Life with a TD5 Land Rover

Thanks heaps Mark for taking the time to reply in just the fashion I was looking for.

Just a query from your reply. "If looked after by someone with good LR knowledge..." In your opinion are they an expensive engine to service?

What has an average service cost you in the past ?

My son is a qualified mechanic and services all makes & models but has little to no experience with Land Rovers. He has serviced my fourbys in the past for next to nothing but if the Defender requires specialist servicing what can I expect the costs to be?

Thanks again for your reply.

True Blue.

I wouldn't say they are particularly expensive to service, that said like any newer electronically controlled Diesel - they are not cheap to rebuild if you have a drama.


The reason I said Land Rover experienced - was more that unlike most Jap 4x4's ( which IMHO can generally take lack of maintenance better ) they need to be serviced correctly. And Land Rovers have - for want of a better work "personality". Plenty of mechanics hate them - and take shortcuts.

It seems people either love Land Rovers or hate them... I'm sure you will get a few of the more negative here too.

As long as you son takes the time to ensure all the maintenance is being done correctly - I cant see a problem. Electronic diagnostics could be the only issue. One simple solution to that is a device called a Nanocom.

Anyway - take a look around AULRO - far more knowledgeable guys there than me. And you will find, while they are all Landy nuts - they will give the facts - warts and all.

Good Luck with it..

Mark

Thank you Tony.

Those service costs are certainly reasonable, not prohibitive at all.

True Blue.

What state are you in?

Melbourne. Tony

Melbourne is in VICTORIA Tony, in case you were wondering

Thanks for your reply Steve.

Lots of good advice. Living in Melbourne.

True Blue.

Thanks Alan.

Sorry to hear of the problem you experienced with your Defender which prompted you to sell it.

That's the scarey part isn't it? Perhaps out in the middle of nowhere, vehicle breaks down. Bad enough in any situation but even worse if your out of warranty.
We all know that any vehicle can break down. That's the nature of the beast.
But when it does occur it's what follows that makes or breaks brand reputations.
The parts/service backup in a country as big as this is paramount I think.

I would love a Defender but your experience is the very thing that worries me most. I'm ignorant here, I don't know whether a "throttle potentiometer" is mechanical or electrical but in either case how can you prepare by way of a pre trip service to cover this part breaking down ?.

Anyway, thanks again for your reply and sincerely hope that all is well in your future travels.

True Blue.

It's electrical True Blue and sends the signal to the computer as to how much fuel is required according to how hard your pressing on the pedal.
There's nothing can be done to ensure it's going to keep doing it's job correctly and it has to be put on the Testbook to show that it is that which is malfunctioning not something else.
Cost around 400 bucks with labour to replace and as we were in our 4th year of ownership and had taken out the LR extended recovery warranty, LR actually reimbursed us some $600 towards out of pocket expences!
It happened in Newman which is a sizable town in bush terms but the nearest service could at that time only be got in Karratha, over 500klms away!
LR/RACWA didn't quibble about recovering the Defender plus camper to Perth and I'm glad we chose that option as we would have been stranded in Karratha waiting for bloody weeks for it to turn up.
Thank goodness it didn't happen out in the bush somewhere as regardless of fancy diagnostic tools it would have been an even worse problem.
I was really disappointed (and so was the Cook) at having to get rid of it but neither of us trusted it after that.
We've gone the Tojo way although I did contemplate a D3 but would have the same problem and so has our son (new LC200) as I said, as back-up has to be better as there are many thousand of them all over the place.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
Alan.

G'day Gents.

I worked at the Land Rover Dealer at Alice Springs for 6 months last year. During that time many Land Rover vehicles were booked in for repairs. Considering that these vehicles had been doing extreme 4WDing crossing the Simmo, Tanami, etc the problems were remarkably minor.

The TD5 engine, in my opinion is almost indestructible. The key is to follow Land Rover's servicing guidlines. Land Rover recommend shorter service intervals if driving in arduous conditions. It is amazing how many owners ignore this. I was the Service Clerk and did the jobcard for every job that went through the workshop and it is my belief that 90% of the problems with TD5 vehicles (Defenders and Discos) were due to inadequate or incorrect servicing in the past.

The number of vehicles presented with blown cooling system hoses was amazing. Not because the hoses were a manufacturing problem, but because they were old! Almost every owner insisted that the vehicle had been to their service agent before they left on their trip and that they had asked for everything to be checked. Well if they were checked then those service guys didn't have a clue. I might add that in almost every case like the above, the service agent was a so-called Land Rover "expert", not a dealer.

Generally speaking, Land Rover parts are quite cheap. There is no excuse for not changing old hoses, especially if undertaking a desert crossing.

AlanTH's problem with the Throttle Positioning Indicator did not occur during my time at the Dealer. We did change a few Fuel Pressure regulators but these were invariably on the earlier vehicles. I don't recall a case of a Fuel Pressure Reg ever bringing a car to a halt.

Just as an aside, our mechanics knew and talked to the mechanics at the Toyota Dealer just down the road. Those boys were under the pump doing repairs to Tojos that had various problems brought about by desert crossings etc. I don't think any make of 4WD is a stand-out, more reliable, vehicle in arduous conditions.

Defenders are as tough as all-getout and because of this people are inclined to ask a lot of them, perhaps more than other marques. The key is to try and buy one that has not been negelected, have it inspected and repaired by a professional and then have the servicing done as appropriate to what the vehicle has been doing.

I no longer work at that dealer, only because of my itchy feet problem, but I am already lining up for the new Disco 4 due to the excellent run I've had with my Disco 3. We call ours the "Toyota Recovery Vehicle".

It's like everything in life. When buying something you have to be able to filter the BS from the good info and then make your own mind up.

Cheers

Russ.

PS. I'm not implying that AlanTH's info was BS by the way. I'me refering to the hearsay you get from people who've never owned a particular make of vehicle but have heard from a mate of a mate that this or that goes wrong.

Good reply Russ and I agree with what you say about the Td5 engine and Defenders generally.
I actually love the beasts it's only the lack of decent back-up that worries me, although I have said that LR/RACWA did their best to get us back including the camper, but were let down by the slack attitude of the hauliers.
Mine was exceptionally well looked after, I purchased it new and it wanted for nothing in the way of service but after having only the engine oil/filter changed at 40K by the stealer and no other plug even moved to check levels, I went to an after market lot and although not cheap they did a good job. In between engine oil changes by them I did it myself at 10K intervals.
I still check out the AULRO site and am still a member of LROCWA, but then at least half the members there have "foreign" vehicles anyway!
Glad to hear the D3 has served you well, I nearly bought D3Jons (AULRO Member) when he was selling but then thought about the angst the Defender breakdown caused the Cook and I, and regrettabley decided against.
By the way, my elder bro who lives in Switzerland had around a dozen top of the range RRs over about 20 years and him and the wife enjoyed them immensley, but say that their Lexus Hybrid thing has been so far superior in reliability they will never go back to a LR product.
Good luck for the future and enjoy the D4.
Alan.

Thanks Wendy.

I'm green with envy. The places you must have been and the stories to tell must be fantastic after towing your off road van over 100,000ks in this country.

Thank you for your advice re: local landy specialists.

Just an aside to the main topic, where briefly have you travelled with your 96 Tdi?

Cheers,

True Blue.

Pretty well all over. Has done Cape; Gulf area - a lot; Kimberley 3 times, including Mitchell Plateau and Kalumburu; Bungles; Simpson; Finke; Birdsville, Oodnadatta tracks; all over Tas. Haven't done CSR and it might be getting a bit long in tooth for that now. We got it new and is up to 280,000km now. Just found really good specialist LR mechanic in Townsville, QLD, courtesy of needing new Brake vaccuumm pump and booster unit, on this current trip.

We have a V8 Disco 2, and while I can't comment on the TD5 engine, I can comment on the rest of the vehicle. It is quite simply the best touring vehicle I have ever used or owned. We tow a 2.5 tonne + dirt road van which it handles with ease. We have found ours to be reliable, but it does need very good knowledgeable maintenance and you do need to replace electronic items like MAF or ABS sensors far too often. For driving pleasure the Japanese vehicles can't compete. But the advantages of Toyota's dealer network and availability of spares are something with which LandRover can't compete. I can't see me ever parting with my Disco.
Cheers,
Terry