yawlboy
Member Since: 23 Feb 2007
Location: Dubai
Posts: 509
  
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| Help needed I am being ROBBED. |
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My Feb 07 Manual D3 with 11500kms on the clock suffered clutch failure on the M4 motorway in Wales on Monday. AA arranged transport to my dealer in Cork Ireland.
Dealer rang me today to say that the damage to the clutch was caused by DRIVER ERROR and as such it would not be repaired under warranty. So they want me to pay €2000 to fix it. I informed them that I was not happy with this and that I wanted them to fix it under warranty. The reasons being :
a) my D3 had been in with them in March to get an engine problem fixed which had involved changing a part in the clutch.
b) I was towing a trailer of approx 3000kg which is well within the 3500kg limit for a D3
c) I was driving a a motorway at the time of the failure and except for the stop/start 30 mins at the M4 toll I had been driving at approx 55mph for over 100 miles with no indication of a problem. I have never been off road in this vehicle.
d) it is my 3rd D3 from this dealer - the first two having been traded in and rejected (the second one) due to problems.
The "Service" Manager informed me that he had taken photos of the clutch bits and sent them to the Land Rover Assessor in Dublin and that the Assessor had told him he couldn't make a decision based on the photos and that he won't be in Cork for 3 months so it was up to the dealer to decide to honor the warranty. The "Service" Manager informed me that if he fixed the clutch under warranty he would be fined 10 times the cost of the parts by Land Rover. I told him I would have to get my solicitor involved and he said he will call me back after he speaks to his MD but he recommended I get an assessor of my own.
I have decided that I will not accept this and have asked my solicitor where I stand - he was amazed at their attitude and has said we should fight them all the way. He has recommended an assessor to me. I will be in touch with him tomorrow.
If anyone has had a similar experience with Clutch failure can they please let me know how their dealer handled it. I am totally dismayed with the dealers attitude towards this.
Thanks in advance
Patrick 1993 Defender 110 300tdi - many mods
Last edited by yawlboy on 21st Jun 2007 11:24 pm. Edited 1 time in total
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 21st Jun 2007 11:04 pm |
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10forcash
Member Since: 09 Jun 2005
Location: Ubique
Posts: 16534
  
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Thats bull  from someone, all LR dealers are supported by regional techs on a max of 48 hours call for decisions on this sort of issue. Photo's of clutch parts are normally sufficient for warranty justification (or not)
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| 21st Jun 2007 11:12 pm |
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AndrewS
Tarquin of the Desert
Member Since: 06 May 2005
Location: Y...... because I can
Posts: 10438
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Get LRCC involved 08705 000500 In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded.
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| 21st Jun 2007 11:17 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
 
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Has your D3 had the stronger clutch installed or not before now?
If not, wave this at your dealer and your solicitor (just check to be sure that yours is within the VIN range - i.e. a number lower than 7A422271, or anything with 5A or 6A).
Quote:
TSB 308-001
A customer may report a concern of one or more of the following symptoms:
This bulletin has been re-issued to include a closing VIN.
Strong odors from under vehicle when, or after, a slow speed maneuver (e.g. difficult parking maneuver), especially when on gradients.
Clutch slip.
The clutch pedal has stuck in the downward position or not releasing fully.
Difficulty in engaging gears.
Cause: The clutch drive plate lining material is not tolerant to high heat inputs caused by slipping, becomes soft and is then damaged beyond recovery even when it has cooled.
Action: Should a customer express concern regarding the above, refer to the Service Procedure detailed in this bulletin to renew the clutch assembly.
Manual transmission vehicles only VIN-range: 5A300394-7A422271
IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 21st Jun 2007 11:20 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
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Andrew, unfortunatly LRCC can't help in Ireland. It's only LR Ireland that you can deal with, and they're impossible to deal with. They refused my warranty claim for getting the 4 wheel alignment done on my D3 as it was wearing the tyres unevenly, and their policy was not to do it for free over 10K miles, even though there was a TSB covering it. Eventually after a lot of complaining the dealer personally covered the cost. IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 21st Jun 2007 11:24 pm |
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yawlboy
Member Since: 23 Feb 2007
Location: Dubai
Posts: 509
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Thanks for all the info guys. I will check my registration docs to see if my VIN is within the range.
A cousin of mine just told me that a friend of his had exactly the same issue 12 months ago and they forced him to pay to get it fixed so he is now going to look to try and get a refund. 1993 Defender 110 300tdi - many mods
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| 21st Jun 2007 11:27 pm |
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Wex
Member Since: 16 Apr 2007
Location: Knackeragua
Posts: 5173
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Best of luck Yawlboy. Wish I coud offer some advise but my knowledge on the like is minimal.Stick to your guns 
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| 22nd Jun 2007 11:32 am |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
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Any news? IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 26th Jun 2007 11:27 am |
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zebadee
Member Since: 15 Feb 2006
Location: The Magic Roundabout
Posts: 1392
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While I can’t help you out with your clutch problems yawlboy I would however like to offer my two cents worth regarding your overall problem with your dealer.
You have not mentioned who your dealer is, nor do I want to mention them by name either, for reasons that will become clear once you read on. But I have a fairly good idea who they are & let me just say that I suffered from this very same appalling attitude by their “Service Department†some years ago, with another brand of car they carry.
While their sales department cannot seem to do enough for you at the time of purchase, the service department turned out to be a right shower of F heads  Who do everything in their power to tell you it’s either your fault, blame someone else, tell you that it’s something “they’ve never come across before†or trot out some other such rubbish, to try & pacify you in the hope you’ll go away.
I have never come across such an incompetent, self opinionated, bunch of tossers in my life & that goes right to management level.
So all I can say to you yawlboy is that I sympathise with you in your dilemma & wouldn’t wish to be in your shoes at the moment. But stick it to them hard & don’t give in. It’s the only language they understand.
Go right ahead & involve your solicitor & take the issue to LR in the UK, bypassing Ireland as you’ll get nowhere there.
I wish you the best of luck !!!
â€Zebsâ€
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| 26th Jun 2007 4:11 pm |
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yawlboy
Member Since: 23 Feb 2007
Location: Dubai
Posts: 509
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ok - here is the latest. Today they told me they are fixing the car but they still need confirmation from Land Rover Ireland that they can do it under warranty. So they are putting together a business case .............. I did not give approval they just went ahead and did it so I'm definitely not paying for it.
They have asked me to email them details of the boat and trailer I was towing at the time. Apparently they need this for landrover to prove that the boat was 2336kg and not something that was over the D3 towing limit of 3500kg. Which the service manager told me was only 3000kg........
Additionally they want me to send them details of the TSB as apparently their head mechanic can't find it........
Finally I've told him I'm sticking to my guns and not paying a penny for the repairs. in the meantime I am after clocking up 1000kms on their '06 RRS and I'll do another 1000kms by friday.
I'll post an update when I hear back. 1993 Defender 110 300tdi - many mods
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| 26th Jun 2007 4:21 pm |
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yawlboy
Member Since: 23 Feb 2007
Location: Dubai
Posts: 509
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Just to clarify, my Service Manager told me today that the head mechanic in Drive Motor Group in Cork (formerly TOPCAR) couldn't find any TSB that reference a clutch problem. He asked me to forward him details of the TSB and he asked me where I had gotten it from. I told him a friend. 
He said he was only aware of an old TSB which only affected 05 models. I just checked my VIN number against the TSB and guess what, my car is within the range listed. Just called the garage and spoke to the Service Manager - he says that this should make my case watertight with LR.......... he'd let me know how it goes........
Bunch of gob
This would be funny if it was happening to someone else......
Thanks for all your help guys I am going to push this to the end.
TSB 308-001
A customer may report a concern of one or more of the following symptoms:
This bulletin has been re-issued to include a closing VIN.
Strong odors from under vehicle when, or after, a slow speed maneuver (e.g. difficult parking maneuver), especially when on gradients.
Clutch slip.
The clutch pedal has stuck in the downward position or not releasing fully.
Difficulty in engaging gears.
Cause: The clutch drive plate lining material is not tolerant to high heat inputs caused by slipping, becomes soft and is then damaged beyond recovery even when it has cooled.
Action: Should a customer express concern regarding the above, refer to the Service Procedure detailed in this bulletin to renew the clutch assembly.
Manual transmission vehicles only VIN-range: 5A300394-7A422271 1993 Defender 110 300tdi - many mods
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| 26th Jun 2007 5:08 pm |
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CFB
Member Since: 02 Dec 2005
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
Posts: 6100
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Does anyone know if they replace it with the same clutch or a modified design? I still have trouble with 1st and reverse and it went into the dealers last week who told me that they bled the clutch and it was OK, it's not 2020 BMW X1 18d XDrive X-Line Auto
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| 26th Jun 2007 5:16 pm |
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Bodsy
Site Sponsor
Member Since: 06 Nov 2006
Location: In the Clubhouse
Posts: 21361
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I thoiught it was a stronger design, not like for like. Bodsys Brake Bible
D4/D3 Remote FBH heat kits
BAS Remaps/ EGR Blank
Transmission Flush
Software updates/enabling
Clock/ SNOTM /3Flash / 4x4Info /BT Update /Service Reset/Error Codes / Gearbox Reset
See It Here
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| 26th Jun 2007 5:17 pm |
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bkehoe
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Wexford
Posts: 1481
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Good news - glad they're going to sort it out. A shame you've had to put up with so much rubbish to get to this stage though. 
I've found when it comes to TSBs that the only way to ensure they know what you're talking about is to print them out and bring them with you to the dealer. Otherwise they just pretend (or maybe they just don't know anyway) that they don't know what you're talking about and work their way out of doing anything. Whenever I go onto GTR, I download and save the latest TSBs, so if anyone ever wants any sent to them so they can print them out fully, just send me a PM. There's no doubt a few others here who've access as well who can do the same.
It is supposed to be a better clutch that's fitted - just make sure they order the part number in the TSB!  IE - 05 D3 TDV6 HSE - Zambezi Silver
SA - 07 VW Golf TDI - White - Sold!
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| 26th Jun 2007 5:55 pm |
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christyler
Member Since: 31 Dec 2005
Location: Cork, Ireland
Posts: 1168
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sorry to here about all your trouble, still it looks like you are on top of it now.
i think i may have mentioned to you at some that the people in that garage were a load robbing lying ba***rds
opps did i just type that !!  CLUB "Ah Shor it'll be grand"
First D3 in the World with a Hydraulic Winch.
2006 Disco 3 TDV6 S Auto,
Diff Locks, Turbochipped, Raised Air Intake, 220volts Onboard, Onboard Compressor, Large Bore Exahust, Underbody Protection, One or two Other Mods as well.
Other toys include, Argo Avenger 8x8, Tatra 6x6 Motorhome (Being Built)
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| 26th Jun 2007 5:55 pm |
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