Land Rover overheating

ANSWER : Like any other luxury brand, a Land Rover’s cost of maintenance is above average. This is due to parts being specialized, and a lack of aftermarket replacement part options; but also simply because of the name. Land Rovers are typically good vehicles in regards to reliability, however, there have been some electronic issues with sensors and wiring harnesses being damaged due to heat exposure. Overall, it’s a fairly good used vehicle to purchase; however, without being there to complete an inspection or looking at service and repair history of the vehicle, it’s hard to give you an accurate estimate of future repairs costs.

ANSWER : Hi Elizabeth: Thanks for your inquiry. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a database of consumer complaints, official recalls, investigations, and factory service bulletins for all makes and models, by year. I encourage you to go to the NHTSA website and enter the vehicle’s year, make and model and carefully review the existing reports which will give you an excellent idea of what has been experienced by other owners insofar as faults in the particular make, model and year you are interested in. In addition, "Consumer Reports" publishes system-by-system vehicle reliability data for all years, makes, and models. This data is available free in the library or on-line if you are a paid subscriber. That reliability data will give you an excellent indication of the relative likelihood that key systems on the model (and specific year) of interest will fail at greater, or lesser, frequency compared to those rates reported for other vehicles. Obviously, what you want to be looking for in both databases is an indication that the vehicle "make and model year" is not a "lemon" insofar as reliability. Finally, a good way to protect yourself in a used car transaction is to request a pre-purchase vehicle inspection. That inspection, carried out by a certified Mechanic, dispatched to your location, will give you very specific data regarding any current problems that the car has. If you are unable to access any of these resources, or desire data of a different type, please do not hesitate for a moment to re-contact YourMechanic and we will assist you further in your attempts to make a wise used vehicle purchase.

ANSWER : Hi there. I would assume that you have more than 100,000 miles on your 1999 Range Rover. If so, and if you live in an average weather climate, Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 would be a great oil for you to use. Land Rover recommends anywhere from 0 w 40 to 10 w 40 weight oil for their 4.0 engines; so the Mobil 1 High Mileage would be a good one to use.

ANSWER : Hi there. Thanks for writing into YourMechanic.com. In regards to the service that is required for your vehicle coming up, you might find this online tool very helpful. Our scheduled maintenance portal outline all of the scheduled maintenance that is required by the manufacturer. In regards to complying with factory warranty service, it is not required to visit a dealership to have routine services performed. As long as you keep accurate records of all service completed, you can have a mobile mechanic come to your location to complete these services. I’d recommend clicking this link to the scheduled maintenance portal, enter your vehicle information and set up appointments as they are due. You can even download our free app that will send you notifications when service is required.

ANSWER : Hey there. The next thing you need to do is confirm the thermostat is opening and test to see if the radiator is clogged or not. Begin by warming your car up. Don’t drive it, just let it idle or hold it on a high idle. Depending on the ambient temperature, this can take a half hour or more for the thermostat to open. You will know the thermostat is open by touching the upper radiator hose. The hose that comes off of the thermostat housing. When it begins to get hot, the thermostat is opening. The stat will cycle open and closed during the warm up process. A motor is not fully warm until the stat reaches a point of equilibrium. Meaning, it stays open at a constant amount. If your car begins to overheat and the upper radiator hose does not get hot, you will need to figure out what is going on with the thermostat. It could be installed wrong or even bad. I have had new stats be bad several times.

If the stat opens correctly and your car is fully warm, take it for a quick spin around the block. Come back to a stop in your driveway or other parking spot, turn the motor off, key off, open the hood and reach in and touch the radiator from top to bottom and side to side. You are feeling for cold spots. They will be obviously cold in comparison to the rest of the radiator. It is normal for the lower part of the radiator to be colder than the top. That only means the radiator is cooling as it should.

If after doing these two things your car still overheats, it is time to consider head gasket problems. You can use a block tester kit from your local auto parts store or you can book and appointment with us. Testing for head gasket problems can be cumbersome and only experience will allow you to make an accurate determination. I recommend a having an overheating inspection to have this accurately diagnosed and corrected.

ANSWER : Hello there, thank you for asking about your 2003 Land Rover Freelander. If the car goes into reverse, but does not move, this suggests a faulty clutch pack problem in your transmission. This may also suggest potentially a faulty transmission control module, which is a unit that controls input into the transmission and operates the various solenoids and other electrical components in the transmission. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your home to diagnose your car’s gear shifting problems and make the necessary repairs.

ANSWER : Hi there. One of the easiest ways to test a water pump is to carefully place your hand on the lower radiator hose while the motor is running. Two things should happen; first, as you suggested, the hose should feel "hard" and you should always feel motion through the hose. One other thing to check is your heater. If the heater is not working (supplying hot air), then you’ve got an obstruction inside the heater core; which can also create overheating problems. If you can’t resolve your issues soon, feel free to contact one of our professional mobile mechanics and have them complete a car is overheating inspection.

ANSWER : If it’s reliability and low maintenance you want, you’d better look past the Land Rover. It’s a shame, because they are really cool cars, but they are very expensive to maintain and are prone to failures. As much as I like to drive them, I would never consider owning one myself. Frankly, for reliability and low maintenance, you can’t beat the Japanese. Their cars don’t have the cool factor of the Land Rover, but they will get you home. Whatever you choose, you would do well to get a pre-purchase inspection from Your Mechanic. They will send a technician to the location of the seller or the place of your choosing to check out your prospective purchase and let you know whats right and what’s wrong with the car.