Soon to be Land Rover owner-few Q's

[Aevum031]

Heya, I'm seriously considering purchasing a 2006 LR3 v8 with 50k on it from a local LR dealer. I test drove a few of them this weekend and really fell in love. I realize that the 2005's had a few quirks, as any early model does, but what I'm curious about is how many of the common problems were rectified for 2006? Is there anything I should specifically look out for? I noticed one thing was that when flooring it from a stop it seemed like there was a good second where you dont move and then the power came. Is this normal?

Anyway, over all I don't want to rely on consumer reports, I've owned a few cars considered "unreliable" and the majority of problems were simple DIY fixes ( like replacing boost hoses, or an egr valve) that hardly detracted from the fun the car provided. Anywho I really appreciate any info/advice. Thanks!

 

[nashvegas]

LR3 list of things I looked for

I recently picked up a 2005 HSE from a dealer (was CPO) in June of this year so its fresh on my mind. Bottom line, i LOVE the truck. ... Here are the things that I'd looked at / were on my "list" that are easy checks, as well as a couple I didnt know about:

1) Check pass side floor for water. Feel carpet under mats. Common for sunroof tubes on 2005s and 2006's to leak / get clogged and can cause electronic pains (ie oil light, etc etc) if the water gets into the fusebox area. If the carpet is already wet (which it could be after sitting outside on a dealer lot for awhile) you have a problem. Its easily fixed but still.

2) Check rear upper tailgate struts. Where the "struts" mount to the body they can come loose. Should have been a TSB / fixed but when I was looking, I looked at 2 separate trucks, one a 2006, that was all loose there. Fix may involve welding (yikes) so its worth steering clear from one with this issue if you ask me.

3) Bluetooth -- I think a 2006 should prob have it, but you can tell if it has bluetooth by the presence of a little green and red phone buttons on the right side of the steering wheel.

4) Look at rear tires. Rear tire wear was a problem on these trucks. If the rear tires are worn on the insides, the alignment may be out. If you are buying from a LR dealer in fact, I'd make them align it if it hasnt been done. Prob around $149. Needs special dealer "setting" to set the air suspension to align properly

5) Engage and Disengage the electronic parking brake a few times to check it. If it screeches and squeals or sounds bad, its out of adjustment/got issues. It is supposed to sound like a mechanical servo.


Options I got and really like:
1) Rear Air -- really really great
2) 7 seats
3) Rubber rear cargo mat is really nice
4) Navigation (standard on HSE I think) -- I like this alot
5) rear park assist (also HSE standard I think)

Option I should have gotten that I wish I did:
1) Center console cooler box. If its white colored inside the big center console bin, you have it. Very cool. Mine didnt come with it.

I was looking for an SE and then found this HSE from the Huntsville Land Rover dealer so I went for it. The HSE has a better stereo but the SE stereo seems just fine. The non-SE's have a really base stereo without the phone keypad that I didnt love. HSE also has these really cool xenon headlights that swivel / tilt when you turn. Very cool option.

 

[teamfalcon]

We've always wanted three rows and a little luxury......

We were looking at 2010 Nissan Pathfinder for $32,000..........

Local dealer has a 2008 LR3 (new, never owned, program) with 9k for $38,000.


I'm considering but have heard horror stories about these cars.....We're the problems mainly in the early years of the LR3 or do 2008's also have problems.


Any sincere input is very appreciated.

 

[Aevum031]

We've always wanted three rows and a little luxury......

We were looking at 2010 Nissan Pathfinder for $32,000..........

Local dealer has a 2008 LR3 (new, never owned, program) with 9k for $38,000.


I'm considering but have heard horror stories about these cars.....We're the problems mainly in the early years of the LR3 or do 2008's also have problems.


Any sincere input is very appreciated.

Thread hi-jack much?

 

[teamfalcon]

Thread hi-jack much?

Sorry. I'm not sure if the Mods would have been upset for posting the same type of thread.

Either way, I think we have the same questions...

 

[gtc]

From my limited experience (bought an 06 SE7 9 months ago), it seems like the '05s were more likely to have issues, though most were sorted sometime in '06, so the build date might play into the reliability. From what's been posted here, once the issues are addressed the vehicles are as solid as the newer model years (save perhaps for the tire feathering/alignment).

Specifically the hesitation mentioned is not what is "supposed" to happen, but is fairly normal on older LR3s; typically the fix is a software update from the local stealership. A quick search for "California Stop" (ie, a rolling stop) should lead to a fair bit of information; there's even a thread in here somewhere - I believe under the username "mustbeaudi" which includes the actual TSB # along with a list of other potential TSB that may need to be performed.

From personal experience, I bought our LR3, swapped out the tires, did an alignment and haven't had any issues yet. I do have a strange sound coming from the AC unit when I turn/off the AC (sounds like a bit of leather rubbing - similar to the sound made when lifting the armrests if they rub a bit), but expect it to be covered under warranty when I next wander in to the local stearlership.

Expect to do things related to the sheer weight of the vehicle - brakes/tires potentially a bit more then normal. I'd probably take a look at bushings as well before purchase - a bit of a knock from the front end, or if they are really bad a shimmy under braking from high speed that isn't apparent during low speed braking (somewhat similar to the feeling of warped rotors - often confused). It also seems that the battery requires replacing/upgrading more then most vehicles - I actually called service to jump the truck and the triple A guy was a little startled by the size of the battery. A low/old battery can trigger an entire host of weird warning lights/symbols - HDC warnings always seems to be the first to show when the battery isn't fully charged.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the vehicle!

 

[teamfalcon]

Thanks for that information.

In my research, I found that the LR3 weights 6000lbs

 

[Aevum031]

Thanks for the info so far guys, it was extremely helpful and almost exactly what I was looking for. These are things that I'll definitely return to the dealer with and make sure they have been/will be addressed before I purchase. I checked the carfax of the particular one I'm looking at and it seems routine maintenance has been routinely kept. I was wondering though, do they state whether something was done due to TSB? or would it just state the actual repair?

 

[beantmt]

Hey Aevum, I had basically your exact same experience when shopping for a new SUV a couple of weeks ago. I asked about reliability too and got quite a bit of feedback, so you might be interesting in checking out these threads:

http://forums.landroverworld.org/showthread.php?t=16066
http://forums.landroverworld.org/showthread.php?t=16052

I did get the LR3 (06 SE V8) and I am enjoying it thus far, but I've only had it a couple of weeks.

Three issues I've noticed with mine:

1) I occasionally have the rough ****/lunge when taking off after rolling through a stop sign (this is discussed in the first thread I linked)

2) I have some warping on the top of the steering wheel

3) The inside of the tires are a bit more worn than the rest

Thankfully, I believe all of these items are known issues and are covered by service bulletins (and thus the dealership will fix them under warranty). Will your LR3 have the CPO extended warranty? If not you will really want to make sure the dealership takes care of any of these issues.

Here is the best (only) list of TSBs (technical service bulletins) I could find (but I have know idea how accurate it is):

http://www.tsbdata.com/tsb/2006-land-rover-lr3-v8-4394cc-4_4l.html

Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[gtc]

Thanks for the info so far guys, it was extremely helpful and almost exactly what I was looking for. These are things that I'll definitely return to the dealer with and make sure they have been/will be addressed before I purchase. I checked the carfax of the particular one I'm looking at and it seems routine maintenance has been routinely kept. I was wondering though, do they state whether something was done due to TSB? or would it just state the actual repair?

Depends on the what was entered into the system; I find that autocheck actually provides a bit more detail then Carfax, but YMMV depending on makes/modesl. You should be able to pull the actual history on the specific vehicle from any LR dealership based on the VIN to determine which TSBs have or haven't been addressed. They may or may not want to give you a full list of whats been done, citing privacy concerns of the original owner(s), though this sounds like creative bulls#$t at best. If you ask them about a specific TSB, most should be able to provide the information.

For what it's worth, I bought mine with little knowledge of specific items - however, I'm familiar with the specific dealership that would be servicing the vehicle while it's still under warranty and realized that most (of not all) items would be taken care of with little hassle. The servicing experience at LR dealerships seems to vary widely, and many unsatisfied owners were more frustrated with the dealership then the actual vehicle per se - I've owned the LR Freelander which is commonly referenced as the worst possible LR vehicle to own from a reliability perspective, yet enjoyed the vehicle tremendously thanks to a reasonably good dealership experience - and I never purchase the vehicles from the dealership - it's an extra financial burden here in Canada (LR dealerships are usually 10-30% more expensive then other retail options).

Good luck!