D5 - How bad is the reliability???

[Erik997]

Time for a new family bus - has to be a 7 seater SUV.

Current choices are pretty obvious:

- Discovery 5
- Q7/SQ7
- GLS
- XC90

Not keen on the XC90 and the Discovery 5 would seem an obvious choice.

But....

Current family bus is a Lexus RX which has done 80k miles without a single problem. Not one. Never been to the dealer. Perfect car and Lexus has been trully fantastic.

Reading around the Discovery 5 seems to have a terrible reputation. The Discovery 5 forum seems full of complaints, horror stories and cars being rejected or spending endless weeks being repaired for continuous problems.

This is really worrying me coming from my current ownership experience.

So what's the real truth here??? Small minority who are very vocal or is this representative of the car - eg major reliability problems.

Any real life experiences - good/bad - would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[bakerstreet]

I'm a D3 owner and I frequent the d3/4 owners group on FB and there have all ready been several posts complaining of issues. Search on here and see how the threads ended as there was issues with the windscreen seal.

Land Rover is not a byword for quality. However, if you are buying new, you will have a warranty, but even with a manufacturer warranty, taking a car back for repairs is still a pain, especially if you have a family and rely on that car to get everyone to school etc etc.

I personally wouldn't touch a LR product this close to its release. Give them a few years to sort all the initial issues out and there will be loads. Remember that we are talking about a car company that was selling cars that had issues with water leaking in through the window seals in 2014!

[roddo]

Ours has done 10k now and it's been fantastic. FYI it's the 3.0

[MrC986]

I posted a thread on a friends experiences of owning a First Edition car on here that was delivered on 1st March which ultimately was replaced by the manufacturer in September. I can honestly say the faults he experienced weren't mechanical ones, but a catalogue of electrical and trim ones including a failing power tailgate plus A pillar wind noise issues.

My friends replacement car (an HSE Luxury) is apparently unlike the first Disco 5 he had quality-wise. I went in his first car on a lads trip to France and it is an impressive car(save for the annoying problems he had). If you're buying a used car, be careful you don't buy an early car as I think the build quality was lacking and whilst they won't admit it, they might have launched them a little too early.

[Erik997]

Thanks guys

Spent today at the various dealerships and in the end have decided to go for the Audi.

Discovery was nice but the Audi won on a number of points - am now sorting out final spec and order.

[B.J.W]

MrC986 said:

don't buy an early car as I think the build quality was lacking and whilst they won't admit it, they might have launched them a little too early.

Exactly the same scenario with the Disco 3 when that was launched. A great product that went to market too soon.

Main issues with the Disco 5 are electrical - although we have had a rejection car that leaked. I'd also advise any Disco 5 owners to make it as hard as possible for anyone to get under the car when they park up at night. The rather expensive full size spare wheel can be easily removed by clipping the lowering metal cord with a pair of tin snips.

[MrC986]

B.J.W said:

Exactly the same scenario with the Disco 3 when that was launched. A great product that went to market too soon.

Main issues with the Disco 5 are electrical - although we have had a rejection car that leaked. I'd also advise any Disco 5 owners to make it as hard as possible for anyone to get under the car when they park up at night. The rather expensive full size spare wheel can be easily removed by clipping the lowering metal cord with a pair of tin snips.

My friend had repetitive wind noise (no jokes please) on the A post which they tried to rectify at least 5 times, windscreen trim detaching, detaching wheel arch liners, poor Nav/radio and then what made him really grumpy, the motorised boot lid stopped halfway closed/open. I did mention to him about his spare wheel, though his car got changed before he did anything.

Thanks for the reminded on the spare wheel security - I've reminded him of the risk.

[mikeh501]

Let’s not forget the back end nobody could love! Ungainly even compared to a d4.

[andyr]

My D5 has been fine.

[matc]

I ran a 2.0 D5 HSE for 6 months (6,500 miles) and apart from a slightly loose rear arch liner that needed a tap now and then ! It was faultless.

Had the usual issues with nav not turning on straight away all the time, but having had most brands of cars over the years they all suffer from this!

Just swapped it for a RRS 3.0 HSE Dynamic, which after 100 miles I’m really impressed with, but it is missing a few little things that were on the D5.

I’d have another one in a heartbeat and would certainly recommend to others - the 2.0d was actually a pretty good engine too!