Range Rover Hell

[moesym]

Help!! My car overheated on the highway a few months back. The warranty company through Land Rover will not replace the engine saying it is perator failure" due to a coolant leak. The damage is $14,000. There were absolutely no visual signs of leaking, it clearly was not sudden, rather gradual. There was no indication from the cars gauges of a problem, no noises, nothing until the car started lsoing power...was very quick. This car is leased and is a 2000 RR, 4.6HSE. I am now reading info on a recall campaign that included 2000 Rovers for leaky coolant problems.

Does anyone out there know anything about all of this or have any suggestions in terms of websites/links/resources that can help me? I am going into arbitration with the warranty company in a month. Interestingly, they are goingt o cover one part which was the timing cover, head gasket....thoughts???

 

[ruffinit]

That is some BULLLSH#$%!!! They should cover the whole thing, ESP if they had a recall, i would threaten to sue, that's ludicrous!

 

[SteveA]

Here's one of the problems of extended warranty companies... If they know that there was a factory recall on an item, most will not cover that item at all. Cooling related problems are another matter. Usually what happens is what is happening to you. Read your extended warranty very closely. It probably has an exclusion in there for maintenance related issues. EasyCare which is one of the largest companies (and is backed by Ford) states that coverage will be denied if failure is "Due to continued operation and failure to protect the vehicle from further damage caused by lack of necessary coolants or lubricants."

Land Rover had 2 service campaigns or recalls for coolant hose related problems. They were both on GEMS Range Rovers. GEMS refers to the engine management system. The Bosch system came into production in the second half of the 99 model year. Yours being a 2000 would not be covered under this recall.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've seen this problem. What happens when these cars overheat sometimes is that as coolant is lost, an air pocket forms around the temperature sensor. This makes the gauge read normal or maybe even a little low as it is not in contact with the coolant. Major overheating can take place at this time, and it is not unusual for the gauge to suddenly go full hot. These engines do not take kindly to being overheated as they are aluminum. When dramatically overheated they can drop a cylinder liner. It sounds like this is what happened to you.

You've got a battle ahead of you, but if you have a good dealer relationship, you should be able to get some help.

Hope this info helps,

Stephen

 

[discomike]

If you want to send me your telephone #, I'll be glad to call you and point you in the right direction.
I used to write service for Rover as well as others and have delt with this before.
Mike J.