Differential Unit problems of the 2003 Land Rover Range Rover - part 2

The front driveshaft generates a loud grinding noise. The vehicle will not accelerate -- putting your foot on the gas is accompanied by more loud grinding noises. There is a total disabling of the drivetrain.

Failure of front differential/driveshaft on a 2003 Land Rover Range Rover with 48,000 miles. No accident involved, excessive wear identified by dealer during routine service and clanking"noise identified by owner upon shifting from reverse to drive. Problem was consistent with other reported failures in same model with BMW drive train. Differential/driveshaft was serviced twice in 2004- once due to an owner complaint of a grinding noise coming from the front differential ,and once due to a service bulletin from Land Rover. Differential was replaced on 11 July 2007 at a cost of $2300. 00 to vehicle owner. Land rover continued to lack acknowledgment of problem and failure to issue a formal recall was creating a safety hazard for owners of pre Jaguar drive train Range Rover .

Bought car July 2007 with 35,000 miles; 3 days after I was driving on the highway with my little girl in the car and the brakes locked then there was a grinning noise, had to change 4 lanes to get to the shoulder, nearly got run over by a truck. . Car would not stop when I put it onto park. . It was rolling down the shoulder had to pull up hand brake. Nearly died. Car towed found out it was front diff. . Paid $4000 from my pocket. Eight months later same thing. . Front diff went. . Complained to dealer. . They were rude and arrogant. . Called rover head office. . Complained to them. . They told me they would get back to me. . They never did. . Will never buy a rover again. . The worst car, the worst service ever.

I suffered a loss of drive while traveling approx. 40 mph on a busy city street. The digital display stated "place in neutral" and I was able to coast to a turn lane. Placing the car back in drive resulted in a grinding noise with no transmission of power to the wheels. The car had to be pushed off the road into a nearby gas station. There was no warning to this sudden failure. The car was towed to the Land Rover dealer and the carrier diff (tbb000043e) and shaft assy (tvb500290) were replaced. Extended warranty covered 80% of the repair cost and I paid the rest. The car has 58k miles on it.

I was stopped at a red light and when it turned green vehicle moved for about half a block then there was this noise coming from the front that immediately disabled the truck in traffic . The truck just stopped instantly, engine still running, but truck won't move. I had it towed to the dealer, and was told it was a faulty differential and driveshaft.

2003 Range Rover had front differential replaced at 50k miles. At 80k miles car was being driven 30mph and suddenly made loud grinding noise and coasted to a stop in a high school entrance. At this point the vehicle could no longer move under it's own power. The vehicle had to be towed for repair. Fortunately this incident occurred at low speeds. Had this incident occurred on a busy highway higher speeds, it is unclear if we would have been able to safely navigate our way out of traffic.

The contact owns a 2003 Land Rover Range Rover. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle lost power, but the engine was still running. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle was pulled over and towed to the dealer. The front differential in the drivetrain failed and was replaced. While driving 10 mph, the contact heard a loud clunk coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. This failure occurred before and after the previous failure. There is an open investigation number pe07019. The current mileage was 66,000 and failure mileage was 65,000.

Front differential assembly.

Front end differential failure on 2003 Range Rover.

Front diff failure. Stripped spline on drive shaft (aka propeller shaft).

Front differential failure. No prior warning. Failed on roadway at approximately 25/mph to 30/mph. Truck completely disabled. No power from engine to wheels. I was able to get to shoulder of roadway (coasting) without causing accident. Land rover paid for repair under warranty. Dealer provided loaner for duration of repair. (I am not sure of incident date and miles as I traded vehicle in on a 2005 which is the subject of complaint odi 10213308. I have used approximations for dates. ).

I was driving and all of a sudden the car stops running. My safety was not jeopardized because I was driving slowly but if it would have happened on a highway very bad things would have surely occurred. I am in the processed of fixing the problem. Problem is the differential and driveshaft problems on 2003 Range Rover.

: the contact stated while traveling 70 mph, there was a loud noise and the vehicle rolled to a stop. After being towed to the dealership, it was determined the front differential failed and the differential was replaced. This occurred a second time four months later and the vehicle was again towed to the dealership. The dealership determined the front differential failed.

Range rover front differential failure - leading to lock up of transmission. If I had been traveling at speed a serious accident would have occurred. The vehicles should all be recalled by the manufacturer as it is a safety issue. Do we need to wait until somebody is killed? nm.

2003 Range Rover with engine problems including stalling. Customer states that one day while driving the vehicle lurched forward made a grinding noise and then lost all power. The mechanic informed the consumer there was a defect with the front differential. According to the dealership, the problem was with the design of the front driveshaft which had no flexible coupling at the front end, so any minor misalignment placed severe stress on the front differential input splines, leading to failure and immobilization of the vehicle.

1)none regular and uneventful driving. 2)total loss of drive power while driving, without any previous symptoms, leaving me stranded in between the emergency lane and right lane of highway. Second time 3rd lane of freeway right after service from the dealer from the first incident. 3) the failure was a misalignment between the driveshaft and the front differential on a 2003 Land Rover, range rove.

: the contact stated while traveling 70 mph, the front end made a grinding noise and the vehicle would not accelerate. After coasting at an idle off the road, the vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop who determined the front differential was stripped causing the failure. There was a recall for this, landrover #b121f, regarding the differential, prior to ownership. The manufacturer stated the vehicle was oiled and aligned, but the differential was not replaced.

There were no events leading up to this failure. I was driving in los angeles on the very busy 405 fwy during the labor day holiday weekend. I was going almost 70 mph when all of a sudden the car lost its power and began to make a metal to metal grinding noise. Fortunately I was able to exit the fwy without causing an accident. Once safe from traffic, I called my roadside assistance which dispatched a tow truck. The truck was towed to my mechanic who directed the problem to be the front differential. He notified me that this was a common occurrence on this vehicle and that this part was recalled. Although my truck has 55k miles and the warranty has just expired, I called Land Rover USA and spoke with a customer care rep. Named dennis @ ext. 2127 who said that there was nothing the Land Rover can do once the car is out of warranty. Thanks Range Rover for caring sooo much about my safety!!!.

Differential failure I had just exited the freeway and came to a stop at the light as the light changes I apply the gas and experience a horrible metal on metal grinding noise accompanied by sudden and complete loss of power. I immediately shut the car off and put it into park which didn't work so I used the emergency brake to keep from rolling backward. This is extremely dangerous and I am told quite common. This happened to me in the middle of a busy intersection at the bottom of a freeway off-ramp.

Vehicle shut off while driving and the front wheels locked causing me to come to a full stop. Had to take the key out of the ignition, put it in park and then try to restart. It seems that Range Rovers 03' and above have a problem with the differentials that fail and cut off the vehicle's computer. I was fortunate that I was traveling at a low speed. Dealer in houston, TX finally acknowledged the problem and I have scheduled an appointment to get it fixed.

No events leading up to the complete failure of the front differential on a 2003 Range Rover. I thought this was very unusually for a vehicle with only 23k miles so I did a quick search on the internet to find this a known issue as a result of a bad design on 2003+ newer Range Rover's so the problem will happen again. The dealership said it was $2,700 repair if off warranty. Land rover should have to do a redesign of this problem instead of screwing the owners who will have to pay for the repair of this issue in the future. It also sounds like this is a major safety issue if the problem happens at high speeds. It left me stranded in the middle of the road during a rain downpour.

I was driving in an area where two freeways merge with my seven year old daughter in the back seat of my 2003 Range Rover. I was taking her to the doctor as she was feeling ill. All of a sudden, without any warning, the differential broke. I was barely able to get to the side of the freeway. I had to call 911. Apparently Range Rover knows about this defect, but has not issued product recalls. It was an extremely scary event for me and my daughter.

Truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the road traveling at approximately 40 mph. I was unable to move the vehicle once it stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. The truck was immobile and made a severe grinding noise. A cab driver had to push my truck to the side of the road for safety. There was no warning light until the truck died which said "select neutral" truck had to be towed and differential assembly had to be replaced.

Read diff and driveshaft.

I have a Range Rover. I was in new jersey on the approach highway to the Lincoln tunnel traveling around 50 miles per hour when I noticed a bumping noise and rhythmic pulling sensation as if I had a flat tire or had picked up something that was dragging against the wheel. Then the car slowed and an "engage neutral" signal flashed on the display. I managed to pull onto the shoulder and when I tried to engage drive again I got a whining noise and the car tried to do a nose dive. Because of the volume and speed of the traffic, I was lucky not to cause, and be in the middle of, a major pile-up. The car was towed to the manhattan Land Rover dealership. I was told the next day that they were replacing the differential and the drive shaft. There was no charge because the car was still under warranty.

On two occasions my drive shaft and front differential separated. I was driving on the highway in January of 2004 and had 26,000 miles on my car when I experienced a loud grinding noise and lost power to the vehicles. The message center told me to put the car in neutral. I was on a hill and the transmission did not hold . I rolled back into traffic on the off ramp until I came to a somewhat flat part of road and was able to get the emergency brake to hold. It took over two week to have the vehicle fixed Land Rover would not release the parts to fix my vehicle. The second time happened one week after my 60,000 mile service. I did this service early. The car had 58,000 miles the second time the drive shaft and front differential did the same thing. I experienced a loud grinding noise like the bottom was falling out of the car. I was once again traveling at about 60 miles per hour. I was able to stop with the emergency brake on the side of the highway. I have read many reports of this happening to others twice. I do not understand why their is not a recall for this or a check at each service to detect this defect. Both times I was traveling on the highway and put in a potentially dangerous position with my daughter in the car. Something needs to be done to prevent others from this experience and the potential dangerous consequences.

Bearing failure in front differential: no event leading up to the failure. As I was emerging from the Lincoln tunnel in nyc with 4 lanes of traffic on either side, with out any warning my car would not move forward and if I pressed on the gas I heard a very loud grinding noise. I was lucky as I was not going very fast and was able to immediately pull over to the side. If I was on the highway there is a high probability that there could have been a dangerous if not fatal accident. Car had to be towed. Range rover mount kisco fixed the car at no charge. I was told that there have been other incidences like this with other 2003 Range Rovers. I asked Range Rover to notify owners of 2003 Range Rovers and they told me they are only responsible to fix the automobile. I asked how many incidents there were regarding the bearing in the differential axle and they told me they did not know and no one has the statistics. I called Range Rover north America and received the same robotic answers. It appears they are not interested in driver's safety but only interested in insuring they make money and are free of all liabilities. They repeatedly asked if I was happy about the service I received. I kept telling them it is not about the service or me. I am here to tell what happened and to try and prevent someone else having the same problem. The next person may not have an opportunity to tell their story. I will do my best to make Range Rover America take their responsibilities sincerely. I strongly feel Range Rover should notify the owners of 2003 Range Rovers and telling them to keep their wheels in alignment and to insure the owners know of the risks involved.

The first time the front differential went I was pulling onto my street. All of a sudden, out of no where, there was a loud metal on metal grinding noise. I immediately stepped on the brake, but by that time the truck wasn't going anywhere anyway. I put the truck into park, and walked to the house extremely annoyed that this could happen to a new vehicle. I went back out and started the truck and put it into drive, which yielded a loud grinding noise. I had no clue what was wrong, but it was obvious that I wasn't driving anywhere. When the tow truck came for it, it was immovable on it's own. There was no pre-warning to this event, the truck was still under warranty, and Land Rover, I thought, fixed the problem. However, the same problem occurred again last week in tucson, arizona. (may 06) the truck now has 55,000 miles and is not under warranty. The Land Rover dealership in tucson wants me to pay $800 to cover the labor to fix it, and they brought that price down from $1400. I am appealing to Land Rover headquarters, as this is a dangerous problem that was not fixed with the installation of a new differential and driveshaft the first time. If I had been on a highway or stuck in the middle of no where with an infant, this situation could have had serious ramifications. If you would like the old part, please let me know, and I will request it from the auto mall Range Rover dealership in tucson. However, I cannot promise their cooperation.

While climbing a mountain grade the front differential assembly completely failed, eliminating power to the drive train. Vehicle came to a stop and rolled backwards down the hill and ended up sideways in a 60 mph highway. Fortunately, the approaching traffic had sufficient time to stop thereby averting an accident. There is no warning whatsoever prior to failure and this is extremely dangerous to the occupants of the vehicle and the nearby traffic.

Front end differential failure, second time.

Front diff assembly replaced.

Driving on I-280 and the car made a metal-to-metal grinding noise (very loud), pulled over torwards the next exit (barely made it to the median) and the car would not move. Other than "park", the car made a terribly loud grinding noise in all gears and sport mode. The car would not move/drive. Had the vehicle towed to dealership. Told this morning by service adviser that service bulletin was issued that should have been done last time in for service re power train:driveline:differential unit. Appears from my research that TSB 540103 issued 1/31/03 applies per conversation with dealer's service adviser. Trying to get a copy of TSB now. Also, called roadside assistance on evening of incident to get assistance with removing vehicle (and myself, wife and daughter) from the highway median. Land rover could not locate a tow company to assist and we were forced to call chp and seek their assistance in getting a tow and paying the same - in other words, no "roadside assistance" really existed when this happened.

Front differential failure: 2 times, with in 21k miles if each, first repair splitting cost with Land Rover, second time repaired under parts warranty. No warning of failure, both times, first time left stranded unable to move in busy intersection, second time failure occurred on I-5 at speed, causing front wheels to lock momentarily. Again stranded. Both times cost for towing and lodging transportation home an back to retrieve vehicle.

While driving 25 mph the differential broke. As a result, the vehicle came to an abrupt stop.

Failure of front end differential with 24,396 miles on 2003 Range Rover iii hse.