martinfiattech
Member Since: 13 Nov 2013
Location: leicester
Posts: 422
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| Warranty repairs and damage caused by dealer | |
Hello,
I wonder if you can help me with some problems I am having with my Landrover 90 (YS11 HWD) 2011, which I bought second hand from a private seller in Sheffield a couple
of weeks ago. It has done 23434 miles and has a full Guy Salmon (Sheffield) service history. It has never been used off road or for towing by the previous owner.
It has taken me 8 months of searching to find my ideal vehicle, which I plan to keep for at least 10 years. When I bought it all appeared well and the vehicle drove
well on an initial road test without any problems apart from a slight rattle from clutch/gearbox at idle. I have been reading up on this site and noticed
it was within chassis range for clutch rattles. There were also a few rusty bits but with warranty still outstanding I understood these to be covered. After a further
road test I arranged to purchase the vehicle and fetched it a week later. On the journey home it crunched into 3rd gear once when cold; for the rest of the 82 mile
journey home there were no problems.
I am an automotive technician myself, and took the car into work the next day to check it over. From cold, the 3rd gear worked ok on this occasion.
Three days later on the way to work again from cold start 3rd gear crunched going up the box, and I became concerned. I again took the vehicle into work to check it
over. The diagnostic tester showed no problems, however while the car was on the ramp I noticed a patch of oil appeared on the floor. Oil was dripping out of the
gearbox extension to transfer box area. I checked the oil level which was satisfactory.
I made an appointment with my local landrover dealer Sturgess Leicester and the car was booked in for 20th November for an inspection with the problems listed as
below. I also informed them the car is umarked and I would like it back the same way. While in their care the car covered 12 or so miles on road test.
IDENTIFED AREAS OF CORROSION:
corrosion to windscreen surround,
corrosion to front bulkhead,
corrosion on windscreen cappings,
corrosion on lower left rear door,
corrosion on rear crossmember,
corrosion on chassis generally,
corrosion on battery box under vehicle,
corrosion on inner wheel arch brackets front,
corrosion on front panel grill, bumper, bonnet shuts and bonnet stay put.
poor looking spot welds on nsr / osr panels.
IDENTIFIED MECHANICAL PROBLEMS:
timing case damp slight oil misting at base.
sump rusty,
gearbox oil leak,
diff lock inoperative,
notchy into second gear feels like it won't go in sometimes, other times perfect,
crunches into third intermittently only when cold first thing,
gear box rattles/clutch rattles,
clunk on take up of drive, worse if driven quickly,
clunk through drive line intermittently.
Sturgess looked in to all above faults. I have given them a full copy of my rectification report, and can email to you if required. They had the car for a day in which
they did free off the diff lock (stuck due to not being used). It did take me a couple of goes to get it from high range to low range but now it's been worked a few
times all is well.
We discussed the clutch problem and I showed them a copy of one of your technical bulletins ref clutch noise. They agreed to fix both that and the oil leak. I asked
them about the gearbox selection issue and was told by their technician it was something I would have to live with. I wasn't happy with this response.
With regard to the corrosion, they tried to suggest that it was caused by stone chips. I don't believe it is possible to get stone chips on the back section of a front bumper, especially as there is none on the front of it. They said they would email Landrover regarding all of the corrosion issues raised.
I booked the car in for the work to be completed week commencing 2nd December, and left with my vehicle. At this time it was dark, but a couple of days later when I
was able to view the vehicle in daylight I noticed a large scratch on the NS hard top and dent to NS sill.
When I took the car back in on 2nd December I mentioned the damage and they said they would sort it out. A couple of days later they contacted me to say the clutch has
a mechanical fault and would be replaced and the gearbox repaired under warranty.
I collected the vehicle on Friday evening and was told that all mechanical repairs were done, however they were unable to do the windscreen until after Christmas due
to workload. The front bumper had been replaced and the front grill had been resprayed, but there was a scratch on it which I showed the receptionist. They said they
would fix that along with the previous damage.
The car was quiet with the new clutch however, the pedal felt poor and they had not fully bled the clutch. I also noticed second gear was still notchy. I put the
vehicle on the ramp to inspect it and found the main body loom from o/s fuse box was not secured to the gearbox mounts and was rubbing on gearbox, which is obviously a
fire risk. Also the crank sensor heat sheild was loose and rubbing on the loom. There was also spilt clutch fluid over the bulkhead.
An inspection of the body work revealed more new scratches:
front grill
o,s,r by fuel flap
o,s,f, door
o,s,r wing
o,s, sill and dented.
and another 12 miles on it
I didn't use the vehicle again until the following evening. When I took it for a drive the third gear still crunched. Despite Sturgess road testing the vehicle for a
total of 24 miles they still cant find fault with the gear box.
I will be returning to them on Monday morning to discuss the outstanding problems and I would appreciate any advice/assistance you can offer. Given the age and low
mileage of the vehicle I am particularly concered that the gearbox issue has been there from the start and repair will not resolve the issue. A replacement gearbox
would seem a more reliable solution to me.
Yours hopefully
Martin fitzgerald
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21st Dec 2013 2:07pm
If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
