Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | ||||||||||||||||
| 08V635000 | LAND ROVER | from 01/03/2002 to 02/22/2005 | V (Vehicle) | 19168 | 01/05/2009 | ODI | LAND ROVER | 12/03/2008 | 12/03/2008 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Land rover is recalling 19,168 my 2003-2005 range rover vehicles. the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned, resulting in spline wear over a period of time. as the wear between the propeller shaft and the differential spline coupling progresses, noise and vibration are expected. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Continued vehicle operation can eventually result in the splines shearing and a loss of drive, increasing the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will install a revised design of the propeller shaft, the flange kit and heat shield kit. the recall began on january 6, 2009. owners may contact land rover at 1-800- 637-6837. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Land rover recall no. p041.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||||
| Q-041 | 12/08/2008 | P-041-2 | 10026362 | Land rover: service action: front differential to propeller shaft spline wear - repair procedure. *pe updated 6/29/09. *pe | 10/22/2008 |
| SA-Q-041 | 10/01/2008 | 10026282 | Land rover: csc letter was received for range rovers model years 2003-2005. a potential concern with the alignment of the joint that connects the front propshaft to the front differential. *pe | 10/15/2008 | |
| 540103 | 01/31/2003 | 10000919 | Front differential torque values. *tt | 04/03/2003 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | ||||||
| EA07012 | LAND ROVER | 08/14/2007 | 12/10/2008 | FRONT DIFF. / PROPELLER SHAFT FAILURE | 08V635000 | |
| Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified nhtsa that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (nhtsa recall no. 08v-635, land rover recall no. p041). the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. in july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v-635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. this engineering analysis is closed. | ||||||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | ||||||
| PE07019 | LAND ROVER | 04/04/2007 | 08/15/2007 | FRONT DIFFERENTIAL/DRIVESHAFT FAILURE | ||
| In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated that the primary cause for the majority of the reported front differential/drive shaft failures is a misalignment of the joint between the two components.certain levels of misalignment may over time cause an uneven wear of the splines.continued wear of the splines may result in a shearing of the splines and the inability of the driveshaft to transfer torque to the front differential. to address the issue in the field, ford initiated a service campaign in june 2003 to correct the misalignment issue and, if necessary, replace the front drive shaft and/or differential.the service campaign covered model year (my) 2003 and my 2004 vehicles built from april 18, 2002 through july 3, 2003.in production, ford introduced a change to the lubricating grease of the joint in february 2003 and a change to the assembly plant alignment process in july 2003 to address the misalignment and wear issue. odi identified one crash related to the alleged defect.the crash involved a subject vehicle being struck in the rear after becoming disabled by a front differential/driveshaft failure and pulling to the side of the road. this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of front differential/driveshaft failures in the subject vehicle population. | ||||||
| EA07012 | LAND ROVER | 08/14/2007 | 12/10/2008 | FRONT DIFF. / PROPELLER SHAFT FAILURE | 08V635000 | |
| Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified nhtsa that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (nhtsa recall no. 08v-635, land rover recall no. p041). the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. in july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v-635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. this engineering analysis is closed. | ||||||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | ||||||
| EA07012 | LAND ROVER | 08/14/2007 | 12/10/2008 | FRONT DIFF. / PROPELLER SHAFT FAILURE | 08V635000 | |
| Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified nhtsa that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (nhtsa recall no. 08v-635, land rover recall no. p041). the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. in july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v-635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. this engineering analysis is closed. | ||||||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | ||||||
| PE07019 | LAND ROVER | 04/04/2007 | 08/15/2007 | FRONT DIFFERENTIAL/DRIVESHAFT FAILURE | ||
| In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated that the primary cause for the majority of the reported front differential/drive shaft failures is a misalignment of the joint between the two components.certain levels of misalignment may over time cause an uneven wear of the splines.continued wear of the splines may result in a shearing of the splines and the inability of the driveshaft to transfer torque to the front differential. to address the issue in the field, ford initiated a service campaign in june 2003 to correct the misalignment issue and, if necessary, replace the front drive shaft and/or differential.the service campaign covered model year (my) 2003 and my 2004 vehicles built from april 18, 2002 through july 3, 2003.in production, ford introduced a change to the lubricating grease of the joint in february 2003 and a change to the assembly plant alignment process in july 2003 to address the misalignment and wear issue. odi identified one crash related to the alleged defect.the crash involved a subject vehicle being struck in the rear after becoming disabled by a front differential/driveshaft failure and pulling to the side of the road. this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of front differential/driveshaft failures in the subject vehicle population. | ||||||
| EA07012 | LAND ROVER | 08/14/2007 | 12/10/2008 | FRONT DIFF. / PROPELLER SHAFT FAILURE | 08V635000 | |
| Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified nhtsa that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (nhtsa recall no. 08v-635, land rover recall no. p041). the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. in july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v-635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. this engineering analysis is closed. | ||||||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | ||||||
| PE07019 | LAND ROVER | 04/04/2007 | 08/15/2007 | FRONT DIFFERENTIAL/DRIVESHAFT FAILURE | ||
| In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated that the primary cause for the majority of the reported front differential/drive shaft failures is a misalignment of the joint between the two components.certain levels of misalignment may over time cause an uneven wear of the splines.continued wear of the splines may result in a shearing of the splines and the inability of the driveshaft to transfer torque to the front differential. to address the issue in the field, ford initiated a service campaign in june 2003 to correct the misalignment issue and, if necessary, replace the front drive shaft and/or differential.the service campaign covered model year (my) 2003 and my 2004 vehicles built from april 18, 2002 through july 3, 2003.in production, ford introduced a change to the lubricating grease of the joint in february 2003 and a change to the assembly plant alignment process in july 2003 to address the misalignment and wear issue. odi identified one crash related to the alleged defect.the crash involved a subject vehicle being struck in the rear after becoming disabled by a front differential/driveshaft failure and pulling to the side of the road. this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of front differential/driveshaft failures in the subject vehicle population. | ||||||
| EA07012 | LAND ROVER | 08/14/2007 | 12/10/2008 | FRONT DIFF. / PROPELLER SHAFT FAILURE | 08V635000 | |
| Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified nhtsa that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (nhtsa recall no. 08v-635, land rover recall no. p041). the front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. in july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v-635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. this engineering analysis is closed. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 09/15/2009 | 88000 | 1 | |
| I was driving my 2003 range rover that i just bought used 2 weeks earlier. as i was driving, the car started making severe grinding noises and lost power. i could not steer that well and was in the middle of the road. i managed to get barely enough power to make it to the side of the road and pull into a parking lot. this event was without any warning and the car made the worst grinding noises in the world. i had it towed to a local repair shop and they informed me that this vehicle has a recall on it to address the problem, which is a failed driveshaft / axle / differential operation. because it was recalled, i had it towed to land rover and they are now saying that they can't fix the problem until the axle is repaired, which they say is not part of the recall. i believe it is part of the recall and they should be covering this at no cost. i had my child in the car and i think this could have been a very dangerous situation. also, when i bought the vehicle in costa mesa, ca (house of luxuries), they assured me the car was totally checked out and had no mechanical or other issues. now i am very angry with them for placing my life (and others) and my child's life in danger by not disclosing these problems, or at least telling me that this vehicle has a recall and to repair it before i drive. i am happy that i was told about the recall later but feel that the business i bought the car should have known this prior to the sell of the car and it could have placed our lives and others at risk had i been going down the freeway, which is in la and heavy traffic. thank you. *tr | |||
| 08/08/2008 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Complete front drive shaft failure - sudden, without any warning, while driving. 2003 range rover hse. *tr | |||
| 06/07/2008 | 68000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 land rover range rover. while driving 55 mph, the contact heard a loud grinding noise. when he depressed the accelerator pedal, the noise recurred. the sound occurred when the vehicle was shifted into any gear. the contact pulled over and the transmission failure light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the front differential was stripped out. the current and failure mileages were 68,000. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 10/15/2007 | 78000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 land rover range rover hs3. while driving approximately 80 mph the drive train failed, and he engaged the accelerator the vehicle down shifted to a lower gear. he engaged the accelerator harder to get over to the shoulder of the road to inspect the vehicle. he stated he turn the vehicle off to inspect it and restarted the vehicle and it was ok. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and they replaced the front differential, propeller assembly and the yoke. the contact stated the second failure the dealer performed the recall work. the contact stated the first failure happened before the recall work was performed. he reference recall nhtsa campaign id number: 08v635000, power train:driveline:driveshaft. the failure mileage was 78,000 and the current mileage was 82,000. vwb | |||
| 12/16/2008 | 100000 | 1 | |
| I had to have my 2003 land rover range rover repaired for this very same problem in december, 2007. the dealer wanted much more than what i had paid for per the attached repair bill from euro car. when i received this letter, i called land rover north america and was told that i had to go through an authorized dealer to get reimbursed. i went to www.landroverusa.com per the recall letter and they show that plaza land rover st. louis, 11830 olive street road, st. louis, mo 63141 is the only retailer here in st. louis. i called them and they refused to submit any paperwork because i did not get it repaired there. i find this very unacceptable as st. louis is a huge metropolitan area and i do not believe that plaza motors should have sole claim on getting a range rover fixed in order to get reimbursement for recall notices. that would mean they would have a monopoly. land rover north america customer service said they will not do the reimbursement either. i want reimbursement of $$2,400 for repair for recall p041. *tr | |||
| 04/06/2008 | 36000 | 1 | 08/27/2006 |
| My 2003 range rover with 36k miles has a defective front end differential which is a known problem in models from 2003-2005, yet no recall. orig my extended warranty refused to cover claim. *tr | |||
| 01/11/2008 | 111000 | 1 | 05/22/2007 |
| At traffic light i heard a grinding sound in transmission, moved gear from drive to n to hear it again. as light changed the driveshaft disengaged from the transmission, coasted across traffic to service station, but unable to move rear of vehicle out of traffic. passersby helped push me and my child out of the intersection. i believe this is the 2nd differential failure for this vehicle. *tr | |||
| 09/05/2007 | 75000 | 2 | |
| 2003 range rover hse , loud knocking noise when going from reverse to drive, 5 minutes later a grinding noise happened that was very loud. the car responded with a loud grinding sound when trying to apply gas. i was lucky that i was not on a highway and could pull the car over. *tr the check engine light illuminated, there was a radiator leak and the left rear tire had a slow leak. updated 10/11/07. *jb | |||
| 04/22/2005 | 23000 | 1 | 09/02/2003 |
| Driving on i-280 and the car made a metal-to-metal grinding noise (very loud), pulled over torwards the next exit (barely made it to the median) and the car would not move. other than park, the car made a terribly loud grinding noise in all gears and sport mode. the car would not move/drive. had the vehicle towed to dealership. told this morning by service adviser that service bulletin was issued that should have been done last time in for service re power train:driveline:differential unit. appears from my research that tsb 540103 issued 1/31/03 applies per conversation with dealer's service adviser. trying to get a copy of tsb now. also, called roadside assistance on evening of incident to get assistance with removing vehicle (and myself, wife and daughter) from the highway median. land rover could not locate a tow company to assist and we were forced to call chp and seek their assistance in getting a tow and paying the same - in other words, no roadside assistance really existed when this happened. *ak | |||
| 02/13/2005 | 9391 | 1 | 08/01/2003 |
| While driving approximately 65 mph vehicle inadvertently lost power. consumer pulled to the shoulder of interstate, avoiding accidents. when taken to get serviced it was determined that driveshaft split.*ak prior to this incident the consumer had problems with the front differential and the front sway bar. the transmission also malfunctioned prior to this incident, downshifting by itself and then failing to come out of third gear for the remainder of the day. shuttering sound from front end at slow speeds. the dealer attempted to rectify the rattling problem by replacing several suspension and steering components. found low power steering fluid level due to leaking input shaft, replaced rack and pinion then performed 4 wheel alignment. *bf *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | |||
| 02/04/2008 | 79800 | 1 | 01/04/2004 |
| On 02/04/2008 my shaft/differential broke in my vehicle for the third time. twice in the past it was fix under warranty and this occurrence it was not. *tr | |||
| 11/15/2007 | 70000 | 2 | 03/09/2005 |
| Front differential failure on 2003 range rover. failed twice once under warranty and again without warranty. fighting with dealership for cost. differential failed during casual driving with entire family. *tr | |||
| 09/08/2005 | 1 | 04/03/2003 | |
| Bearing failure in front differential: no event leading up to the failure. as i was emerging from the lincoln tunnel in nyc with 4 lanes of traffic on either side, with out any warning my car would not move forward and if i pressed on the gas i heard a very loud grinding noise. i was lucky as i was not going very fast and was able to immediately pull over to the side. if i was on the highway there is a high probability that there could have been a dangerous if not fatal accident. car had to be towed. range rover mount kisco fixed the car at no charge. i was told that there have been other incidences like this with other 2003 range rovers. i asked range rover to notify owners of 2003 range rovers and they told me they are only responsible to fix the automobile. i asked how many incidents there were regarding the bearing in the differential axle and they told me they did not know and no one has the statistics. i called range rover north america and received the same robotic answers. it appears they are not interested in driver's safety but only interested in insuring they make money and are free of all liabilities. they repeatedly asked if i was happy about the service i received. i kept telling them it is not about the service or me. i am here to tell what happened and to try and prevent someone else having the same problem. the next person may not have an opportunity to tell their story. i will do my best to make range rover america take their responsibilities sincerely. i strongly feel range rover should notify the owners of 2003 range rovers and telling them to keep their wheels in alignment and to insure the owners know of the risks involved. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 09/15/2009 | 88000 | 1 | |
| I was driving my 2003 range rover that i just bought used 2 weeks earlier. as i was driving, the car started making severe grinding noises and lost power. i could not steer that well and was in the middle of the road. i managed to get barely enough power to make it to the side of the road and pull into a parking lot. this event was without any warning and the car made the worst grinding noises in the world. i had it towed to a local repair shop and they informed me that this vehicle has a recall on it to address the problem, which is a failed driveshaft / axle / differential operation. because it was recalled, i had it towed to land rover and they are now saying that they can't fix the problem until the axle is repaired, which they say is not part of the recall. i believe it is part of the recall and they should be covering this at no cost. i had my child in the car and i think this could have been a very dangerous situation. also, when i bought the vehicle in costa mesa, ca (house of luxuries), they assured me the car was totally checked out and had no mechanical or other issues. now i am very angry with them for placing my life (and others) and my child's life in danger by not disclosing these problems, or at least telling me that this vehicle has a recall and to repair it before i drive. i am happy that i was told about the recall later but feel that the business i bought the car should have known this prior to the sell of the car and it could have placed our lives and others at risk had i been going down the freeway, which is in la and heavy traffic. thank you. *tr | |||
| 11/22/2006 | 53471 | 1 | |
| I received a letter from manufacturer for safety recall. part of the program is to reimburse for money paid in the past to repair part. the manufacturer has stated that the local dealership must be involved to reimburse me but the local dealership is not assisting. it is land rover safety recall p041 - front differential to propeller shaft spline wear. i no longer own the vehicle now. *tr | |||
| 09/19/2008 | 82000 | 1 | |
| 2003 range rover front differential failed and tore off. *tr | |||
| 08/08/2008 | 68000 | 1 | |
| Complete front drive shaft failure - sudden, without any warning, while driving. 2003 range rover hse. *tr | |||
| 06/28/2008 | 66000 | 1 | |
| My front differential has failed on my land rover range rover. there was no warning just an instant loud grinding noise and front wheel lock. i could have been killed. *tr | |||
| 05/24/2008 | 75000 | 1 | |
| Sept 2003 my wife was driving 50 mph in washington dc, and the car started to make loud noises, and stopped on the highway at rush hour. the car would not go into drive without making screeching noises. land rover annapolis said it was a front differential failure and they had to replace the transmission/ front differential. warranty covered the costs of this. may 2008 my wife was driving 60 mph on a 4 lane highway, rt 45 in houston. the car made the same noises as in 2006, so she pulled over and could not put the car into drive without the screeching noises. range rover houston north said it was a front differential issue and it needed to be replaced for $2500. this is the 2nd time this happened, and according to rang rover houston n, there is a future recall on this because it is an issue with all models http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/land_rover/landrover_range_rover.htm *tr | |||
| 05/26/2008 | 58000 | 1 | |
| In 2006 our 2003 range rover experienced a failure of the front differential. on 5/26/2008 it experienced the same failure after being in for service just a month prior. *tr | |||
| 12/06/2007 | 56440 | 1 | |
| Front differential and drive shafts failed on the 2003 land rover range rover. the car was inoperable and put me in a very dangerous intersection. if this incident occurred on the highway, i believe it would have caused an auto accident. *tr | |||
| 04/27/2008 | 91110 | 1 | |
| Land rover range rover mk 3 2003 model year front differential failure. vehicle was being driven on interstate 59 south near richmond at 65mph. a grinding noise was heard from transmission tunnel and there was an immediate loss of drive to both from and rear axles. it was necessary to coast the vehicle across traffic on a busy highway to come to a stop on the hard shoulder. this was a potentially hazardous situation. a wrecker service was called and it was necessary to load the car on the back of the wrecker because of a total loss of drive rendering the vehicle inoperable. this is the second incident since i have owned the vehicle and is a known fault with these vehicles. the land rover dealer is replacing the complete front differential for the second time on this vehicle. *tr | |||
| 02/28/2008 | 59700 | 1 | 07/26/2007 |
| No notice or warning. virtually instant failure. the front drive shaft and the differential input flange splines stripped. i was stranded in traffic. *tr | |||
| 12/20/2006 | 66500 | 1 | 03/15/2005 |
| Without any warning, i started to hear a metal-on-metal loud grinding noise coming from underneath the vehicle while it was moving forward, regardless of whether the brakes were applied or whether it was in drive or neutral. this was immediately reported to my land rover dealership in warwick, ri. land rover advised that the car was not safe to drive. so, it was brought to the dealership to be diagnosed. it had front differential and drive shaft failure. previously, land rover had inspected this front drive shaft and differential under a land rover technical service bulletin, to prevent the drive shaft and differential failure. this occurred when the vehicle was under warranty. when the failure ultimately occurred, the vehicle could not be driven and it was out of warranty. cost to fix by the dealership was $2,700. the dealership and land rover north america (including appeals board) refused to provide out of warranty assistance even though they are all well-aware of this systematic failure for 2003 range rovers. the tsb delayed the failure long enough so that it was no longer covered under the vehicle's warranty. the failure could have lead to injury if we were traveling at a higher rate of speed.*jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 05/24/2008 | 50330 | 1 | |
| I was on the 405 highway driving south bound when my new 2003 range rover hse lost all of its acceleration. the front differential of the car had given out. when it happened it was a total surprise. a couple of weeks prior the front wheels began to squeak as if i needed new front breaks which i did and thought that was the issue. but now i found myself swerving through 5 lanes of traffic with no acceleration to go from the hov lane over to the far right lane and onto the shoulder. a very dangerous maneuver to make with very little vehicle control. i took my car to a certified rover repair shop and they said to have a front differential kit that will never break or snap and if it does it's 100% lifetime warranty. now i ask, why can't land rover use the same kit? why can't they develop a stronger and safer differential shaft for its vehicles? *tr | |||
| 05/21/2008 | 50000 | 1 | |
| Front differential went out. i was on an incline, truck made a loud noise, display read put truck in neutral and it stopped, though the emergency brake worked little if at all. *tr | |||
| 03/24/2008 | 44950 | 1 | 03/31/2007 |
| Front differential failed on my 2003 land rover range rover while driving which caused an emergency stop that could have resulted in injury to myself and others on the road. apparently this is a recurring problem with 2003 and 2004 range rovers and yet no recall has been done. the dealership replaced the front differential as my vehicle was under warranty but at great cost of time to myself. *tr | |||
| 03/06/2008 | 87932 | 1 | 06/14/2002 |
| Front differential and drive shaft failed while driving at 65 miles per hour. *tr | |||
| 04/12/2008 | 66103 | 1 | 11/02/2002 |
| Driving 2003 land rover, range rover. driving 60 mph on a highway and felt a strange thump. i started to smell burying and the car felt different. i drove on for another 30 miles and started to hear a low grinding when accelerating. i parked my car at home that evening, planning to take the car to the dealer the next morning. in the morning i started the 5 mile drive to the dealer and the grinding was worse. coming down from speed at a stop light, at around 5 mph, my front wheels locked up and i screeched to a stop in the middle of the road. the car could not be moved from where it was. the flatbed had to deag it up onto the truck. when i reached the dealer by tow they told it was the front differential that locked up and that it was fairly common. i was lucky i was not involved in a crash the way the vehicle suddenly locked up. *tr | |||
| 04/06/2008 | 36000 | 1 | 08/27/2006 |
| My 2003 range rover with 36k miles has a defective front end differential which is a known problem in models from 2003-2005, yet no recall. orig my extended warranty refused to cover claim. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2007 | 70000 | 2 | 01/30/2007 |
| First occurrence - driving in residential neighborhood about 10-15mph. my 2003 rr made a big clunking noise then immediately followed and awful screeching noise. i was unable to drive, truck instantly stopped and screen stated put in neutral. i was stranded on side of road waiting for a tow truck with my 3 children, the youngest was 4 months. second occurrence - less than 1 year later, i was on vacation in cleveland ohio thanksgiving time. driving about 30 mph and the same exact noise happened and instantly the truck stopped, i knew exactly what it was. it was 11:30 pm, i called my insurance company and there were no tow companies open. finally someone came to assist me and pushed my 7000lb truck into an empty lot until the next day. when the help arrived they parked about 3 feet behind my truck, not knowing the truck was not safe in park my truck drifted back and hit his new bmw truck. both times the differential went up i had to pay for it! over $2500 both times not to mention the cost to tow my truck back to md from ohio $1600. i must say that when my truck arrived at the shop all of the mechanics knew about the issue with rr's and their differentials. this is so sad, there is no warning it just happens. i expected so much more from range rover, the name to me means quality but this vehicle has not lived up to its name. not to mention that the company has not acknowledged that this is a common issue with these vehicles and they still will not take ownership of this defect. there are many more stories like this, coincidental as it seems my good friend with a 2004 rr differential went up the same day as mine, luckily she was still covered under warranty. *tr | |||
| 02/04/2008 | 79800 | 1 | 01/04/2004 |
| On 02/04/2008 my shaft/differential broke in my vehicle for the third time. twice in the past it was fix under warranty and this occurrence it was not. *tr | |||
| 02/12/2008 | 72500 | 1 | 04/11/2005 |
| Driving at 55 miles an hour and car started making loud searing noises and could not press on the accelerator, sounded like the engine was going to fall out. car said to slip it into neutral, which i did, then it came to an abrupt stop. pretty scary going 55 miles an hour. had no prior warning just happened within seconds. *tr | |||
| 02/03/2008 | 97532 | 2 | 11/26/2007 |
| Driving at 80mph passing a tractor trailer on interstate 380 north, my front axle and drive shaft gave out almost causing me to loose control of vehicle and run into the truck. luckily i was able to get control and guide vehicle to the side of the road. vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed. this is the second time this part has failed on this vehicle as it was repaired by previous owner only 10k miles ago. *tr | |||
| 12/01/2006 | 38470 | 1 | 12/01/2005 |
| Front diff failure. stripped spline on drive shaft (aka propeller shaft). *tr | |||
| 01/11/2008 | 111000 | 1 | 05/22/2007 |
| At traffic light i heard a grinding sound in transmission, moved gear from drive to n to hear it again. as light changed the driveshaft disengaged from the transmission, coasted across traffic to service station, but unable to move rear of vehicle out of traffic. passersby helped push me and my child out of the intersection. i believe this is the 2nd differential failure for this vehicle. *tr | |||
| 12/12/2007 | 2 | 01/12/2007 | |
| Landrover rangerover hse 2003 we broke down in this car twice, the differential failed. 4/19/08 12/20/07. *tr | |||
| 01/08/2008 | 59201 | 1 | 08/11/2005 |
| (1)excessive noise and vibration at front end of vehicle (2)front differential failure/front driveshaft spline misaligned with input spline on differential. (3)front drive shaft and differential replaced. *tr | |||
| 01/08/2008 | 56000 | 1 | 04/30/2007 |
| Husband had 2003 ranger rover hse vehicle in drive & waiting to go at a 4-way intersection. suddenly, he hears a loud noise and vehicle is stuck (motionless), no acceleration. there was no forewarning noise or indication previously to be aware of such a potential incident. vehicles has approx. 56k miles vehicle was towed to vacant housing parking lot(to get out of traffic) then had to towed to land rover dealership(same day). service department has diagnosed vehicle to have front differential failure. *tr | |||
| 12/19/2007 | 43272 | 1 | 02/13/2003 |
| My son was driving on the 105 freeway in the carpool lane when my 2003 range rover suddenly made metal noises and failed. he narrowly avoided being hit and was able to pull to the side. front drive shaft and differential or slip differential was to blame. this was supposed to have been fixed by land rover during my service in may 2004 due to many complaints of failure and vehicle suddenly stopping even at high freeway speed. with the help of police and aaa, my car was towed to nearest range rover authorized mechanic in culver city, california. since my car only recently crossed 40,000 miles, it was no longer under warranty. cost to fix was $2700. we called land rover to complain that this should not have happened if it was already fixed. they wanted my car to be towed to thousand oaks dealer since that's where the original fix took place in may 2004. land rover of north america informed us they would pay for a portion of the repairs and the balance of $600 would be our responsibility. after much investigation on the internet and discussions with other range rover owners, i discovered that the so-called fix was just a modified fix so it would last till after 40,000 miles and no longer under warranty. this could have been a very serious accident and my son could have been badly injured as he had no control over the vehicle on the freeway. this problem needs to be addressed before anyone gets seriously hurt or even die. it is a well known issue of front differential failure among mechanics that i have talked to. *tr | |||
| 11/15/2006 | 65000 | 1 | 09/15/2005 |
| Front differential failure. no prior warning. failed on roadway at approximately 25/mph to 30/mph. truck completely disabled. no power from engine to wheels. i was able to get to shoulder of roadway (coasting) without causing accident. land rover paid for repair under warranty. dealer provided loaner for duration of repair. (i am not sure of incident date and miles as i traded vehicle in on a 2005 which is the subject of complaint odi 10213308. i have used approximations for dates.) *tr | |||
| 12/17/2007 | 53866 | 1 | 08/11/2003 |
| Front differential total failure. *tr | |||
| 10/23/2007 | 36008 | 1 | 02/07/2007 |
| I purchased this 2003 range rover with 19,000 miles february 2007. it currently has 36,008 miles and the transfer case differential and drive shaft needed to be replaced. the car had a catastrophic failure stopped at a traffic light, and was in gear at the time. they had to replace the drive shaft and differential. time in service is not the issue with the low miles on this vehicle. the only wear and tear that could occur would be through usage. the warranty is 50,000 miles or 4 years. this vehicle is not even close to the mileage limitation. *tr | |||
| 11/23/2007 | 77000 | 1 | 01/30/2007 |
| Front differential catastrophic failure while driving 65 mph on us 290. 1 adult driver, 1 3 month old boy, 1 4 yr old girl no warning signs. front wheels locked up for a moment almost causing an accident on moderately busy freeway, then was able to have vehicle coast to a stop following loud noise. *tr | |||
| 11/18/2007 | 70000 | 1 | |
| While driving on the highway the car with no previous indication just started making a grinding noise hardly allowing me to pull off to the right. the dealer stated i had to replace the front differential and driveshaft. *tr | |||
| 11/09/2007 | 47000 | 2 | 10/10/2007 |
| I have a 2003 range rover. the front differential completely failed and broke causing the vehicle to be immobilized. i cannot drive or use reverse. this is a known technical service bulletin 540103 and nhtsa item 10000919, however it continues to happen again after being fixed according to some customers. the original owner had it fixed once and i am the second owner, it happened again. my vehicle was bought used last month with 44.8k miles. it now has 47k miles. this is a very important safety issue and should be considered a recall. my vehicle is sitting at the dealership. it is out of the 4 year/50k mile warranty so land rover may or may not fix it. here is a link with more detail on this issue: http://www.rangerovers.net/rrmkiiiremedies.html#diff *tr | |||
| 09/22/2007 | 51240 | 1 | 06/16/2007 |
| The differential assembly on my 2003 range rover went out on me on the highway about 80 miles from chicago on our trip back from scottsdale az. it was towed back to chicago by range rover 24hr. road service (it was out of warranty but they paid to have it towed to my front door). *tr | |||
| 09/29/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2003 range rover with engine problems including stalling. customer states that one day while driving the vehicle lurched forward made a grinding noise and then lost all power. *kb the mechanic informed the consumer there was a defect with the front differential. according to the dealership, the problem was with the design of the front driveshaft which had no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misalignment placed severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle. | |||
| 10/12/2007 | 62190 | 2 | 02/14/2007 |
| Differential , drive shaft total failure . this has happen to me twice in june of 2007 and oct of 2007. *tr | |||
| 09/26/2007 | 67767 | 4 | 12/21/2006 |
| My 2003 land rover range rover hse had a failure of the front differential spilnes, axle shaft, differential unit and drive shaft which caused total loss of vehicle propulsion at 60 miles per hour on a busy highway during rush hour traffic. the vehicle had to be towed to land rover north scottsdale where it still sits because neither the extended warranty company nor the land rover dealership will claim responsibility for the repairs which are in excess of $4,000. i also had a failure of the retractable steering wheel which resulted in a diagnosis of having to replace the entire steering column. *jb | |||
| 09/20/2007 | 1 | ||
| I was driving my 2003 land rover range rover hse approx. 45 mph and the car immediately became inoperable in the middle of the street. dealership says the front differential has worn down and it is not due to my driving habits or anything related to me. this is definitely a defect and all forums say this vehicle has this problem very frequently. this is a very serious and potentially deadly defect in design and function. must be recalled. i could've easily been in a major accident. no throttle control is possible when this problem occurs, and the car will not park while in p. therefore, if i was on an incline, vehicle would have rolled with nothing that could be done. a major issue. thank you for this service to the public. something must be done to protect consumers from the lack of responsibility and accountability from these major auto corporations. *jb | |||
| 09/05/2007 | 75000 | 2 | |
| 2003 range rover hse , loud knocking noise when going from reverse to drive, 5 minutes later a grinding noise happened that was very loud. the car responded with a loud grinding sound when trying to apply gas. i was lucky that i was not on a highway and could pull the car over. *tr the check engine light illuminated, there was a radiator leak and the left rear tire had a slow leak. updated 10/11/07. *jb | |||
| 05/02/2007 | 65000 | 2 | 08/22/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 land rover range rover. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle lost power, but the engine was still running. the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to move. the vehicle was pulled over and towed to the dealer. the front differential in the drivetrain failed and was replaced. while driving 10 mph, the contact heard a loud clunk coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. this failure occurred before and after the previous failure. there is an open investigation number pe07019. the current mileage was 66,000 and failure mileage was 65,000. | |||
| 07/12/2007 | 1 | ||
| The front driveshaft generates a loud grinding noise. the vehicle will not accelerate -- putting your foot on the gas is accompanied by more loud grinding noises. there is a total disabling of the drivetrain. *tr | |||
| 07/22/2007 | 61250 | 1 | 06/10/2006 |
| Driving 35 mph on busy city street / heard and felt loud clunking followed by horrible grinding noise and loss of power. managed to coast into a nearby parking lot. towed to dealer and diagnosed with front differential failure. *tr | |||
| 06/25/2007 | 58000 | 1 | 09/01/2005 |
| I suffered a loss of drive while traveling approx. 40 mph on a busy city street. the digital display stated place in neutral and i was able to coast to a turn lane. placing the car back in drive resulted in a grinding noise with no transmission of power to the wheels. the car had to be pushed off the road into a nearby gas station. there was no warning to this sudden failure. the car was towed to the land rover dealer and the carrier diff (tbb000043e) and shaft assy (tvb500290) were replaced. extended warranty covered 80% of the repair cost and i paid the rest. the car has 58k miles on it. | |||
| 03/09/2006 | 59102 | 1 | 03/15/2005 |
| Read diff and driveshaft. *tr | |||
| 06/10/2005 | 37638 | 1 | 03/08/2005 |
| Front diff assembly replaced. *tr | |||
| 02/08/2006 | 1 | ||
| I have a range rover. i was in new jersey on the approach highway to the lincoln tunnel traveling around 50 miles per hour when i noticed a bumping noise and rhythmic pulling sensation as if i had a flat tire or had picked up something that was dragging against the wheel. then the car slowed and an engage neutral signal flashed on the display. i managed to pull onto the shoulder and when i tried to engage drive again i got a whining noise and the car tried to do a nose dive. because of the volume and speed of the traffic, i was lucky not to cause, and be in the middle of, a major pile-up. the car was towed to the manhattan land rover dealership. i was told the next day that they were replacing the differential and the drive shaft. there was no charge because the car was still under warranty. *jb | |||
| 11/01/2006 | 1 | ||
| I was driving and all of a sudden the car stops running. my safety was not jeopardized because i was driving slowly but if it would have happened on a highway very bad things would have surely occurred. i am in the processed of fixing the problem. problem is the differential and driveshaft problems on 2003 range rover. *jb | |||
| 10/17/2006 | 73000 | 2 | 01/07/2003 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 70 mph, there was a loud noise and the vehicle rolled to a stop. after being towed to the dealership, it was determined the front differential failed and the differential was replaced. this occurred a second time four months later and the vehicle was again towed to the dealership. the dealership determined the front differential failed. | |||
| 09/04/2006 | 55478 | 1 | 06/16/2006 |
| There were no events leading up to this failure. i was driving in los angeles on the very busy 405 fwy during the labor day holiday weekend. i was going almost 70 mph when all of a sudden the car lost its power and began to make a metal to metal grinding noise. fortunately i was able to exit the fwy without causing an accident. once safe from traffic, i called my roadside assistance which dispatched a tow truck. the truck was towed to my mechanic who directed the problem to be the front differential. he notified me that this was a common occurrence on this vehicle and that this part was recalled. although my truck has 55k miles and the warranty has just expired, i called land rover usa and spoke with a customer care rep. named dennis @ ext. 2127 who said that there was nothing the land rover can do once the car is out of warranty. thanks range rover for caring sooo much about my safety!!!*jb | |||
| 09/08/2006 | 55478 | 1 | 06/16/2006 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 70 mph, the front end made a grinding noise and the vehicle would not accelerate. after coasting at an idle off the road, the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the front differential was stripped causing the failure. there was a recall for this, landrover #b121f, regarding the differential, prior to ownership. the manufacturer stated the vehicle was oiled and aligned, but the differential was not replaced. | |||
| 07/17/2006 | 61000 | 1 | 12/15/2005 |
| Vehicle shut off while driving and the front wheels locked causing me to come to a full stop. had to take the key out of the ignition, put it in park and then try to restart. it seems that range rovers 03' and above have a problem with the differentials that fail and cut off the vehicle's computer. i was fortunate that i was traveling at a low speed. dealer in houston, tx finally acknowledged the problem and i have scheduled an appointment to get it fixed. *jb | |||
| 05/05/2006 | 30 | 1 | 02/25/2005 |
| Truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the road traveling at approximately 40 mph. i was unable to move the vehicle once it stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. the truck was immobile and made a severe grinding noise. a cab driver had to push my truck to the side of the road for safety. there was no warning light until the truck died which said select neutral truck had to be towed and differential assembly had to be replaced. *jb | |||
| 06/16/2006 | 23300 | 1 | 03/03/2005 |
| No events leading up to the complete failure of the front differential on a 2003 range rover. i thought this was very unusually for a vehicle with only 23k miles so i did a quick search on the internet to find this a known issue as a result of a bad design on 2003+ newer range rover's so the problem will happen again. the dealership said it was $2,700 repair if off warranty. land rover should have to do a redesign of this problem instead of screwing the owners who will have to pay for the repair of this issue in the future. it also sounds like this is a major safety issue if the problem happens at high speeds. it left me stranded in the middle of the road during a rain downpour. *jb | |||
| 08/09/2005 | 41526 | 2 | 08/11/2003 |
| The first time the front differential went i was pulling onto my street. all of a sudden, out of no where, there was a loud metal on metal grinding noise. i immediately stepped on the brake, but by that time the truck wasn't going anywhere anyway. i put the truck into park, and walked to the house extremely annoyed that this could happen to a new vehicle. i went back out and started the truck and put it into drive, which yielded a loud grinding noise. i had no clue what was wrong, but it was obvious that i wasn't driving anywhere. when the tow truck came for it, it was immovable on it's own. there was no pre-warning to this event, the truck was still under warranty, and land rover, i thought, fixed the problem. however, the same problem occurred again last week in tucson, arizona. (may 06) the truck now has 55,000 miles and is not under warranty. the land rover dealership in tucson wants me to pay $800 to cover the labor to fix it, and they brought that price down from $1400. i am appealing to land rover headquarters, as this is a dangerous problem that was not fixed with the installation of a new differential and driveshaft the first time. if i had been on a highway or stuck in the middle of no where with an infant, this situation could have had serious ramifications. if you would like the old part, please let me know, and i will request it from the auto mall range rover dealership in tucson. however, i cannot promise their cooperation. *jb | |||
| 05/12/2006 | 1 | ||
| I was driving in an area where two freeways merge with my seven year old daughter in the back seat of my 2003 range rover. i was taking her to the doctor as she was feeling ill. all of a sudden, without any warning, the differential broke. i was barely able to get to the side of the freeway. i had to call 911. apparently range rover knows about this defect, but has not issued product recalls. it was an extremely scary event for me and my daughter. *jb | |||
| 11/07/2005 | 26000 | 2 | 07/26/2002 |
| On two occasions my drive shaft and front differential separated. i was driving on the highway in january of 2004 and had 26,000 miles on my car when i experienced a loud grinding noise and lost power to the vehicles. the message center told me to put the car in neutral. i was on a hill and the transmission did not hold . i rolled back into traffic on the off ramp until i came to a somewhat flat part of road and was able to get the emergency brake to hold. it took over two week to have the vehicle fixed land rover would not release the parts to fix my vehicle. the second time happened one week after my 60,000 mile service. i did this service early. the car had 58,000 miles the second time the drive shaft and front differential did the same thing. i experienced a loud grinding noise like the bottom was falling out of the car. i was once again traveling at about 60 miles per hour. i was able to stop with the emergency brake on the side of the highway. i have read many reports of this happening to others twice. i do not understand why their is not a recall for this or a check at each service to detect this defect. both times i was traveling on the highway and put in a potentially dangerous position with my daughter in the car. something needs to be done to prevent others from this experience and the potential dangerous consequences. *jb | |||
| 09/08/2005 | 1 | 04/03/2003 | |
| Bearing failure in front differential: no event leading up to the failure. as i was emerging from the lincoln tunnel in nyc with 4 lanes of traffic on either side, with out any warning my car would not move forward and if i pressed on the gas i heard a very loud grinding noise. i was lucky as i was not going very fast and was able to immediately pull over to the side. if i was on the highway there is a high probability that there could have been a dangerous if not fatal accident. car had to be towed. range rover mount kisco fixed the car at no charge. i was told that there have been other incidences like this with other 2003 range rovers. i asked range rover to notify owners of 2003 range rovers and they told me they are only responsible to fix the automobile. i asked how many incidents there were regarding the bearing in the differential axle and they told me they did not know and no one has the statistics. i called range rover north america and received the same robotic answers. it appears they are not interested in driver's safety but only interested in insuring they make money and are free of all liabilities. they repeatedly asked if i was happy about the service i received. i kept telling them it is not about the service or me. i am here to tell what happened and to try and prevent someone else having the same problem. the next person may not have an opportunity to tell their story. i will do my best to make range rover america take their responsibilities sincerely. i strongly feel range rover should notify the owners of 2003 range rovers and telling them to keep their wheels in alignment and to insure the owners know of the risks involved. *jb | |||
| 02/07/2005 | 33000 | 1 | |
| While driving 25 mph the differential broke. as a result, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 04/14/2008 | 84869 | 1 | 05/15/2006 |
| I was traveling on interstate 75 in the right lane during rush hour. my car started making a loud noise, i pulled over, turned the car off. i started the car and was not able to drive off. my vehicle was towed to landrover dealer and i was informed that my drive shaft had to be replaced. i had to pay $1800+ to fix. this is the second major repair cost. the first was last september i had to replace the transmission. *tr | |||
| 02/03/2008 | 97532 | 2 | 11/26/2007 |
| Driving at 80mph passing a tractor trailer on interstate 380 north, my front axle and drive shaft gave out almost causing me to loose control of vehicle and run into the truck. luckily i was able to get control and guide vehicle to the side of the road. vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed. this is the second time this part has failed on this vehicle as it was repaired by previous owner only 10k miles ago. *tr | |||
| 01/08/2008 | 59201 | 1 | 08/11/2005 |
| (1)excessive noise and vibration at front end of vehicle (2)front differential failure/front driveshaft spline misaligned with input spline on differential. (3)front drive shaft and differential replaced. *tr | |||
| 10/23/2007 | 36008 | 1 | 02/07/2007 |
| I purchased this 2003 range rover with 19,000 miles february 2007. it currently has 36,008 miles and the transfer case differential and drive shaft needed to be replaced. the car had a catastrophic failure stopped at a traffic light, and was in gear at the time. they had to replace the drive shaft and differential. time in service is not the issue with the low miles on this vehicle. the only wear and tear that could occur would be through usage. the warranty is 50,000 miles or 4 years. this vehicle is not even close to the mileage limitation. *tr | |||
| 11/23/2007 | 77000 | 1 | 01/30/2007 |
| Front differential catastrophic failure while driving 65 mph on us 290. 1 adult driver, 1 3 month old boy, 1 4 yr old girl no warning signs. front wheels locked up for a moment almost causing an accident on moderately busy freeway, then was able to have vehicle coast to a stop following loud noise. *tr | |||
| 11/18/2007 | 70000 | 1 | |
| While driving on the highway the car with no previous indication just started making a grinding noise hardly allowing me to pull off to the right. the dealer stated i had to replace the front differential and driveshaft. *tr | |||
| 11/09/2007 | 47000 | 2 | 10/10/2007 |
| I have a 2003 range rover. the front differential completely failed and broke causing the vehicle to be immobilized. i cannot drive or use reverse. this is a known technical service bulletin 540103 and nhtsa item 10000919, however it continues to happen again after being fixed according to some customers. the original owner had it fixed once and i am the second owner, it happened again. my vehicle was bought used last month with 44.8k miles. it now has 47k miles. this is a very important safety issue and should be considered a recall. my vehicle is sitting at the dealership. it is out of the 4 year/50k mile warranty so land rover may or may not fix it. here is a link with more detail on this issue: http://www.rangerovers.net/rrmkiiiremedies.html#diff *tr | |||
| 09/29/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2003 range rover with engine problems including stalling. customer states that one day while driving the vehicle lurched forward made a grinding noise and then lost all power. *kb the mechanic informed the consumer there was a defect with the front differential. according to the dealership, the problem was with the design of the front driveshaft which had no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misalignment placed severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle. | |||
| 10/12/2007 | 62190 | 2 | 02/14/2007 |
| Differential , drive shaft total failure . this has happen to me twice in june of 2007 and oct of 2007. *tr | |||
| 09/26/2007 | 67767 | 4 | 12/21/2006 |
| My 2003 land rover range rover hse had a failure of the front differential spilnes, axle shaft, differential unit and drive shaft which caused total loss of vehicle propulsion at 60 miles per hour on a busy highway during rush hour traffic. the vehicle had to be towed to land rover north scottsdale where it still sits because neither the extended warranty company nor the land rover dealership will claim responsibility for the repairs which are in excess of $4,000. i also had a failure of the retractable steering wheel which resulted in a diagnosis of having to replace the entire steering column. *jb | |||
| 03/09/2006 | 59102 | 1 | 03/15/2005 |
| Read diff and driveshaft. *tr | |||
| 03/06/2007 | 46000 | 1 | 08/16/2004 |
| 2003 range rover hse. approximately 46,000 miles. within the 50,000 mile warranty but out of time warranty by about 6 months. were taking a freeway exit when the splines on the front driveshaft stripped and failed. range rover would not cover the problem and did not let us know that this was a known problem. we took the vehicle to tricounty transmission in clackamas oregon for repair where they had another range rover on the hoist with the same problem. they ordered a drive shaft and told us that the yoke had slight wear from the stripped driveshaft but did not need replacing. the total was between $700 and $800. on april 14th, 2007 ot stripped out again. we were then told of the new custom driveshafts for solving this problem.*ak | |||
| 10/02/2006 | 72000 | 1 | 12/01/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55 mph on the highway, there was grinding noise followed by the illumination of the neutral light on the instrument cluster panel. the contact managed to pull the vehicle over without incident. it was towed to a dealer who determined the front differential was fractured and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not contacted. updated 10/18/2006 - the consumer was told by the dealer that the design of the front driveshaft, which has no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misaligned puts severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle. *nm updated 10/25/2006 - *nm | |||
| 05/05/2006 | 30 | 1 | 02/25/2005 |
| Truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the road traveling at approximately 40 mph. i was unable to move the vehicle once it stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. the truck was immobile and made a severe grinding noise. a cab driver had to push my truck to the side of the road for safety. there was no warning light until the truck died which said select neutral truck had to be towed and differential assembly had to be replaced. *jb | |||
| 08/09/2005 | 41526 | 2 | 08/11/2003 |
| The first time the front differential went i was pulling onto my street. all of a sudden, out of no where, there was a loud metal on metal grinding noise. i immediately stepped on the brake, but by that time the truck wasn't going anywhere anyway. i put the truck into park, and walked to the house extremely annoyed that this could happen to a new vehicle. i went back out and started the truck and put it into drive, which yielded a loud grinding noise. i had no clue what was wrong, but it was obvious that i wasn't driving anywhere. when the tow truck came for it, it was immovable on it's own. there was no pre-warning to this event, the truck was still under warranty, and land rover, i thought, fixed the problem. however, the same problem occurred again last week in tucson, arizona. (may 06) the truck now has 55,000 miles and is not under warranty. the land rover dealership in tucson wants me to pay $800 to cover the labor to fix it, and they brought that price down from $1400. i am appealing to land rover headquarters, as this is a dangerous problem that was not fixed with the installation of a new differential and driveshaft the first time. if i had been on a highway or stuck in the middle of no where with an infant, this situation could have had serious ramifications. if you would like the old part, please let me know, and i will request it from the auto mall range rover dealership in tucson. however, i cannot promise their cooperation. *jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 03/07/2007 | 70000 | ||
| Drivetrain failure.l.r. kept down shifting before not pulling at all. drivetrain repaired but damage was done to engine after high speed at lower gear.land rover switched engines and forged signature to get pay from warrenty co.after i refused to have them do any more work for me after they lied to me about repairs.engine was rebuilt after l.r.told me they do not rebuild engines.i feel that l.r. went through somuch trouble to cover a recall.drivetrain was repaired before recall and those repairs failed also.recall was put out in jan 09,i got my r.r.back same month with switched engines. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE) | |||
| 10/23/2007 | 36008 | 1 | 02/07/2007 |
| I purchased this 2003 range rover with 19,000 miles february 2007. it currently has 36,008 miles and the transfer case differential and drive shaft needed to be replaced. the car had a catastrophic failure stopped at a traffic light, and was in gear at the time. they had to replace the drive shaft and differential. time in service is not the issue with the low miles on this vehicle. the only wear and tear that could occur would be through usage. the warranty is 50,000 miles or 4 years. this vehicle is not even close to the mileage limitation. *tr | |||
| 04/18/2007 | 32000 | 1 | 01/18/2007 |
| Sudden failure of the transfer case causing instant loss of power. this is a known design flaw with 2003, 2004 and 2005 range rovers. this can be a very dangerous flaw when pulling out into traffic or crossing and intersection. i don't believe they have re-engineered a permanent fix for this issue they are just putting the old faulty design back on when one fails. this is a very dangerous problem that someone has to make them redesign a permanent fix for. *tr | |||