The Range Rover Sport shares most of its structure and mechanicals with the Discovery 3 (or so-called "LR3" in North America, a name apparently chosen to to try and escape the Discovery's unreliable reputation). Consequently, many of the same issues occur in both vehicles. While we keep hearing hopeful announcements from Solihull indicating that build quality problems are over, unfortunately the brand remains stubbornly at the bottom of quality and dependability surveys. (Part of the problem is that improvements have been made, but the competition has improved more). For example, the Range Rover and LR3 were recently rated by Forbes Magazine as the "Least reliable luxury cars". Here we attempt to address some of the most common problems, based on owner experiences and information gleaned from professional Land Rover mechanics. We hope that passing on these experiences may make it easier for future enthusiasts to deal with them without going through the learning curve. Please write in with your experiences so we can share them with other owners!
Until about June 2008, most RR Sports will probably
still
be under factory warranty, so few details are likely to emerge until
then
on do-it-yourself solutions and repair operations. Meanwhile, this page
might help with issues that owners have identified but which Land Rover
has not yet officially acknowledged as problems needing widespread
attention.
Also, information you as an owner supply here (please email
us) will help other owners identify the sources of the various
teething
problems and alert their dealers to the needed repairs. Later, after
warranties
have expired on the new models, and owners gain experience with
performing
their own repairs, more complex repair, overhaul and upgrade operations
will be covered in the Repair Operations
How-To section of this site.
Manuals, Instruments and Tools
To my kowledge manuals for
the latest model Rovers are no longer available in paper form,
unfortunately. They have to be ordered on CD. On the good side, the new
documentation is more comprehensive than the old paper manuals, and the
expense is well worth while.
Computer Code Access/Testbook Equivalents: To access the fault codes and other information for such systems as the air suspension, cruise control, transmission, ABS/traction control, and other non-engine systems the (expensive) dealer TestBook/T4 is now available to non-dealer buyers as a standard Land Rover part. Cheaper substitutes in the $2,000-10,000 ballpark are the Autologic Diagnosis System and the Rovacom system, both from the UK. In the US, Atlantic British sells the Autologic system -- see this page on their website. There is now an economy version of the Rovacom system (about $2,000) that uses a standard notebook computer. For more info, see our Range Rover Scan Tool page.
OBD-II Code Scanner: These are now available for under $200 and plug into the 16 pin connector under the passenger side dash. Although it will not tell you everything the dealer's "Testbook" does, it can give you a lot of information about the engine and transmission fault codes specified by the OBD-II standard -- for example it will tell you why that pesky "Check Engine" light has come on. The Lowest Price I have seen for a full function hand-held OBD-II scanner is $114.99 for the Equus 3100 at Partsamerica.com. It works on all US and foreign vehicles. For more information on OBD-II scanners, see the Range Rover Scan Tool page.
Regarding tools, the new Range Rover Sport and D3/LR3 should
be modern
enough
to use entirely metric bolts so carrying
both metric and SAE wrenches should not be necessary. However, since
the
whole vehicle is dominated by electrics, a multimeter is essential to
trying
to do your own diagnostics.
Matt Hughes reports a strange incident whereby his rear brake
calipers seized up in the "on" position. The vehcile had to be taken to
the dealer on a truck to release them and have the discs and pads
replaced after releasing the calipers. I was reading your site
details on the RR Sport and came across the siezed rear caliper
paragraph.
Robert Lane reports that although he has not had this problem himself,
he has heard about it from the offroad LR team.
The shoes in the drums shed the material which turns round and jams the
brakes on.
Using Hill Descent in low range and stopping on a slope can cause brake
to stick on.
There is a manual release for the brake which is located under the
small tab plate under the drink cup holders. Remove the cup holders,
release the plastic cover in middle to get to cable release.
If you experience anything similar or can elaborate on the solution
(or send in any pictures) please email
me.
Engine Quits due to Fuel Pump
Failure
I have heard several reports of the engine quitting due to fuel pump failure. In two cases the engine suddenly shut off completely while driving on the highway in brand new RR Sports. In both cases the problem turned out to be failure of the fuel pump. One owner was told the fuel pump was not 100% true and as it was running it would get too warm, causing something to expand and bind up the pump. The fuel pump binds up and boom no fuel pressure -- and the engine either starves or the ECU shuts it down. Barry Zucker reports "I bought my RRS and the end of Dec 05' and 3 times it had the exact symptoms described on your website. I brought my car back and it was determined to be both the fuel pump and gas tank that needed to be replaced. I love the car and I know that cars in their first year could have problems, but I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed". More recently, Jim Adams had his fuel pump fail on the first day of ownership -- his Sport then spent three weeks in the shop (in the US) waiting for the parts to arrive from England.
If you experience this problem or know
about the solution please email
me.
(See also Power Loss section below). Some owners have experienced a false "Engine System Fault" message coming on, limiting the maximum speed to 50mph (80kph). It can be reset when you stop and remove the key, but will often recur. Typical is the experience of Angus Wade of the Czech Republic -- he has the had "engine system fault" message 7 times, having to stop and restart the vehicle to reset it. After two trips to the Czech dealer and one in England, the problem still persists.The false message is apparently caused by an over stressed gearbox or rear-end wiring loom that has been incorrectly fitted on the production line, resulting in bad connections. One dealer diagnosed it as faulty rear wiring looms off the catalytic converter, causing the engine to read faulty oxygen levels and hence the 'amber' engine light. It was fixed with a software download and tightening of 02 sensor connections. Another owner, Anita, reports "I was on your forum and read about the engine quitting. Well mine has happened 4 times on a LR3, which has the same components and chasis etc. as the Rover Sport. Anyway, they had replaced ground wires, but that didn't work. Now they have replace the ECU, so we will see if that works. Also, what is odd is that my LR3 was experincing fault problems and wouldn't turn on. (No cranking of the engine) Have you seen these problems? They replaced the fuel tank and these things still happened." If you experience this problem or know about the solution please email me.
All the Rover models with the new Jaguar-derived
engines (Sport, LR3/Discovery 3, 2006 & up Range Rover) seem to
have a problem with the "check engine" light coming on randomly for no
apparent reason. Sometimes oit goes off by itself and sometimes
not. (For more details, see the Check Engine Light section on the
RR III Common Symptoms and Fixes Page). In the case of the Sport,
Christine reported her check engine light comes on for no
reason and simultaneously disables the voice command, radio and nav.
system. Initially it was thought by the dealer to be the cam sensor
having signal interruptions because
the harness was loose. However correcting this did not fix the problem
-- the next day when the engine was started the nav sys., radio etc.
were inoperable again. Currently (May 2006) she is waiting for a new
ECM softwar update supposedly being checked out by the dealer before
trying it on customer vehicles.
Meanwhile
(August 2006) we keep getting a steady stream of reports about this
problem, so no effective cure seems to have been found just yet. David
Scott Levaton, for examplle, has been experiencing this problem for the
past six months without the dealer being able to fix it. He reports
that it comes on intermittently, and has affected the shifting. After
reading the information here, he now attributes some of the other
electrical problems he has been having (such as the nav system
intermittently shutting down) to the same source.
If
you experience this problem or know
about the solution please email
me.
With the introduction of the Jaguar- based
engines on the 2006 Range Rover, RR Sport and Disco 3/LR3 models, the
design of the front driveshaft was improved. The new design
incorporated flexible joints at both front and rear, rather than just
at the rear as on the 2003-2005 Range Rover which experienced so many
problems with the resluting failures. The new design seemed to greatly
improve the situation, but I recently (February 2007) heard from one
owner who reported the problem resurfacing on his 06 Range Rover Sport.
"At 65 mph with no warning signs the front tires locked up putting the
vehicle into an uncontrollable skid. We were almost rearended twice and
had a difficult time getting the vehicle off the highway. This incident
almost caused us a real serious accident. The dealer replaced with
identical parts. We reported this to the NHTSA."
If you experience this problem please email me.
On early production models I started hearing reports
of a
rattle that seems to come
from the rear of the gearbox. In one case the entire engine was
replaced, and the owner heard there were 35 other Sports in Europe with
this problem at the time (late 2005).
During 2006, some owners of the
mechanically-identical RR Sport and Discovery 3 / LR3 have been
experiencing this or a similar transmission noise. For example, one
owner reports that in May 2006 his started making a “chain or
rasping sound” from underneath the car just after taking his foot off
the
gas pedal. The dealer said they had a software fix for
it as
it was a noise happening in third gear. Unfortunately, the noise was
actually in all the gears at various speeds, and the software fix did
not
work. On a test drive with the
area Landrover technical support representative and a representative
from ZF transmissions, after initial denials they confessed
that they knew about this noise problem and that ZF
transmissions
were working on a fix. As the owner said, "More and more customers are
coming in with this
problem
and it appears to have happened after we all had a “software upgrade”.
In fact, Landrover have told me that the new RRS and Landrover D3 are
now
coming out of the factories making this noise (obviously because they
have the
latest software loaded on them). We are told that the
noise is not damaging the car (though
they do not know what the noise actually is, but suspect it is coming
from the
transfer box) and that ZF are working on a fix for it. The
only solution for it at the moment is to turn up your
stereo, air-con and keep the windows up as you probably will not hear
it!!"
Update February 2007:
Another owner experiencing this problem described it as a "rasp" noise
during and after acceleration. The dealer admitted that most Sports
have this problem and that ZF is still working on a fix. It is thought
to be a hydraulic clutch problem and it is not yet clear whether it
will be a parts or software update that is needed to fix it.
If
you experience these problems or
know
about a solution please email
me.
See "Engine Quits due to
Fuel Pump Failure" above.
Nav System Voice Interfering with
Phone
Several owners have complained about the fact that the nav system
voice does not mute when talking on the phone. In the words of one
owner, "If I am on the phone the stupid
navigation voice
will not be muted. It is very disconcerting to try to talk on the phone
with "Bernard" in the background blairing directions." Another
owner reports: "I complained with Land
Rover about this issue
already, but unless enough people do the same I doubt they will come up
with a fix, which I bet could be done with a simple software update.
Ideally, they should at least include an option under the Settings menu
to mute navigation voice while on a call. As you have probably figured
out by now, you can reach for the volume knob when "Bernard" starts
yapping to manually lower the nav voice while you are on the phone.
Nevertheless, it is an annoyance".
Until Land Rover acknowledges and fixes this
design flaw, one work-around for this problem is to press the home
button while in map mode. There is a setting at the
bottom to turn the voice on and off. That makes it only two clicks away
while
you are in map mode. However, you have
to remember
to raise the volume of the nav voice (or cancel the mute) after hanging
up.
Many owners have experienced power loss at highway
speed, usually coupled with the Engine System
Failure message (see above). For example, Sarah reports: "On
several occasions I have had loss of power.
The "Engine System Failure" sign came on. Power
came
back. I went into dealership. Landrover technical
said to
update the ‘computer’ system. I am sure you know the right
phrase I am so wear of it all that I cannot think straight.
If you experience this problem or know about the solution please email me.
Problems with the air suspension seem to be less frequent with the
Sport than in previous Range Rover models, but they still do occur. One
owner reports "Whenever my RRS is lowered to
"access" level a suspension system
fault message apprears.". Another reports "
Had the RRS back less than 2 hours and another "suspension fault." Also kept
receiving messages that the vehicle is raising slowly
and vehicle will raise when system cools. Couldn't even drive because
it wouldn't raise out of access mode.
Anyway, back to the dealer. Picked the RRS up again today-dealer said
the EAS compressor was faulty and replaced it. So far everything is
ok." Overall, most of the problems seem to be related to bad suspension
height sensors or bad compressors. Angus Wade of the Czech
Republic had his suspension light come on when in Germany; it started
yellow and then red, then disappeared
when he stopped and restarted the
engine -- and has not happened since. His
dealer said they have seen this a bit.
Weak Compressor: An official
Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) LS-204-004 addresses "ELECTRONIC AIR
SUSPENSION (EAS) WARNING MESSAGE AND LAMP ILLUMINATION". This deals
with the warning message "Suspension Fault – Normal Height Only"
message appearing with the Air Suspension Warning Lamp on. Computer
diagnosis shows pressure increasing too slowly or unable to
pressurize, with no air leaks. The usual problem is the compressor
exhaust valve sticking, causing an internal air leak when the
compressor is active. The bulletin recommends renewing the air
compressor (RQG500090 is the latest specification air compressor with a
stronger exhaust valve return spring)and installing and updating the
air suspension control module software using WDS disc 13 or later.
Suspension Fault Message (random):
One owner reported getting random suspension fault messages on his
brand new RR Sport purchased in June 2006, well after the fix was in
for the weak compressor. His suspension Fault message and Suspension
Warning Light (Amber) came on after 5 days of ownership. He stopped and
restarted the car, which caused the light and message to disappear, but
they came on again after 5 minutes. Later the same day, the warnings
disappeared again.
If
you know more about this problem or the solution please email
me.
Many Sport owners
have noticed a vibration felt through the steering, especially but not
exclusively with the bigger (20 inch) wheel size options offered. This
was particularly the case with early build Sports. It was usually manifested as a shimmy at 50+ mph
throughout the steering and the entire vehicle.
Some owners have had vibration at 5-15 mph as well. Before the end of 2005 Land
Rover recognized the problem and issued a technical bulletin on this
problem. It was fixed with a new steering rack design incorporating a
vibration damper. Click here to
see an official Land Rover diagram of the difference between the old
and
new steering rack designs, and here to see
how to inspect yours to see if is the updated design. Post-"Fix"
Continuing Problems: In spite of the official "fix" above, I am
still
getting a steady flow of reports of this problem (throughout 2006),
making me wonder if
it is really fixed. For example, in April 2006 Oliver Reiner
reported the
same problem on his January
2006 - delivered Sport with Stormer wheels. In He reported:
"Furthermore when I drive
around at 20 to 40 km/h, and turn the wheel from side to side, I have a
horrible Glonk sound from the steering". Tom Secodi was
experiencing the problem in May 2006 on his October 2005 build model,
even though it had the standard 19 inch wheels. It is particularly
noticeable at 40km/h and then between 50-60km/h. It feels like
something is out of balance in the drivetrain. It has recently
developed the vibration at highway speeds (100+ km/h). The dealer says
his is a 2006 model and should already have the steering rack mod. In
July 2006, John Ryan reported the
problem on his Sport, and David Wigham's Supercharged
Sport (with the new rack already fitted) seemed to be getting worse
rather than better (especially between 50 and 70 mph) after several
other dealer attempts to fix it invololving a new wheel and new discs
and brakes. He also has the "Glonk" sound referred to above, and
reports experienceing pins and needles in his hands on long journeys.
He was told the problem is being worked on by Land Rover engineers.
Stephen Kitchen bought his Sport TDV6 HSE new in March 2006 and the
dealer has tried several times to eliminate the vibrations being
transmitted up to the steering wheel and to the pedals. Eventually he
was told these vibrations are a common aharacteristic of the model,
although h did not feel them in the two test vehicles he drove before
purchase. ANother dealer tried replacing the lower steering column
assembly with an "upgraded" part, but this only made the vobration
worse. Stephen reports that fierce acceleration from rest is now a
rather unpleasant experience! Tire flat spotting a contributing cause?
A Land Rover tech ("Bert") confirms that many owners make multiple trips to the
dealer, and can't get the vibration problem fixed. The stock 19 inch
Continental tires always seem to be involved. They seem
to flat-spot when parked for as little as an hour, causing vibration
when you start up. The problem is
even worse with larger wheel sizes. Accordingly, the
Road Force Balance method that is now the state-of-the-art must be done
when the tires are
hot (ie just after driving 10 miles or more). The
internal adhesive weights should be used. If necessary, the tire should
be rotated on the wheel to provide the
lowest road force. Tire position on each vehicle
corner should be based upon the measured road force
of each wheel.
(see the Range Rover tire
balancing page -- the same methods appy to the Sport). Bert
has also noticed several vehicles whose tires were mounted incorrectly
by the factory. These are asymmetrical tires, marked Outside and Inside
on the tire side walls. This must always be respected, or the tire will
be rolling in the wrong direction.
If you
experience this problem or know
about the solution please email
me.
Some owners have niticed the plastic tray
that sits under the front door speaker
vibrates when there are low bass notes. It seems there is only one
screw that
holds the piece against the door (toward the opening and inset in the
plastic). After tightening this phillips screw to its limit, there can
still be annoying vibration. Bish reports there is now reported to be
an official fix for this problem in the form of a better connector and 'padding'
installed at the dealership. Due to the considerable
expense of proper maintenance and repairs
for
the newer model Range Rovers, and your dependence on the dealer for
many
electronic-related problems, extended warranties can be very
attractive.
Click
here to find out more about the pros and cons of aftermarket warranties
for Range Rovers. Most often the local
dealer is the best bet for parts for the later
models. If you patronize yours frequently, they may give you a
discount.
Most aftermarket parts sources do not yet
have
many parts for the Sport, but as this situation gradually improves I am
planning have started a new page on
parts and
accessory sources specifically for the Range Rover Sport. Please email me if you have
anyhing that could be useful for this page.
Range Rover Sport Forum
Alldata repair info, Rover
tech
bulletins
etc (As of Feb 2003, not yet available for 2003 RR)
EFI Problems,
Diagnostics and ECU rebuilding (Car Electronic Services)
MAD Mechanic
(Motor And Diagnosis) a lot of useful diagnostic info for modern
vehicles.
Recall
Listing for Range Rovers
Service
Bulletins
for Range Rover (Topic listing by Alldata; contents available by
subscription)
Technical Service Bulletins
for the RR Sport
Extended Warranties for Range Rovers
(Pros and cons, and a great deal from a sponsor)
Last Updated February 2007
