Land Rover Discovery engine failure problems

Filed Apr 27, 2026 · Electrical · 65,489 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2019 Land Rover Discovery. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The gearbox failure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle decelerated, and the steering wheel seized. The contact stated there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. The failure had occurred while driving on a busy highway. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road, where the engine seized. The vehicle was taken to a local Goodyear where it was diagnosed with battery failure. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to Goodyear where it was diagnosed with a failed negative ground terminal sensor. The contact was informed that the negative ground terminal sensor needed to be replaced and reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was made aware of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V694000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not associated with the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,489.

Filed Jan 4, 2026 · Engine · TX

I was driving on Ware Rd about 50 MPH on my way home. The vehicle turned off while I was driving and had to turn into a street before the vehicle stopped moving. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the failure. If I had been on a highway, there would not have been a way for me to get out of dangerous traffic. The dealer checked the vehicle and determined that it had suffered a catatrophic engine failure. They had no explanation on the cause of the problem. My vehicle had just run out of warranty with only 60,000 miles on it.

Filed May 29, 2025 · Engine · AZ

I am filing this complaint regarding a catastrophic engine failure on my 2017 Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury with the 3.0L V6 supercharged engine. The failure was caused by a broken timing chain, which resulted in severe internal engine damage. This component failure has been confirmed by an independent Land Rover specialist, and the damaged parts — including the broken chain — are available for inspection upon request. The incident put our safety at risk, as the vehicle experienced sudden loss of engine power while in operation. A complete engine stall, especially in traffic or at highway speeds, could easily lead to loss of power steering and braking assistance, significantly increasing the chance of an accident. Prior to the failure, we noticed several warning signs, including an illuminated check engine light, rough idling, and multiple diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), such as P0018, P0019, P0300, P0304, P0305, and P0306. These symptoms began appearing a few weeks before the engine failed completely, but escalated quickly. To our knowledge, there is no recall or technical service bulletin (TSB) addressing this known issue on this model and engine configuration. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Land Rover, the police, or any insurance agency, but the independent mechanic confirmed that the failure was internal and directly related to the timing chain system. We are submitting this report in the interest of public safety, as this type of failure on a vehicle with regular maintenance and 140,000 miles should not occur without warning. We believe this may indicate a broader reliability issue with the timing system in these engines and urge the federal safety agency to investigate.

Filed Mar 26, 2025 · Body, Engine · CO

Had engine cooling system repaired at dealer in 2023. In late 2024/early 2025 - engine coolant loss returned. We maintained engine coolant at recommended levels until we could get vehicle into dealership for diagnosis and repair. During routine local trip, low coolant light suddenly came on and immediately following that, engine stopped in the middle of traffic. Wife was barely able to navigate vehicle to safe place alongside the road. Vehicle was towed to dealer. They diagnosed engine failure due to oil cooling system failure. We contacted JLR and they offered no solutions. This is a $40,000 repair on a vehicle worth at most $20 to $25,000 retail. We had to dispose of it to a salvage buyer at an extreme loss.

Filed Jun 16, 2024 · Engine · OH

On May 18, 2024 at approximately 4pm, my husband turned on my 2019 Land Rover Discovery from a cold start after sitting parked for about 20 minutes. We heard a slight rattle upon start-up, so he turned the car ignition off. He restarted the car after about a minute and we did not hear the rattle. We began driving the car and after about 2-3 miles, the car started shuddering and began slowing down but did not completely stall. My husband turned off the car again and we waited for a couple of minutes and he restarted the car. It drove fine for about a mile and began shuddering/hesitating again as we were driving. Then the car made a loud warning sound, a warning light flickered on the dash and the engine completely turned off as we were driving. We were in the middle of traffic and had we been on the freeway, there would have been catastrophic consequences as the engine completely stopped. We thankfully were able to coast to a side-street on our immediate right and stopped. The engine would not turn over and my husband was unable to restart the car. I immediately made an appointment with my local Land Rover dealership for 3 days later (next available) and had the truck towed there. After inspection, they told me they believed the main bearing in the engine failed due to an oil pump failure and that the engine would need to be replaced. My truck is 5 years old and has less than 100,000 miles (only about 80K). No previous warning lights! A car this expensive and with so few miles with regular maintenance service being performed by either Land Rover or AAA, shouldn’t need a new engine. This is after I’d had the camshaft adjuster/timing chain replaced in this truck by the same dealership only 3 months prior! After speaking to the service person, he informed me that 2 other Land Rovers were sitting in the dealership waiting for the SAME engine and waiting for 4-5 months to be delivered from the manufacturer with NO ETA! Known, dangerous problem! Please help resolve!

Filed Aug 10, 2023 · Engine · OR

I was driving on a very busy road in Portland when my engine suffered catastrophic failure and seized the engine. This was due to a defect in the crankshaft. My family and I are lucky this didn’t happen at speed on a highway. Land Rover has failed to acknowledge a problem despite thousands of people experiencing the same. This resulted in a 26k bill. I just found out I could report my experience so I am now. Research has uncovered this is a common problem and a safety concern for many others as well. https://www.thepetitionsite.com/535/903/886/land-rover-sdv6-amp-tdv6-crank-failure/ https://www.lrukforums.com/threads/crank-shaft-snapping.263315/ There are countless other websites detailing people’s experiences.

Filed Jun 2, 2023 · Engine · WA

was driving on Wa-18 highway going to Snowqualmie Falls with my family. Suddenly I heard a snap from the front and at the same moment the car start shaking from the front so I slowed down trying to go to the right lane so I could stop when i see a chance because I was in an area where there is no emergency curve. The car died couple of seconds after the snap and because the cars were going too fast on the right lane i ended up in the left lane then I saw car Fumes coming from the engine area but I couldn’t exit the car for safety and made sure that I turned off the ignition and was hoping that the car will not go up in flames while im on a freeway and have my wife and my 3 kids in the car with me. A lot of traffic buildup behind me and minutes later the state patrol pushed me to the next exit. I called AAA and towed the car to Land Rover Of Tacoma for an inspection. After they inspected the car, they said that the timing chain was loose and the car need a new engine. At six years old only a car with 65,000 miles not supposed to have a problem with the timing chain. The dealership failed to tell me what’s the reason that the time in chain is loose because this time in chain supposed to last for a longer than 65,000 miles with no problems. I read all over the Internet and everyone is complaining about the Land Rover timing chain brake or get loose with low mileage and many of these people say the car went off on the freeway and put them on a dangerous situation just like what happened with me and my family.

Filed Jul 26, 2019 · Engine · 96,000 miles · FL

While sitting in park at idle RPM I heard a loud thump from the engine compartment which was followed by an electrical system warning and an engine overheat warning. I turned off the vehicle immediately and had vehicle towed to my mechanic. When care arrived at mechanics shop the crankshaft pulley literally fell off the car. Upon inspection the crankshaft pulley experienced a complete failure that resulted in total destruction of the engine. Entire engine needs to be replaced due to extensive valve/engine damage.

Filed Jan 23, 2018 · Engine, Transmission · 58,000 miles · CA

1.) water pump failed at 21,000 miles causing coolant to leak into the engine and the engine to overheat. 1 year later cylinder #1 lost compression in the engine making the car inoperable at 58,000 miles. Dealer indicates that the only possible repair option is a new engine at the cost of $21k even though they have no idea what is actually broken in the cylinder. Three independent mechanics have all indicated that the water pump is the most likely cause of the fault in the cylinder as it more than likely cracked a cylinder head when the coolant was leaking. My car failed with no warning while making a left hand turn onto a busy street, making this a very dangerous situation. 2.) the internal computer system failed on the car, which would notify the driver regarding service, engine temperatures along with any failures in the car's systems. Dealership used boilerplate paperwork to cover up that the system was not working twice. On the paperwork it specifically states that the "service interval reminders" were reset. I now know it would have been impossible for them to update this as the june 2017 paperwork shows where land rover implemented a fix for "messages - not appearing in the service cluster." land rover knew this for over a year and didn't notify their customers making it impossible for them to know that service reminders and sensors had failed on the vehicle resulting in missed maintenance because the car's operating system had failed. The end result being land rover is denying all responsibility for any issues that were caused by the computer system malfunction. The technology is over a decade old and is a standard expectation on today's cars. If land rover had notified their customers with a recall notice as soon as they became aware of the system failure, then there would be no fight regarding the coverage for my engine.

Filed Mar 30, 2016 · Engine · WA

2003 land rover discovery ii oil pump failure: we bought ours previously-owned from a land rover dealer. Nothing was mentioned about the defect in the manufacturing of this 4.6 l engine or the attached march 14, 2003 technical alert. In spite of regular service, the engine failed because of this defect and we replaced the engine with a used engine. Now, it may also be failing due to internal oil starvation. There are many posts online about these engine failures. Land rover sent out their alert, but did not offer the only remedy to their defective product - replace the engine ($10-12k). Like many others, we have spent thousands of dollars and been without the car while ours was in the shop because of a known defect that the land rover dealer chose not to share with us when we purchased the car. Attempts by others to seek help from land rover of america or through legal actions seem to have been unsuccessful. Since the statute of limitations has most likely expired on this matter, there is probably no way to ever recover the financial losses. It seemed like a nice car, but land rover really dropped the ball on this one. Don't by a 2003-4 discovery unless the VIN has been checked to be sure the vehicle is in the production series included in the land rover technical alert -ta03 1201.