Thursday, October 15, 2015

Land Rover Discovery TDV6 engine failures making headlines

Land Rover Discovery 3 owners for some time now have had some worrying questions about the popular TDV6 engine used in the Land Rover Discovery 3. Sudden catastrophic engine failures linked with broken crankshafts have happened often on vehicles in South Africa, UK and Australia. With such wide range and frequency of occurrences it seems to point to the engine design and construction rather than servicing. Forums like 4x4community and Disco3.co.uk have had many threads on this topic.

In 2014 there was some confirmation of this problem when Land Rover published a Service bulletin SSM71816 CRANKSHAFT/CRANKSHAFT BEARING CONCERNS - TDV6 DIESEL ENGINE. According to the bulletin the issue and action is as follows:
"Issue: 
Crankshaft/crankshaft bearing failure - TDv6 Diesel Engine. 
Cause: 
Low incidence of crankshaft failure are being encountered, caused mainly by incorrect location of the main bearing shells during assembly, or through rotation of the shells during normal use. A new procedure has been implemented to ensure: 
- more rapid resolution of customer concerns, and 
- greater visibility of failure modes in order to improve repair process and parts delivery. 

Action: 
For any suspected crankshaft/bearing failure, please contact your local Dealer Technical Supportor FRED team for details of the enhanced customer handling procedure. 
The list below summarises typical symptoms of crankshaft/bearing failure, but please contact your DTS/FRED team if in any doubt as they will be pleased to offer assistance: 
· Crankshaft is seized, engine cannot be turned either via starter motor or crankshaft pulley bolt. 
· Oil sump or engine cylinder block is holed, with oil leakage and/or metallic debris found on engine under-tray. 
· Engine makes a loud ‘rumbling/knocking’ sound when running which worsens as the engine is placed under load. The engine oil pressure warning light may flash or be continuously illuminated, especially at low engine speeds."
A recent article on iol.co.za titled Unease grows over Land Rover engine, highlights the problem and refers to the efforts by one owner to seek compensation from Land Rover after laying a claim with the Motor Industry Ombudsman.

"Land Rover Discovery owner Margot Birbeck has laid a complaint with the Motor Industry Ombudsman after a specific crankshaft bearing in her vehicle’s engine failed, causing the engine to seize. 
Birbeck claimed that she had discovered that “hundreds of Land Rover engines” were failing as a result of the fault, which was ascribed to the incorrect location of the main bearing shells during assembly, or through rotation of the shells during normal use.
Models impacted included the Discovery 3 and 4, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, Birbeck said. This was confirmed by Jaguar Land Rover South Africa."

The majority of vehicles affected by this problem are already out of warranty, especially all the Land Rover Discovery 3 models that were replaced in 2009 by the Discovery 4 model. This leaves owners in a precarious position being out of warranty and most often having left the formal service network for independent service centers. The question is does it matter? If it is a design or assembly fault then it needs to be fixed regardless? That is what you would expect from a leading profitable brand like Land Rover who rightly and proudly celebrates the fact that the majority of Land Rovers ever built are still on the road.

11 comments:

  1. Is there any preventative action that can be taken? like replacing the bearings before the apocalypse?

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  2. Estou com esse problema tenho uma Discovery 3 e tenho uma ofina especialista em Land rover estou tentando corrigir esse erro de projeto ou montagem de alguém poder me ajudar?
    Contato@landrecreio.com.br

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  3. My 2011 disco 4 bought in UK just had a main engine failure, the motor needs to be replaced... which authority would you recommend me to contact ?

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  4. It happened my Land Rover 2012 (120 890 kilometers) last week... What should i do?

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  5. Problem still exists on D4 and is getting worse. I'm seeing daily occurrences on the Facebook owners page, and it happened to me as well, 7 weeks out of Warranty, and a requested £20K bill. JLR Customer Services are not helpful at all, and it ruins the brand. Reliable and indestructible British Engineering? My backside. South Korea make more reliable cars.

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  6. We have experienced exactly the same, and now the dealership is giving us the run around . We purchased the vehicle second hand directly from a Dealership , they neglected to inform us of this latent issue , which is concealment. we purchased the vehicle for 220K and now the quote we received is 240K to fix .. i feel we were taken advantage of and this is tat amount to hold us hostage.
    This failure occurred 2 weeks after our extended warranty lapsed and they are blaming , low oil pressure as the cause ( oil pump not providing the correct pressure)...

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  7. Happened to my 2010 RRS 3.0TDV6 at 64k. Despite being out of warranty my dealership was very helpful in getting the engine replaced as a goodwill gesture. Still a very worrying experience. If you have had an engine failure you have more chance of getting a goodwill gesture fix from LR if you:
    - bought the car from the main dealer network
    - have it regularly serviced at a main dealer
    - are a previous LR customer
    - liaise with the service dept in a calm, collected manner (they are less likely to be willing help you if you go in there guns blazing)

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  8. 2015 discovery 4 with 54000 miles just went pop. Bought used from Main dealer, serviced by main dealer throughout and engine just replaced free of charge by the main dealer. Good service although now unsure how long top hang on to it...?

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  9. I only used my car for commuting to and from work, which is about a 10 minute drive. It was serviced regularly (who wouldn't when you spend $120k on it) and in fact, was serviced 2 DAYS BEFORE MY ENGINE SIEZED. The first time this happened, I had my brand new car for a few months and Range Rover supposedly 'fixed' the problem. Yet, 3.5 years later, my engine is completely stuffed. What I want to know is, why was the engine not replaced the first time they found an issue?! Range Rover will not help me anymore as my car is 6 months out of my 3 year warranty and only offered to install a whole new engine for $50k. PLUS! There are bulletins put out by RR acknowledging that it is a manufacturing issue. I'm disappointed as I would have bought other cars from RR, but they have shown such
    shocking customer service, that I am more than happy to RID MYSELF of this car.

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  10. Salut à tous.
    Propriétaire depuis un an d'un Disco 3, acheté d'occasion à un garage suisse qui m'entube- suis une femme seule de passé 50 ans qui vient acheter sa voiture seule.
    Mais:
    Voyagé durant des années dans tout le Sahara occidental en hors-piste, connaissant la mécanique.
    Le garage, Pascal Hidber/Suisse.
    Des serpillières sous les blocs phares, découvertes parce que mes ampoules phares pètent sans arrêt.
    Un compresseur maquillé pas d'origine qui lâche, un document d'expertise jamais reçu, un coffre qui ne s'ouvrira jamais, une rotule de direction qui s'avère être en fin de course dans du hors-piste.
    Et mon moteur, bloqué d'un coup sur route, impossible de le tourner à la clé.
    Le garage Pascal Hidber, par écrit:
    Je ne me suis jamais autant marré en vendant une voiture à une bonne femme.
    Je vais porter plainte contre ce garage.
    C'est une honte!!!
    Que ce garage me poursuive pour diffamation, super!!!
    Et Land-Rover, une arnaque parfaite!!!
    NDelhaye / Suisse

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    Replies
    1. No wonder the landrovers all types with this engine sell so cheap,upto 90% free fall from purchase price

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