LR4 "Engine Overheating" Message
 

Hi - First time post here. I have a 2015 LR4 that I recently took to the Land Rover dealership (4 hours away) for a valve cover oil leak. The dealership fixed the oil leak but I only made it 3 miles down the road when I noticed lots of anti-freeze draining from the car on the road. I pulled over and the dealership towed the car back and let me know that my thermostat had failed. They offered to cut me a "deal" on a cooling system replacement for $2300 in addition to the very large bill I had just paid for the oil leak. In summary, I ended up paying for the thermostat part and they paid for the labor to replace the thermostat only. I picked up the car again and this time I made it 10 miles down the road when I got an "Engine Overheating" red warning light on my dashboard for about 5-10 seconds. I could also hear a fan turn on while the red light was on, but my temperature gauge was reading normal. I pulled over immediately and called the dealership. They assured me that the car wasn't really overheating if the temp gauge was reading normal and said I likely had a defective newly installed thermostat. I had to be home that night, so I continued with my 4 hour drive (nerve racking experience) back home. The warning light only came up (1) time for another 5-10 seconds, but the car does not appear to be overheating at all.

I haven't been able to get back to the dealership yet and I've been driving the car for about 4 weeks now. The red warning light and fan continue to come on for the same 5-10 seconds, but only If I'm driving the car at 60-70 mph for about 10 mins or so. The main temperature gauge always reads normal. The red warning light does not come on again until the car is shut off/cools off and I drive for another 10 mins or so. I've had a couple of knowledge car folks here locally tell me that the thermostat is probably OK and that the dealership probably didn't bleed the coolant system and the thermostat is reading the temperature of an air bubble in the coolant system and sending the warning message intermittently. My question is... does the air bubble theory seem likely? If it does, I'll have someone local bleed the coolant system and I'll avoid driving the car 4 hours back to a dealership that I don't have a lot of confidence in. Thank you in advance

A proper LR dealership let you take the vehicle as it is??!!
A thermostat for $2300?!?

But to answer your question, the coolant system is pressurized and does run the risk of air pockets if not properly done. Moreover, if the thermostat is toast, why is the vehicle not at the dealership.

No, something is not adding up here.

I’d be writing JLR HQ about this comedy of events.

I appreciate the reply guy. It looks like I'll have to make the 4 hour trek back up to the dealer. They've agreed to redo the thermostat work.

I would never take an LR4 to a dealer unless I had to like when I had the recall on the fuel flange (which of course they screwed up). I'd immediately look for a good independent LR mechanic closer to you. This is unfortunately typical of the JLR dealer network at this point. Many of them won't even work on "legacy" vehicles like the LR4. If it's inconvenient (4hrs!) to get to them you will do what you did here and run the vehicle when there are problems. These vehicles need a lot of attention from good mechanics who care. I hope you find a good independent!

interesting perspective. Actually here, the dealers are good. They train their service techs well… then the service techs end up at the Independents.

The independent I go to is an authorized JLR repair facility… go figure.