hillstrubl
Founding Member
I was talking to Dave S. the other day and he suggested that I posted all that I've learned in the almost 2 years that I've had my LR3. Honestly its one of the most comfortable vehicles on the highway paired with one of the most capable vehicles offroad that I've ever driven. Below is a pasted email to a friend of mine that was looking for one, I figured it couldn't hurt to share.
Please let me know if you have any questions and/or want any more info on anything I mentioned.
I also highly recommend the first issue of Alloy and Grit, they do a great recap of everything D3/LR3 too -> http://knightsbridgeoverland.com/co...-rover-magazine-winter-2016-issue-u-s-edition
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Common problem areas and things to check:
-Water Ingress from Sunroof vents, water can collect in the passenger side door sill (under the carpet) where there is a HUGE wiring loom and several splices that then corrode and cause all kinda of electrical gremlins. - I had this and had a failure on my EAS (electronic air suspension) and keyless entry. Both easily fixed once I (by "I" I mean a combo of Trevor from British 4x4 and John Palita at Palita's Automotive , both GREAT shops and if you live anywhere near them definitely check them out) found the splices.
Here's what to check, shove your finger under the plastic trim (or pull it up a bit, you won't break it) to see if there is ANY moisture in that carpet.
-Brake switch failure - this one is weird. LR3s tend to eat the brake light switch then it causes upstream wiring and erroneous warning lights. - nothing really to check if you're not getting error messages like "cruise control unavailable", but mine had this too and its a 60 second repair. Save yourself $30 and buy the brake light switch for a 2009 Ford Focus instead of the ~$50 LR3/RRS one. Keep a spare in the glove box, its a 60 second fix.
-Bleeder screw on top of the engine - also something that failure is rare, but when it does its a big deal. basically its a little plastic brittle t-valve that is a terrible design. 2 seconds to swap it out (engine cold) with this
-Thermostat housing - another common issue due to brittle plastic, if not leaking you're good, but higher mileage ones will begin to weep coolant, not a huge deal until you're able to replace, not a terrible job either.
-EAS system - in ~2008 or so they updated the compressor for all LR3s from a Hitachi to an improved AMK branded one. My Hitachi started to fail mostly because my car was from Buffalo and was COVERED in Salt. I know plenty of people with Hitachi compressor LR3s that are fine but its something to check. - Get in any LR3 you're looking at and raise and lower the suspension a BUNCH of times. Its either going to fail or its not. If it does it'll usually just overheated and will be fine once it cools down. - I like the piece of mind that the better AMK one has, but I wouldn't not buy one (aware of the grammar) with a functioning hitachi (the way you'll know is if its 05-07/08 and has never had a compressor replacement, its a Hitachi). When/If they do fail, its not always the whole suspension, you can usually repair it. But its not worth it... (also consider replacing the tank too if rust is prevalent on it)
-Ball Joints - mine are fine, but I've heard this was also something to check. Get in the car, go 15mph then SLAM on the brakes. Huge clunk bad ball joint(s) - $1500 or so to fix because its easier to replace the whole arm with a ball joint preinstalled then pull the arm, press off old, press on new, then reinstall.
-Navigation - Get one without satnav (my opinion), the ONLY benefit that I can see is the increased amount of data regarding the EAS system you can see on the LCD screen
-Trim levels, etc - I have a LR3 SE, Non-HD. Basically that means there are a few things I don't have like parking sensors (no thanks) but HD refers to the automatic locking Diff. I know a few people with and without the HD package, they're both as capable as the other on the trail, in the snow, etc, the HD just can do it a bit faster. Its not something I'd seek out personally, the traction control (standard) is honestly good enough. I know guys with non-HD LR3's on 34's that crawl up stuff even my defender had trouble with.
-7 seater, most are but don't assume if you want that feature, I've seen 5 seaters in both trim levels. The seats are actually very good, an adult can sit in them. Plus under the floor when folded gives a lot of "hidden" storage spots for shovels, tools, etc
Please let me know if you have any questions and/or want any more info on anything I mentioned.
I also highly recommend the first issue of Alloy and Grit, they do a great recap of everything D3/LR3 too -> http://knightsbridgeoverland.com/co...-rover-magazine-winter-2016-issue-u-s-edition
--
Common problem areas and things to check:
-Water Ingress from Sunroof vents, water can collect in the passenger side door sill (under the carpet) where there is a HUGE wiring loom and several splices that then corrode and cause all kinda of electrical gremlins. - I had this and had a failure on my EAS (electronic air suspension) and keyless entry. Both easily fixed once I (by "I" I mean a combo of Trevor from British 4x4 and John Palita at Palita's Automotive , both GREAT shops and if you live anywhere near them definitely check them out) found the splices.
Here's what to check, shove your finger under the plastic trim (or pull it up a bit, you won't break it) to see if there is ANY moisture in that carpet.
-Brake switch failure - this one is weird. LR3s tend to eat the brake light switch then it causes upstream wiring and erroneous warning lights. - nothing really to check if you're not getting error messages like "cruise control unavailable", but mine had this too and its a 60 second repair. Save yourself $30 and buy the brake light switch for a 2009 Ford Focus instead of the ~$50 LR3/RRS one. Keep a spare in the glove box, its a 60 second fix.
-Bleeder screw on top of the engine - also something that failure is rare, but when it does its a big deal. basically its a little plastic brittle t-valve that is a terrible design. 2 seconds to swap it out (engine cold) with this
-Thermostat housing - another common issue due to brittle plastic, if not leaking you're good, but higher mileage ones will begin to weep coolant, not a huge deal until you're able to replace, not a terrible job either.
-EAS system - in ~2008 or so they updated the compressor for all LR3s from a Hitachi to an improved AMK branded one. My Hitachi started to fail mostly because my car was from Buffalo and was COVERED in Salt. I know plenty of people with Hitachi compressor LR3s that are fine but its something to check. - Get in any LR3 you're looking at and raise and lower the suspension a BUNCH of times. Its either going to fail or its not. If it does it'll usually just overheated and will be fine once it cools down. - I like the piece of mind that the better AMK one has, but I wouldn't not buy one (aware of the grammar) with a functioning hitachi (the way you'll know is if its 05-07/08 and has never had a compressor replacement, its a Hitachi). When/If they do fail, its not always the whole suspension, you can usually repair it. But its not worth it... (also consider replacing the tank too if rust is prevalent on it)
-Ball Joints - mine are fine, but I've heard this was also something to check. Get in the car, go 15mph then SLAM on the brakes. Huge clunk bad ball joint(s) - $1500 or so to fix because its easier to replace the whole arm with a ball joint preinstalled then pull the arm, press off old, press on new, then reinstall.
-Navigation - Get one without satnav (my opinion), the ONLY benefit that I can see is the increased amount of data regarding the EAS system you can see on the LCD screen
-Trim levels, etc - I have a LR3 SE, Non-HD. Basically that means there are a few things I don't have like parking sensors (no thanks) but HD refers to the automatic locking Diff. I know a few people with and without the HD package, they're both as capable as the other on the trail, in the snow, etc, the HD just can do it a bit faster. Its not something I'd seek out personally, the traction control (standard) is honestly good enough. I know guys with non-HD LR3's on 34's that crawl up stuff even my defender had trouble with.
-7 seater, most are but don't assume if you want that feature, I've seen 5 seaters in both trim levels. The seats are actually very good, an adult can sit in them. Plus under the floor when folded gives a lot of "hidden" storage spots for shovels, tools, etc
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