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Good luck.
I can probably teach classes on Lemon Law at this point... Good luck with your car.
I felt the same way you did until my warranty expired last August (at 50k miles) and not even 2k miles after that the rear differential had to be fixed. I've had it in the shop more times in the last 6 months than I ever had it in there for the 4.5 years I've had it now. I have a 2004 SE with just over 59K miles now and the service engine light has been on for 2 weeks. I need to take it in but I'm scared of what the "problem" will be this time. I'm just counting down the days to build up enough money for a down payment on another car to trade this is before the engine goes (as seems to be the case with our trusty Landy's). I wanted to keep this truck for a long time... but the maintenance costs are just way too expensive!
I hope yours stays good and trusty. They are very nice trucks other wise!
~cw
I owe more than what its worth and I can't imagine any dealership wanting to take it as a trade after reading these forums!
I mentioned to the technician that this is a common problem with the Freelanders. His response?? "Yes, we have had to repair several Freelanders for the same problem." I asked if LRNA was doing anything about it, recalling the vehicles and he said No.
Is anyone going forward with a class action lawsuit? What kind of attorney should I try to seek out for professional guidance? It seems that what I've read on here the only time action gets taken is once the engine actually fails.
Please advise if you can. Thank you.
~cw
I encourage you to call my attorney - not sure where you're located but really helped me when no other atty I spoke to would. They have offices all over the country as well - check out their website at lemonauto.com/lemonlaw.
Consumer Legal Services, LLC
(888) 435-1474 - Nick Nita (handled my case)
I truly mean this when I say I wish you luck with your car. I know exactly how you feel.
Did the engine have to blow BEFORE you can claim it's a lemon? Did you pay to have anything fixed or what happened after they blew the engine for you? Was the fact they blew the engine the key to your success?
You do not have to have a faulty engine (blown) to claim it a lemon. That's what I learned - that and more! I can teach classes in Lemon Law which indicates how much research I did on the internet when the dealer blew my engine. When this happened last December, I didn't know what to do because the dealer didn't want to be responsible. And besides that, they claimed my timing belt blew (which it did) which they said had nothing to do with the coolant problem. That's when I thought something was not right and began to research. The coolant problem is what caused the timing belt to go because the engine was so damn hot - we're talking a year of this problem. My attorney got LR North America to do a 'purchase buy-back' with my car based on the many times I had the car serviced WHILE it was under warranty - not based on what happened in Dec. So basically, the car was a lemon the entire time I was driving it! I made copies of all of my work orders (which was a big stack) and gave them to my atty. It was then that he saw I had a case. There are several ways the Lemon Law can apply to a vehicle. That's why I highly suggest talking to either my atty or someone else who is experienced in lemon law.
Any other questions, please ask - I feel very lucky to have my $20,000 check to go shopping for a car!
Consumer Legal Services
lemonauto.com
Good Luck!
But it all came to an end the last week when the engine died. On a road trip the oil light came on so I so I stop put in oil. When I got back on the interstate the light came back on and the power was dropping. The car was towed back to Boise to the dealer. Metal was found in the oil. They said it would need a new engine. That would cost around $8500. Yikes. I checked with another shop and they could do a rebuild engine for $6500.
So now the Freelander is for sale for parts.
This was my second Land Rover. I should have learned from the first one
Lou
In February of ’09 I had a check engine light come on, and it cost me over a thousand to fix (New air intake). The truck was still under warranty but they told me the warranty doesn't cover normal wear and tear? 3 weeks later a different air intake failed, another grand. A month after that (and just after the warrany expired)the locks froze and it cost me almost 2 grand to get that fixed. In May, the truck started to overheat and I took it to an independant Land Rover mechanic (I had enough of the dealer). He told me I had to replace the timing belt, almost 3 grand! July 21st my truck wouldn’t start, I then had it towed to the dealer who told me it was the timing belt. I called the Rover Mechanic who just fixed that and he agreed to pick it up and bring it to his shop to look at. He called us today to say the cam shaft was broken and the engine probably needs to be replaced and even then he wouldn’t guarantee the truck was fit to drive. The cost $12,076.00! We owe 10,000.00 it’s blue book value is 5,645.00-in working condition! It has 86 or 87 thousand miles on it.
I loved the FL but couldn't risk having the engine die on me. I too owed $10k on it and took quite the loss to trade it in.
I wish you the best of luck with yours. Remember that the engines for the Freelanders aren't made anymore and if you do decide to put one in, it will be a rebuilt one which is probably why your mechanic wouldn't guarantee it.
:sick:
I got a letter from Landrover in the mail a few weeks ago to let me know about a recall on the fuel pump. I called my local Landrover dealer and took my receipts showing where I had to replace that too. They told me to have my machanic to give me an itemized statement of repairs so I can be reimbursed. I did. Then I emailed it to the dealer and he told me the machanics itemized statement was too high ($1800) and he would have a hard time getting it reimbursed. He told me to have them reduce the amount to $800 or less on my statement so he would be able to get it reimbused for me. I could not believe that! It cost me $1800, not $800 or less! They are a joke! :mad:
You might be able to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, but I'm not sure where they classify the mileage. If anything should qualify as a clunker, it's a Freelander. Good luck.
My 04 FL started doing the same thing with the temp guage. I paid to have the thermostat fixed and was doing the same thing with anti freeze. Until the fateful day the temp guage kept doing it and I was right by the dealer so I dropped it off. They said they "thought the head gaskets were bad but couldn't be sure without tearing the whole engine apart" at $110/hr taking approximately 10hours to do it. Worst case scenario was the engine was bad and needed to be replaced. Did you buy the truck outright or is it leased? Most dealers will take it as trade (don't mention past problems). I think going rate is about $6k so you'll take a hit but maybe you can finance that into another car? It's better than having a truck that won't run! Good luck to you!!!!
I leased my 04 Freelander. My options were: pay off the lease early - I owed 3 payments left on the lease, totaling about $1500 OR turn it in at the dealer and take about a $4k loss. I owed just over $10k and the dealer was going to give about $6k for trade in. That seems to be the going rate. Anyway, I turned the truck back into the bank with a check for the last 3 payments.
I would definitely try the cash for clunkers program as mentioned earlier though I think the mileage might not qualify. They should accept these things based on quality and get them ALL off the road. They are truly a safety hazard!!! Whatever you do, don't mention that it's acting up to the dealership. If that thing is still running and doesn't have a service engine light on, get rid of it NOW.
Just my two cents for what it's worth. Good luck!
I didn't know the cash for clunkers needed title in hand... so that means they won't take trade ins? Seems to defeat the purpose. But I think the mileage may have been a factor too. I thought my sticker had mileage at 18 city/ 21 highway.
Wish you the best!
Consumer Legal Services (310) 477-1474 (talk to Jenn or Nick)
I was in the same positioin as you and many others are - I got $20,000 for the car, and they paid the legal fees and my residual loan off seperately. I hope you get a resolution like I did.
Zayra Cabot
I'd be interested in some real life solutions -- I don't think the "lemon laws" apply in my circumstance as the problems happened when the car was out of warranty. As this is a consistent problem with this engine, has there been any luck with a class action suit?? Any recommendations?
A legal firm specializing in Lemon Laws suggested I check the NHTSA website re: defect investigations. I filed a complaint. I'm not sure if it helps, but a breakdown in traffic is not "safe" and I would think if everyone who has had an engine problem would file a report -- they might initiate an investigation.
-Both rear window motors need replacing.
-Sunroof assembly and motor needs replacing. I was driving down the road with the sunroof open when I got caught in a rain storm. Went to put the sunroof down and it would not budge. Took it into the LR mechanic and was told the only way to put it down would be for the mechanic to push on it for the outside and break it, thus requiring a whole new assembly.
-Harmonic balancer found off and banging around inside of the engine. Found by a non LR mechanic, probably part of the god awful clanging that was present from almost the time of purchase.
-Coolant leak (no idea where it is leaking to, but I always have extra in the back of the car now.)
-Now the oil light is on. Just brought it to the LR mechanic last week for "expert diagnosis". Was told, (after the mechanic took off the oil fill cap and looked into it with a flash light) that the engine is coated with oil sludge and needs to be replaced.
Don't know what I'm going to do with the vehicle. Part of me wants to try to run some oil cleaner through, fix the windows and get rid of it. The other part screams for me to run fast and far away; to just get rid of it now and cut my losses. Please if you are considering buying one of these vehicles, don't. If you have one and are starting to have problems, get rid of it. If you have one and aren't having problems yet, get rid of it. I kept saying to myself, I'll just fix this last problem and then it will be okay. This last problem turned into the next problem and into the next. This car has been nothing but a headache.
Pay close attention to the coolant leak. Mine started leaking in Feb of this year and same thing "nobody could figure out where it was going". I spent $600 to have the thermostat replaced as that was the only "logical explanation" at the time. 2 months later my temp guage spiked twice (I too had coolant constantly in the truck as I was going through about 1 bottle of it a week) and I took it into the dealer to have it looked at when I was then told I either had 1) head gasket failure or 2) complete engine failure and would need to be replaced. More than likely the coolant has been leaking into the oil, causing the "sludge". I chose to get rid of it while it was still running.
Good luck with what you decide to do...
Ford sold Land Rover to Tata back in March, 2008. link
I have a true mudpuddle in that engine noise, windows and sunroof have a mind of their own, the muffler blew smoke for two miles and I thought it was on fire (but it just blew a hole in the muffler large enough to put my hand in there after I paid $60 for them to tell me that I had emission problems and $700.00 repairs to the coolant system), and ty rods and bearings are making noise.
In Minnesota, when it gets cold, the transmission runs through several codes if you drive it without warming the engine to the point of burning enough gas to get to work before leaving the driveway. The fuel pump recall was installed, but I still call it my slurpee because it uses gas so fast, and the engine coolant system is a real screamer.
The cost of this is not just ridiculous, it is an insult. Landrover dealers are so insulting to deal with on this vehicle it is embarrassing. Can anyone tell me if there are options others have used to make the dealers honor fixing this horrid thing? Is there anything that I can join in to make the Landrover manufacturer repair their mud puddle? One thing ruins another along the way and it has just kept going. Help!
My oil never turned milky. I was checking it almost daily for a change or sludge starting to form and I never had any of it though I was filling the coolant container weekly or more. Yours does have sludge?
Just had the timing belt and other things done in November (by my regular mechanic). He had the valve covers off at that time and said the inside actually looked pretty good. Although, the coolant didn't start leaking until Feb/March of this year.
So I'm not really sure. Is the engine really coated with sludge? Can that really be diagnosed by looking into the oil with a flash light? Do I really want to pay for "more detailed expert diagnosis" just to be told, "yes, indeed, the engine needs to be replaced."? If the engine does really have sludge in it, is there anything (cheap) that can be done to limp it along, so that I can at least get a little
bit of money for it as a trade in before it totally dies?
I am officially uninvited to ever again returning to the LR dealership in Sarasota, FL, as of today. Was told by the service manager that they don't want customers like me (customers who ask questions and don't just blindly fork over thier credit cards at any monetary charges they throw out).