NHTSA — Power Train: Driveline: Differential Unit Problems

3.0

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
47,191 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Land Rover Range Rover drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2003 Land Rover Range Rover Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #7

May 052006

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the road traveling at approximately 40 mph. I was unable to move the vehicle once it stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. The truck was immobile and made a severe grinding noise. A cab driver had to push my truck to the side of the road for safety. There was no warning light until the truck died which said "select neutral" truck had to be towed and differential assembly had to be replaced.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #6

Jun 162006

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,300 miles
No events leading up to the complete failure of the front differential on a 2003 Range rover. I thought this was very unusually for a vehicle with only 23K miles so I did a quick search on the internet to find this a known issue as a result of a bad design on 2003+ newer Range rover's so the problem will happen again. The dealership said it was $2,700 repair if off warranty. Land Rover should have to do a redesign of this problem instead of screwing the owners who will have to pay for the repair of this issue in the future. It also sounds like this is a major safety issue if the problem happens at high speeds. It left me stranded in the middle of the road during a rain downpour.

- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA

problem #5

Aug 092005

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 41,526 miles
The first time the front differential went I was pulling onto my street. All of a sudden, out of no where, there was a loud metal on metal grinding noise. I immediately stepped on the brake, but by that time the truck wasn't going anywhere anyway. I put the truck into park, and walked to the house extremely annoyed that this could happen to a new vehicle. I went back out and started the truck and put it into drive, which yielded a loud grinding noise. I had no clue what was wrong, but it was obvious that I wasn't driving anywhere. When the tow truck came for it, it was immovable on it's own. There was no pre-warning to this event, the truck was still under warranty, and Land Rover, I thought, fixed the problem. However, the same problem occurred again last week in tucson, Arizona. (May 06) the truck now has 55,000 miles and is not under warranty. The Land Rover dealership in tucson wants me to pay $800 to cover the labor to fix it, and they brought that price down from $1400. I am appealing to Land Rover headquarters, as this is a dangerous problem that was not fixed with the installation of a new differential and driveshaft the first time. If I had been on a highway or stuck in the middle of no where with an infant, this situation could have had serious ramifications. If you would like the old part, please let me know, and I will request it from the auto mall Range rover dealership in tucson. However, I cannot promise their cooperation.

- Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA

problem #4

May 122006

Range Rover

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving in an area where two freeways merge with my seven year old daughter in the back seat of my 2003 Range rover. I was taking her to the doctor as she was feeling ill. All of a sudden, without any warning, the differential broke. I was barely able to get to the side of the freeway. I had to call 911. Apparently Range rover knows about this defect, but has not issued product recalls. It was an extremely scary event for me and my daughter.

- Newport Coast , CA, USA

problem #3

Nov 072005

Range Rover

  • Automatic transmission
  • 26,000 miles
On two occasions my drive shaft and front differential separated. I was driving on the highway in January of 2004 and had 26,000 miles on my car when I experienced a loud grinding noise and lost power to the vehicles. The message center told me to put the car in neutral. I was on a hill and the transmission did not hold. I rolled back into traffic on the off ramp until I came to a somewhat flat part of road and was able to get the emergency brake to hold. It took over two week to have the vehicle fixed Land Rover would not release the parts to fix my vehicle. The second time happened one week after my 60,000 mile service. I did this service early. The car had 58,000 miles the second time the drive shaft and front differential did the same thing. I experienced a loud grinding noise like the bottom was falling out of the car. I was once again traveling at about 60 miles per hour. I was able to stop with the emergency brake on the side of the highway. I have read many reports of this happening to others twice. I do not understand why their is not a recall for this or a check at each service to detect this defect. Both times I was traveling on the highway and put in a potentially dangerous position with my daughter in the car. Something needs to be done to prevent others from this experience and the potential dangerous consequences.

- Hopkinton, MA, USA

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problem #2

Sep 082005

Range Rover 4WD

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
Bearing failure in front differential: No event leading up to the failure. As I was emerging from the Lincoln tunnel in nyc with 4 lanes of traffic on either side, with out any warning my car would not move forward and if I pressed on the gas I heard a very loud grinding noise. I was lucky as I was not going very fast and was able to immediately pull over to the side. If I was on the highway there is a high probability that there could have been a dangerous if not fatal accident. Car had to be towed. Range rover mount kisco fixed the car at no charge. I was told that there have been other incidences like this with other 2003 Range rovers. I asked Range rover to notify owners of 2003 Range rovers and they told me they are only responsible to fix the automobile. I asked how many incidents there were regarding the bearing in the differential axle and they told me they did not know and no one has the statistics. I called Range rover North America and received the same robotic answers. It appears they are not interested in driver's safety but only interested in insuring they make money and are free of all liabilities. They repeatedly asked if I was happy about the service I received. I kept telling them it is not about the service or me. I am here to tell what happened and to try and prevent someone else having the same problem. The next person may not have an opportunity to tell their story. I will do my best to make Range rover America take their responsibilities sincerely. I strongly feel Range rover should notify the owners of 2003 Range rovers and telling them to keep their wheels in alignment and to insure the owners know of the risks involved.

- New York, NY, USA

problem #1

Feb 072005

Range Rover

  • Automatic transmission
  • 33,000 miles
While driving 25 mph the differential broke. As a result, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop.

- Naples, FL, USA

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