps,

Mike McLaughlin
eurotek apg
Northern California

 

That will be my next step. Thank you so much! I will keep you posted as to what turns out.

 

I have also owned my 2005 LR3 for one year. I have also had a full year of issues with my car. Things seem to have settled down now. I started out with electrical problems that took weeks to figure out. We got in touch with Corporate. They were very attentive to us and made sure a technician went to the dealership to check the car. They also kept in close contact with us, answering all our questions and solving all our problems (eventually). We got some nice freebies from LR for our time and trouble (running boards, roof rack, window vents). Most importantly, the problems were solved (finally!). There have been a bunch of recalls - we were informed of all of them and all were resolved, no charge, of course, at the dealership in a timely manner. I was pretty frustrated with the car for almost the whole first year, but, like I said, things are better. The car rides beautifully now. That herky-jerky problem when you almost come to a stop and then accelerate again has been resolved. That was driving me NUTS! Air suspension valves have been upgraded. The key coming out of the ignition problem was never a problem for us, but we had been informed of it and the dealer checked it. We're not having any wiper problems or tire problems, but are keeping a close eye on both... just in case. Like the original poster, I also drove a bigger SUV and wanted something smaller and hipper. I like the look of the LR3 a lot and now I'm finally starting to like driving the car. I'm hoping the worst is over.

 

Hi Lisa,
Thanks for repling to my thread.
Yeah, I'm so frustrated with the car and most of all with Land Rover. We havn't been as lucky as you. It took a lot of calls to corporate before getting them to replace the last set of tires, and as you read, we had to pay for two front tires that the car did not need at the time. I'm still waiting for a return call that would take 24/48 hours. I called on Tuesday. Today is Friday. It's not the first time that happens. Our LR dealer has not been too helpful either. I beleive that our next step is getting it lemon lawed. 2005 was the first year for the LR3. I'm sure that is the reason that so many 2005 models are having so many problems. Trial and error, right? I think that considering that, LR should be a little more considerate and repair the vehicles without giving us such a hassle. I think that we got a really bad one of the 2005 bunch. It's weird cause I love the car (like you)
I like the way it gets looked at. I've gotten many compliments about the truck. But Gosh, it really sucks to have to replace tires every 9,000 or so miles. I don't even mind the fact that it's a gas hog. Oh, and to think what will I do when the warranty is over and I'm still having all these issues. I'll go broke.
Found out yesterday (very happy to hear) that the BMW X5 now has a third row and tows 6,000 lbs.
I believe that will be my next car!

Anyway, Glad to hear that you have resolved your issues with your LR3. Do keep a very close eye on your tires.
Enjoy your truck!

 

So my 2005 LR3 has 110,000 miles and has had some issues with enginne (replaces coils twice and replaced fuse box due to leaking sunroof drain and have owned it for 16 years. It only gets driven now about 400 mikes a year as a Summer vacation vehicle and I have been sent a video of a transmition fault warning. This has never happened before so I am not sure what to do about it. I had the battery disconnected and it came back but now seems to have gone away. Not sure if itr will run for me when I use it next month. Any help here?