Are Range Rover Sports really that unreliable?

[djc206]

So said:

You could buy it from the cheapest one and have it maintained by the better one.

I’ll be leasing it using a broker so yes I’ll only need to use them for service and any warranty work that crops up.

[GT03ROB]

cayman-black said:

I have had four since 2002 , i loved them all and would not drive any other 4x4 ever! Only ever had three small problems in all those years.

I've had my sport from new in 2005. In all that time nothing major...EGR valve replacement & handbrake disintegration the only things. Neither a major cost or problem to sort.

[Osinjak]

Six months with an Approved Used:

Squeaky tailgate - resolved itself.
Air suspension compressor - fixed on first attempt.
Geometry - fixed on second attempt.
Faulty braking system, excessive and noisy pedal travel - fixed on second attempt.
Front right suspension squeak/clonk - fixed on second attempt.
Faulty blind spot monitor - fixed on third attempt.
EPB noise - two attempts, still not fixed.
Rotational vibration felt through steering wheel with associated noise - three attempts, still not fixed.

Edited by Osinjak on Sunday 9th June 18:03

[So]

Osinjak said:

Six months with an Approved Used:

Squeaky tailgate - resolved itself.
Air suspension compressor - fixed on first attempt.
Geometry - fixed on second attempt.
Front right suspension squeak/clonk - fixed on second attempt.
Faulty blind spot monitor - fixed on third attempt.
EPB noise - two attempts, still not fixed.
Rotational vibration felt through steering wheel with associated noise - three attempts, still not fixed.

That's only 1.67 new faults per month. You've got a good one.

[Osinjak]

[Sheepshanks]

Vroomer said:

Hi

I've been thinking about a RRS and loved the test drive but have been put off by tales of unreliability. What's the truth here? (I'd be buying a 2016 model.)

Thanks.

I'm not that up on these but a colleague got a 2014 one when it was a couple of years old - he reckoned the generation two cars are about as good as a LandRover product gets and he's run it for 3yrs without issue. He did get a very good deal on a PCP as the GFV was set high but that means he has no choice but to return it. He's thinking of getting another.

[RDM]

So said:

Osinjak said:

Six months with an Approved Used:

Squeaky tailgate - resolved itself.
Air suspension compressor - fixed on first attempt.
Geometry - fixed on second attempt.
Front right suspension squeak/clonk - fixed on second attempt.
Faulty blind spot monitor - fixed on third attempt.
EPB noise - two attempts, still not fixed.
Rotational vibration felt through steering wheel with associated noise - three attempts, still not fixed.

That's only 1.67 new faults per month. You've got a good one.

Agreed, that sounds decent! I’m working mine under the assumption that you’ll always have faults with these cars so best to live with a few niggles than fix them all and then get a catastrophic one. Currently got a new door latch in shed but don’t want to fit it incase that causes the gearbox to explode 8-)

[Art0ir]

So said:

I’ve heard Range Rovers described as the heroin of the automotive world. They’re not very good for you, will cause you endless problems but the buyers keep buying because there is nothing that will replace one.

I watched a wonderful video the other day that put it like this (paraphrasing massively):

If you went into Curry’s to buy a printer and the sales chap said “instead of this reliable and cheap Epson, you should buy this British made unit. It won’t work 1/10 times, will use twice as much ink and sometimes it will dump all of its ink over your carpet” you would rightly tell him to sod off. But cars aren’t printers or toasters or fridges for lunatics like us. A Range Rover (or many of the cars we lust over on this forum) is not a sensible proposition.

But it’s never been about sensibilities or logic has it

[njw]

My brother bought a well maintained, low mileage example (18 months old). Cost him just under £70k.
Two months in, engine went bang.
Thankfully it was under warranty. The overall bill was £25k!

My business partner bought a couple of nearly new examples approx 8 months ago (one for him, one for wife). Both spent more time in garage than on the road. Today he told me "enough is enough, I'm getting rid of them".

The chap who delivered my wife's lease car (KIA Sportage) told me to keep well away from them. Pretty much all the Range Rovers he's delivered, he's picked back up again due to faults.

Enough said really

[bakerstreet]

njw said:

My brother bought a well maintained, low mileage example (18 months old). Cost him just under £70k.
Two months in, engine went bang.
Thankfully it was under warranty. The overall bill was £25k!

My business partner bought a couple of nearly new examples approx 8 months ago (one for him, one for wife). Both spent more time in garage than on the road. Today he told me "enough is enough, I'm getting rid of them".

The chap who delivered my wife's lease car (KIA Sportage) told me to keep well away from them. Pretty much all the Range Rovers he's delivered, he's picked back up again due to faults.

Enough said really

Crank go on the engine? Its one of the things that put me off buying a D4. Its difficult to pin down how common it really is.

LR always do badly in the JDPower surveys and LR forums have always been pretty active discussing their latest faults and issues.

Trouble is all this still doesn't stop me wanting a D4 and 2013> Range Rover Sport. Hugely versatile cars and the RRS is the best looking in the current generation of LRs in IMO.

[audidoody]

My co-dirfector had one from new (2015 model). After two years if developed an oil leak that took six weeks to get fixed by a main LR London dealer who definitely don't employ hookers.

[So]

audidoody said:

My co-dirfector had one from new (2015 model). After two years if developed an oil leak that took six weeks to get fixed by a main LR London dealer who definitely don't employ hookers.

I am dealing with another branch of the same firm. Utter shysters.

[toon10]

I know 4 people who have had a RRS.

My brother had the previous generation. It lasted 8 months before he cut his losses and sold it. It spent more time at the used car dealership than on his drive or on the road. It was always his dream car and he wished he'd not met his hero. He calls it an off-roader for different reasons.

Next door neighbour bought the same model. IT lasted 6 months. He said he couldn't afford to keep putting money into it to keep it going. He earns a big salary too.

Lad at work had the same version. I don't know the story but that lasted about 7 or 8 months before I saw his private plate on a Golf GTi. He may have just got bored and fancied a change or it may be the reliability issues as I suspect.

My BIL has a newer one (current gen.) He loves it and don't think he's had any issues with it.

[bakerstreet]

toon10 said:

I know 4 people who have had a RRS.

My brother had the previous generation. It lasted 8 months before he cut his losses and sold it. It spent more time at the used car dealership than on his drive or on the road. It was always his dream car and he wished he'd not met his hero. He calls it an off-roader for different reasons.

Next door neighbour bought the same model. IT lasted 6 months. He said he couldn't afford to keep putting money into it to keep it going. He earns a big salary too.

Lad at work had the same version. I don't know the story but that lasted about 7 or 8 months before I saw his private plate on a Golf GTi. He may have just got bored and fancied a change or it may be the reliability issues as I suspect.

My BIL has a newer one (current gen.) He loves it and don't think he's had any issues with it.

In some cases I have minimal sympathy because its all there on the internet to read and digest before you make your purchase. However the engines going bang is never acceptable.

I did chuckle at the off roader comment. There is some truth in that. Another one I use is The Best 4x4xfar...when its working. The glow plugs on the D3 are a great example. They could be completely shot and in 6in of snow, your 70yr next door neighbor in her 2007 Nissan Micra will be off to the shops whilst you google how to start a Discovery 3 with knackered glow plugs.

I have a D3 and they are pretty bad and the reason I sold mine is the repair costs. If you don't have the time or the skill to do the work your self, it gets very expensive very quickly. I'm not talking about oil changes and similar here. Thats cheap as chips. Same with brakes. I sunk nearly £800 into the handbrake on mine and I consider myself lucky!

Also I recon the truth will come out about how good the 2013> RRS and similr are when you hit the 10 year old mark.

[jonttt]

Was out with a mate in his Supercharged L405. He has had many but this is the longest he has kept one, coming up to 5 years old (he specced it fully loaded from new), he simply can’t be bothered changing it because he just likes it so much, its his daily but he has many other cars. He was telling me he had just got it back, front suspension collapsed on him, he managed to get them to cover it on warranty (as a goodwill as he has bought so many off them over the years) but they said no to the £8,000 new gearbox it needed so he had to stump that up, he still loves the car though.

That story just summed the FFRR up for me, best cars in the world ie every wealthy car nut I know has one in the garage as a daily, they just do the job better than anything else BUT you have to be able to afford to run them / be prepared to put up with their faults.

As I always say, I would never get one out of warranty. The engine on my L405 (15 plate) went on <20k miles c13 months old, new engine and turbos needed. Must have easily been a £20k plus bill and its not that uncommon on the earlier L405’s as the engine fault was carried over from the earlier blocks

[So]

jonttt said:

Was out with a mate in his Supercharged L405. He has had many but this is the longest he has kept one, coming up to 5 years old (he specced it fully loaded from new), he simply can’t be bothered changing it because he just likes it so much, its his daily but he has many other cars. He was telling me he had just got it back, front suspension collapsed on him, he managed to get them to cover it on warranty (as a goodwill as he has bought so many off them over the years) but they said no to the £8,000 new gearbox it needed so he had to stump that up, he still loves the car though.

That story just summed the FFRR up for me, best cars in the world ie every wealthy car nut I know has one in the garage as a daily, they just do the job better than anything else BUT you have to be able to afford to run them / be prepared to put up with their faults.

As I always say, I would never get one out of warranty. The engine on my L405 (15 plate) went on <20k miles c13 months old, new engine and turbos needed. Must have easily been a £20k plus bill and its not that uncommon on the earlier L405’s as the engine fault was carried over from the earlier blocks

This is a very good post and sums up the situation well.

[tinnitusjosh]

Vroomer said:

I've been thinking about a RRS and loved the test drive but have been put off by tales of unreliability. What's the truth here? (I'd be buying a 2016 model.)

I'm in a similar position - toss-up between a RRS and GLE63. RRS looks like a nicer place to sit, on balance, but the reliability question is a massive negative mark in the LR column.

Even the fact that the question / fear is out there is enough to put me off. Having spent a big load of cash on a car, I can't get comfortable with the reserves that I'd need to keep in case it dies - especially on what is supposed to be a premium product

[Deranged Rover]

Art0ir said:

If you went into Curry’s to buy a printer and the sales chap said “instead of this reliable and cheap Epson, you should buy this British made unit. It won’t work 1/10 times, will use twice as much ink and sometimes it will dump all of its ink over your carpet” you would rightly tell him to sod off. But cars aren’t printers or toasters or fridges for lunatics like us. A Range Rover (or many of the cars we lust over on this forum) is not a sensible proposition.

But what if the print quality of the British made unit was far superior?!

Anyway, your analogy falls down with the mention of Currys - both printers will probably break down if they come from there...

[So]

tinnitusjosh said:

I'm in a similar position - toss-up between a RRS and GLE63. RRS looks like a nicer place to sit,

Which is good, because you don't want to be uncomfortable whilst sitting on the hard shoulder waiting for the AA.

[rich12]

So said:

Which is good, because you don't want to be uncomfortable whilst sitting on the hard shoulder waiting for the AA.

Hahaha.

We've got 16 of the bloody things.
Had a brand new RRS delivered to me with 42 miles on the clock. Took it to the petrol station (1.5 miles away) and in that time it popped up a suspension fault.
Awful, awful cars for reliability but 'when(if)' they're working, nothing comes close to them.