2003 Land Rover Range Rover problems

What is wrong

Land rover is recalling 19,168 my 2003-2005 range rover vehicles. The front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned, resulting in spline wear over a period of time. As the wear between the propeller shaft and the differential spline coupling progresses, noise and vibration are expected.

Risk

Continued vehicle operation can eventually result in the splines shearing and a loss of drive, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will install a revised design of the propeller shaft, the flange kit and heat shield kit. The recall began on january 6, 2009. Owners may contact land rover at 1-800- 637-6837.

Recall number 08V635000 · Recall details

Summary:in a letter dated december 2, 2008, ford motor company (ford) notified the federal safety agency that land rover is conducting a safety recall of model year (my) 2003 through 2005 range rover vehicles built at the solihull (uk) assembly plant from january 3, 2002 through february 22, 2005, to replace the front driveshaft joint (the federal safety agency recall no. 08v‑635, land rover recall no. P041). The front differential coupling sleeve and the propeller shaft may be misaligned resulting in spline wear over time, which may eventually result in the splines shearing.the defect condition can result in a loss of propulsion and subsequent vehicle disablement in the roadway or on the shoulder of the roadway. Furthermore, the defect condition can also cause loss of the transmission lock function when the vehicle is shifted into the park position.the loss of the transmission lock function can cause a vehicle rollaway condition if the emergency brake is not applied and the vehicle is unattended by the driver. In july 2008, land rover initiated a service action (q041) instructing dealers to install a redesigned front propeller shaft, front differential coupling and heat shield kit to address the misalignment and subsequent spline wear.this is the same repair procedure that will be used in safety recall 08v‑635.approximately 48 percent of the subject vehicles (18,000) have had the remedy performed under service action q041 as of december 2, 2008. Odi believes that sudden loss of motive power without warning and failure of the transmission lock function are safety consequences that, particularly in the context of the high failure rate of the subject components, represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety as stated in a recall request letter sent to ford and land rover on november 6, 2008.land rover does not agree, but is changing its customer satisfaction program to a safety recall as odi requested. Land rover noted that it was aware of one alleged accident; however, it was unaware of any injury or vehicle damage associated with the alleged accident.land rover's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation. This engineering analysis is closed.

EA07012

In response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated that the primary cause for the majority of the reported front differential/drive shaft failures is a misalignment of the joint between the two components.certain levels of misalignment may over time cause an uneven wear of the splines.continued wear of the splines may result in a shearing of the splines and the inability of the driveshaft to transfer torque to the front differential. To address the issue in the field, ford initiated a service campaign in june 2003 to correct the misalignment issue and, if necessary, replace the front drive shaft and/or differential.the service campaign covered model year (my) 2003 and my 2004 vehicles built from april 18, 2002 through july 3, 2003.in production, ford introduced a change to the lubricating grease of the joint in february 2003 and a change to the assembly plant alignment process in july 2003 to address the misalignment and wear issue. Odi identified one crash related to the alleged defect.the crash involved a subject vehicle being struck in the rear after becoming disabled by a front differential/driveshaft failure and pulling to the side of the road. This preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of front differential/driveshaft failures in the subject vehicle population.

PE07019