Hi guys, I currently owned a 2015 supercharged LR with 70,000miles on it, and on the other day I was trying to start the car but found the handbrake not able to release. After several restarts, I made it to go, but the hand brake now makes a squeaky sound every time I release it. I went to the dealer and they've told me to replace the hand brake actuator, and it costs about 2k in total, is it necessary? Also, I was told that the entire valve cover instead of valve cover gasket needs to be replaced, is that normal for a 70k mile car? They've also suggested a supercharger gasket replacement as I tell them there is a high frequency rattling noise when doing cold starts idling.

To be honest, I really doubt if I have to replace all those stuff since I've only put 70k miles on it and do regular maintenance every 6000-7000miles, can anybody give me some suggestions?

Here are the pictures they sent to me:

 

Hmmmm … they’re talking about valve cover leak, but there’s no pictures of the valve cover at all. Lots of pictures of what appears to be the brake vacuum pump and transmission oil cooler lines, which are at the very bottom of the engine. I can’t tell what that last picture is supposed to be - kind of grey colored shot - what is that?

To answer your question, when the valve covers start leaking, it might be the gasket or it might be a warped cover. If the covers are warped, they probably need to be replaced. But the expense isn’t really the parts, its the labor. Either way - gasket or cover - the labor is similar because the cover needs to come off to replace the gasket. Probably $150-200 difference in parts cost.

But are you sure it’s the valve cover leaking? Might be - there are complaints about this problem. But also could be that brake vacuum pump leaking, or the oil filter housing leaking (though I’d expect oil on the other side of the engine). There’s also a TSB on those transmission oil cooler lines springing a leak right where that bracket is in one of your pics. I’m just curious why there are no pics of the leaking valve cover.

I don’t have a lot of info on the parking brake problem. It is an issue, but I’d try cleaning out some of the system before replacing. If you don’t get more info here, try posting up on the landroverworld.org forums.