Rover Reliability
Submitted: Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 07:03
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Greggo
Morning all
Upon doing some research (drive.com. and nrma namely) they suggest if one is considering buying a landrover (such as early model disco) "you should also invest in a good pair of walking shoes and mechanic".
Not being a smarta$$ here but have people had many expensive repairs or major probs with these vehicles? Would you buy them again?
The rovers are awesome offroad, have had autos available for years and give great economy (tdi)
Regards
greg
Reply By: kesh - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:08
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:08
Having both a '98 tdi disco and a '97 75 cruiser, both from new, I can say they have both been 100% reliable. However I must say it took about 1hr. to replace the timing belt on the 75 whilst the tdi is a good 6-8hr. job.
Would I buy a new disco? - no. It is too "electronic" for someone who does all their own services/repairs (if needed!) I think they will both "see me out!"
It is sad how maligned the disco is, my SIL had a '93 3.5v8 which apart from a dreadfull thirst had no problems over the 10yrs. he owned it. But they do not like neglect in the servicing department.
kesh
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Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:50
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:50
kesh, I agree with your summation of the 3.5l V8 and the thirst. I had one for 11 years and it was great. I think it pales into insignificance on the economy front though in comparison to some of the bigger petrols in 4bys now. Only did the brakes and the bearings of the gear box input shaft in the time we had it. Wish I kept it as a play vehicle or second.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:29
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 08:29
It has been sugested before that this is why they put a DVD in Rover vehicles now as standard. Give you something to do whilst waiting for the tow truck LOL...
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AnswerID:
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Reply By: rolande- Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:11
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:11
G'Day Greg,
Mate at work has just bought a TDi Disco with 297,000 on it. The previous owner kept fastidious records in the owners log book, and had used the vehicle to tour all over the country.
Interesting reading,
Engine rebuild at 139,000, (
Canning stock route)
Gearbox rebuild at 178,000, (Central Australia)
Timing belts X 4, last one at 260,000
etc, etc.
Rolande
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 23:52
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 23:52
worst thing about that is it let go big time when it was most needed. Ramp it towing Kalgoorlie didnt hesitate when I asked what NEW vehicle they do most remote recoveries in LANDROVER
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Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 12:06
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 12:06
Danny the mechanic at
Birdsville Auto told me the same thing.
The vehicle he gets called out into the Simpson to repair or tow the most is Landrovers various products, Disco's and Defenders etc.
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Reply By: Steve - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:20
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:20
had a '97 built V8 for 5 years and no trouble at all. Big fourby thirst for medium size car and parts prices in the stratosphere persuaded me to go for a LC100. It does seem like there are a few lemons though and the cliches some of us pick up from lazy journos who love to give the Pom a serve ignore the fact that there are few if any more capable off-roaders. Particularly the diesels. A lovely car to drive but prices? ouch..
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Follow Up By: Steve - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:25
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 10:25
btw, some idiot side-swiped my Cruiser along four panels on the gravel in the
Barrington Tops. I had to wait 6 weeks for parts to arrive from Japan. So don't tell me Tojo parts are available everywhere, anytime and anywhere. Then over two weeks for repair at Funnels in Erina near Gosford, NSW. Steve did a top, top job and one or to other things too. Highly recommend them.
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Follow Up By: garrycol - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 19:16
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 19:16
prices are no better or worse than any other 4wd - the stealers rip you off just as the Toyota, Nissan and Mazda dealers do - there is a huge aftermarket network and a network of getting new parts a lot cheaper. My V8 is uses about the same fuel as a v6 Pajero or Prado and a bit less than a petrol cruiser or parol. Again reliability is no better or worse - as bought of the showroom floor, a landover is probably an bit better offroad but after the mods are done to the japanese 4x4s they are all about even - if you want something big then a cruiser or patrol is the way to go - something a bit more manageable then a landie is it.
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Follow Up By: Steve - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 07:39
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 07:39
As my V8 was near the end of the series I, they'd probably ironed out a lot of the problems we hear about, mythical or not. Then again, teething troubles are a common issue with any car. For local driving I'd do
well to get 20L/100 whereas my neighbour has a Pajero and gets 15L/100. Maybe the newer models are more fuel efficient.
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Follow Up By: Steve - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 07:44
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 07:44
btw, a new remote key for the LR was $290 the same for the LC was $131. Garry is right in that there are thriving aftermarket and specialist dealers not connected with LR or Toyota where parts are cheaper.
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Follow Up By: garrycol - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 12:35
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 12:35
I think Steve is a bit of a lead foot - I have had my May 94 V8 from new and have kept fuel records the whole time - I have averaged 17l/100km over 100,000 km. The best I get is 13l/100km for expressway driving at 110kph - around town about 17-18 and 4wd about 20l/100km and the worst was towing another large car on a car trailer where I got 22l/100km.
Likewise I bought a remote for my landrover for $45 second hand - new was $195 from the stealers.
The point I am making is that Steve and I have been driving similar vehicles and have different experiences - the same applies to all vehicles - it pays to
shop around - even among the dealers and fuel usage is so variable to be almost meaningless - one thing is for sure - a bigger engined cruiser or patrol pulling a bigger heavier body is gotta use more fuel than the smaller Landrover - no matter what you hear.
If I had my time again - I would definitely have gone diesel discovery. Not as fast at the lights but on the road they go really
well.
Gazzz
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Follow Up By: Steve - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 16:13
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 16:13
Not been a leadfoot for many a yeaar now, mate. I'd get 450ks to a 90 L tank in the Disco and that's doing
well. Having said that, most of that is local suburban driving. Then again, the same driving gets me 500ks out of the Cruiser's (6 cyl 4.5) 90L tank. I was a member of the Landrover club for 3 years and 20L/100 was considered average. Members did all come from
Sydney suburbs and we're talking everyday driving here. I'd definitely agree regarding the TD5/TDi though. Might cost a few grand more but i'll tell you what, by the end of my three years in the club everybody but me had a diesel. If I did expresway driving it would either be mixed with city driving or towing so can't say what I'd get just expressway alone. They're bloody good figures for a Disco mate. Are you in the country? If you're anywhere between
Sydney and the Central Coast let me know who tunes it for you.
btw, Landrover at Broadmeadow,
Newcastle quoted me that $290 for that key/remote.
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 23:55
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 23:55
Its not crap steve. I nearly lost a wheel on the GCR stuffrd wheel bearing sheared bolts etc etc. limped it back to
yulara and got back at 6am and it was going by early afternoon because all the fleet vehicles are yota and the parts were on the shelf
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Reply By: ROTORD - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 12:15
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 12:15
Hello All
I have owned a 1994 Series 1 Disco V8 petrol for five years , in the
Pilbara . No problems . Compared to the LC100 I think they have similar off road capabilities but the Disco has better vision and
suspension feedback while being equally comfortable . The Disco has a bit less internal space , but is a lot easier in
parking and manouvering . Cruising at 120 km/hr , two up , longrange fuel , lots of camping gear , aircon on , I burn 16.7 ltrs/100km .Aircon off , 15.5ltrs/100km.Thats with 2 Hiclones and no roof rack . Would I buy another Disco: definately , but that is in spite of the increasing swag of electronics not because of them .
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Reply By: garrycol - Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 at 12:49
Reply By: angler - Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 22:20
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 at 22:20
I have had two disco's. The first a second hand 1984 V8 three door, went to the cape a couple of times and never had a problem of any sort. It liked petrol and about 450k's for the tank full. Never towed anything other than a trailer. Second was a new 1998 automatic TDI. Great car twice the range of the V8, towed a smaller van really
well with great economy. Went lots of
places with van in tow and to the cape with trailer in tow. Never had a problem of any sort. Sold it with about 90K on the clock as we upgraded to a larger van as the disco had very limited tow ball ratings. Now own a 3 litre patrol auto and quite happy with it.
Landrover were first with 4WD, first with constant 4WD, first with disks all round, first with a
hill decent, first with an auto 4WD probably first with a few other things as
well. Lots of others have followed on later and sometimes with better methods. I would buy another TDI but not a later version as the electronics are not up to the standard of other 4WD's. If the idiots at landrover australia had upgraded the tow bar specs I would probably still had the TDI. Warranty was also a bit of a problem as in australia the paint warranty was two years, the rest of the world it was six years, go figure!! I did have a small problem with rust in a small area of the rear door panel ( about 1sq cm). I fixed it myself for next to nothing.
Parts are a problem until you find a decent after market supplier. eg new timing belt only around $200.00 plus from dealer and from memory about $60.00 from after market supplier. Same thing exactly..
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Follow Up By: G.T. - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 11:49
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 11:49
Angler-- just out of interest what was the allowable tow ball weight of your disco? regards G.T.
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Follow Up By: angler - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 12:21
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 12:21
GT.
Both my disco's had maximum ball weights of 150Kg. The later ones (TD5) have been upgraded to 250Kg which is a more realistic figure. The original figure was 120Kg and this was upgraded, don't know when or how.
Funny thing about Landrover, the TDI had a ball weight of 150Kg and the range rover had a ball weight of 250Kg. Exactly the same towbar and as far as I could tell by lookin the same chassis and tyres.
Go figure!!!
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Follow Up By: Member - Landie - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 18:47
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 18:47
Howdy
The following is worth noting regarding tow-ball weights. My Defender has an after-market ARB towbar which originally had a compliance plate certifying it to a maximum static ball weight of 175kg. The towbar meets the Australian Design Standard AS 4177.
Landrover will approve a towball weight on the Defender up to 250kg providing it meets the ADR.
I had ARB reissue a compliance plate certifying the ball weight to 250kg.
Worth checking, if this is the case for the Discovery.
Regards
Landie
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Follow Up By: angler - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 19:55
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 19:55
Landie,
Believe me I sent a lot of letters to landrover australia and others about the problem. I even have a letter sent from Landrover about the weight problem and how they see it. They actually said to sell the TDI and purchase a new model. Landrovers answer is that the standard in Europe was a maximum of 150Kg on the ball and this should relate to a maximum of 7% of total weight of the vehicle being towed.
Seems they changed their mind when the new one came out.
Get on to the caravam
forum and
check about the TDI towbar and you will see there are lots of people out there who can't understand the logic of Mr Landrover.
Don't get me started on landrover bureaucratic B.S.
TJM told me over the phone they could upgrade the TJM bar to 250Kg and all I need to do was to drive the disco in and they would remove the plate and put on a new one. After a 20Km drive they changed their mind and told me they couldn't. Wont go there again either.
I eventually changed the bar for one made by Trail Boss and it actually stated 350Kg maximum load on the bar. (The handbook says different)
Quite frankly, they are a great vehicle spoiled by the idiots in Landrove Australia.
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Follow Up By: Member - Landie - Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 at 08:44
Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 at 08:44
Hi Angler
My bar is also made by Trail Boss (marketed by ARB) and this is the one I had a new compliance plate issue for, rated to 250kg.
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Reply By: Steve - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 08:35
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 08:35
there's your answer Greggo. Save your money on the shoes and go for a TDi.
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Reply By: Member - Landie - Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 11:45
Tuesday, Jun 14, 2005 at 11:45
Problem with this type of discussion it that it covers a range of vehicles and models....as with many vehicle types, some have been better than others, and Land rover is now exception. But then I think I saw somewhere recently that Toyota has to recall 800,00 cars worldwide to fix a fault.
We have a TD5 Defender (2001), done 110K with standards servicing and very few problems. Certainly none that I haven't seen mentioned for other vehicles. It has been used extensively off-road, tows a
Kimberley trailer and has averaged 11.5 litres per 100 for since new (includes 25,000 k's towing the
Kimberley).
Mind you....I always carry a set of shoes to enjoy a walk around our destinations..
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