2.6

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
56,139 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

problem #16

Oct 152007

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • 78,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2003 Land Rover, Range rover HS3. While driving approximately 80 mph, the transmission failed and the contact attempted to accelerate but to no avail. The vehicle then down shifted to a lower gear and as the accelerator was engaged, the vehicle became more resistant. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic and they replaced the front differential, propeller assembly and the yoke. The contact stated the failure had previously occurred and the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 08V635000 (power train: Driveline: Driveshaft). The failure mileage was 78,000 and the current mileage is 82,000. The consumer stated the drivetrain was replaced twice, before the recall was announced. The consumer believed the failure caused the engine to fail. Oil became mixed with the engine coolant. Updated evoq 08/04/10 updated 8/9/10 updated 08/11/10

- Hinesville, GA, USA

problem #15

Apr 142008

Range Rover 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 84,869 miles
I was traveling on interstate 75 in the right lane during rush hour. My car started making a loud noise, I pulled over, turned the car off. I started the car and was not able to drive off. My vehicle was towed to landrover dealer and I was informed that my drive shaft had to be replaced. I had to pay $1800+ to fix. This is the second major repair cost. The first was last September I had to replace the transmission.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #14

Feb 032008

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 97,532 miles
Driving at 80mph passing a tractor trailer on interstate 380 North, my front axle and drive shaft gave out almost causing me to loose control of vehicle and run into the truck. Luckily I was able to get control and guide vehicle to the side of the road. Vehicle was inoperable and had to be towed. This is the second time this part has failed on this vehicle as it was repaired by previous owner only 10K miles ago.

- Owego, NY, USA

problem #13

Jan 082008

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 59,201 miles

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

(1)excessive noise and vibration at front end of vehicle (2)front differential failure/front driveshaft spline misaligned with input spline on differential. (3)front drive shaft and differential replaced.

- North Ridgeville, OH, USA

problem #12

Oct 232007

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,008 miles
I purchased this 2003 Range rover with 19,000 miles February 2007. It currently has 36,008 miles and the transfer case differential and drive shaft needed to be replaced. The car had a catastrophic failure stopped at a traffic light, and was in gear at the time. They had to replace the drive shaft and differential. Time in service is not the issue with the low miles on this vehicle. The only wear and tear that could occur would be through usage. The warranty is 50,000 miles or 4 years. This vehicle is not even close to the mileage limitation.

- Perrineville, NJ, USA

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problem #11

Nov 232007

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 77,000 miles
Front differential catastrophic failure while driving 65 mph on us 290. 1 adult driver, 1 3 month old boy, 1 4 yr old girl no warning signs. Front wheels locked up for a moment almost causing an accident on moderately busy freeway, then was able to have vehicle coast to a stop following loud noise.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #10

Nov 182007

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles

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

While driving on the highway the car with no previous indication just started making a grinding noise hardly allowing me to pull off to the right. The dealer stated I had to replace the front differential and driveshaft.

- Fair Lawn, NJ, USA

problem #9

Nov 092007

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 47,000 miles
I have a 2003 Range rover. The front differential completely failed and broke causing the vehicle to be immobilized. I cannot drive or use reverse. This is a known technical service bulletin 540103 and NHTSA item 10000919, however it continues to happen again after being fixed according to some customers. The original owner had it fixed once and I am the second owner, it happened again. My vehicle was bought used last month with 44.8K miles. It now has 47K miles. This is a very important safety issue and should be considered a recall. My vehicle is sitting at the dealership. It is out of the 4 year/50K mile warranty so Land Rover may or may not fix it. Here is a link with more detail on this issue: www.rangerovers.net/rrmkiiiremedies.html#diff

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #8

Sep 292006

Range Rover

  • miles
2003 Range rover with engine problems including stalling. Customer states that one day while driving the vehicle lurched forward made a grinding noise and then lost all power. The mechanic informed the consumer there was a defect with the front differential. According to the dealership, the problem was with the design of the front driveshaft which had no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misalignment placed severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #7

Oct 122007

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 62,190 miles
Differential, drive shaft total failure. This has happen to me twice in June of 2007 and Oct of 2007.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

problem #6

Sep 262007

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 67,767 miles

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

My 2003 Land Rover Range rover hse had a failure of the front differential spilnes, axle shaft, differential unit and drive shaft which caused total loss of vehicle propulsion at 60 miles per hour on a busy highway during rush hour traffic. The vehicle had to be towed to Land Rover North scottsdale where it still sits because neither the extended warranty company nor the Land Rover dealership will claim responsibility for the repairs which are in excess of $4,000. I also had a failure of the retractable steering wheel which resulted in a diagnosis of having to replace the entire steering column.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #5

Mar 092006

Range Rover

  • 59,102 miles
Read diff and driveshaft.

- Frisco, TX, USA

problem #4

Mar 062007

Range Rover 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 46,000 miles
2003 Range rover hse. Approximately 46,000 miles. Within the 50,000 mile warranty but out of time warranty by about 6 months. Were taking a freeway exit when the splines on the front driveshaft stripped and failed. Range rover would not cover the problem and did not let us know that this was a known problem. We took the vehicle to tricounty transmission in clackamas Oregon for repair where they had another Range rover on the hoist with the same problem. They ordered a drive shaft and told us that the yoke had slight wear from the stripped driveshaft but did not need replacing. The total was between $700 and $800. On April 14th, 2007 ot stripped out again. We were then told of the new custom driveshafts for solving this problem.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #3

Oct 022006

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 72,000 miles
: the contact stated while driving 55 mph on the highway, there was grinding noise followed by the illumination of the neutral light on the instrument cluster panel. The contact managed to pull the vehicle over without incident. It was towed to a dealer who determined the front differential was fractured and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. Updated 10/18/2006 - the consumer was told by the dealer that the design of the front driveshaft, which has no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misaligned puts severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle. Updated 10/25/2006 -

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #2

May 052006

Range Rover 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30 miles
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 #1

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

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