Hi All! First ever post on this forum, so thanks in advance for all the intel you provide to each other! Just bought a 2013 LR4 with 103K miles. Drove it home from NorCal to SoCal (about 300 miles) with no issue. Fire it up the next day: check engine light. Take it to indy LR specialist mechanic, Cylinder 6 misfire. Started to call the long list of mechanics listed on the carfax to see if I could get any more intel on what work had already been done so I didn't pay for something that had just been completed. Here's what I found. Primary care was done at shop 1, shop 2 provided the (scary) diagnosis, but did no work.

Shop 1: 77K Miles / JUNE 2022: Replaced Drive belt

Shop 1: 91K / FEB 2023: Replaced Radiator & 2 coils (6&8 were misfiring)

Shop 2: 91.5K MILES / MAY 2023: NO WORK DONE, BUT FOUND THE FOLLOWING

• Cylinder 6 had scoring on the side of the cylinder & burn marks (used borescope)
  
• Put system under pressure, which showed head gasket not keeping it all sealed (head gasket failure), had exhaust smell in the coolant.
  
• Recommended: replace engine (because of the cylinder issue AND the head gasket)
  

Shop 1: 99K miles / NOV 2023: Oil change, Thermostat, Left Side Bank Injectors (Cylinder 6 misfiring)

Shop 1: 102K Miles / JAN 2024: Water Pump replacement

PURCHASED: 103K miles. Before I purchased it, it wasn't "smog ready" so had to drive it for 50 miles before it could be smogged (it passed). My guess now looking back is previous owner reset CEL before selling so thats why it wasn't smog ready.

TODAY: 103.5K Miles. Driving totally fine, but CEL came on: Cylinder 6 misfire. Indy LR specialist mechanic hooked up to dynamic computer and showed zero misfires while driving around. Reset CEL and havent seen it come on since.

2 questions:

1. Could this be anything else besides shop 2's diagnosis? It seems like all the other culprits it could be (spark plugs, coils, injectors) have been replaced already.
   
2. If Shop #2 diagnosis is correct, the issue seems isolated as its gone on for 13,000+ miles without performance issues...how likely can this trend continue before total failure?
   

THANK YOU!

 

Fraud? Consumer protection? Get a lawyer.

 

Thanks for the reply! I'm starting to explore that now. My research is showing that California vehicles are sold as-is, however the "as-is" stipulation doesn't immunize sellers in cases of fraudulent/intentional misrepresentation of the facts, so this is the path I'm considering going down as I believe I can prove based on the facts in my original post that the seller knowingly knew this had an engine failure issue and still represented it as in good working condition. My thinking is that he tried all other options to resolve it, realized the scary diagnosis had to be the correct diagnosis, reset the CEL (I don't know this to be true, but can guess), then sold it.

 

You’ve done a good bit of research, thus far. Good luck.