2002 Land Rover Discovery II 4.0 Otto motor from North America

Summary:

It's great if and when

Faults:

In order:

Bought it needing a transfer case.

1) Throttle body heater leaked.

2) Battery (no fault of the vehicle I suppose).

3) Secondary air pump motor fell off.

4) Heater Blower stopped working (replaced everything but the relay, that's next).

5) Hinge on rear door broke.

6) Ignition cylinder won't turn with key fully inserted.

General Comments:

If and when the truck runs it's great, regardless of the 11 MPG. The big question remains if and when.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th September, 2016

25th Sep 2016, 02:26

What's an "Otto motor"?

2002 Land Rover Discovery SE 4.0L from North America

Summary:

If you can fix it yourself and like to four wheel, then this is the rig for you

Faults:

Three Amigos idiot lights, vibration at 35 mph rectified with U-Joints and a new "Guibo" (drive shaft flex joint).

General Comments:

Received the "Rover" as a part trade for a motorcycle from a friend. Book values are atrocious, but I wanted a 4X4 to off road since I hadn't been in a while.

The "Three Amigos" issue I addressed by replacing a front ABS speed sensor, and all U-joints I replaced along with the Guibo. I've had had no issues since.

Four wheeling this truck is a beast. It is so much fun to go through what most people would find difficult, but the "Rover" eats it up with no difficulties.

On the road I find the 4.0L motor a bit underpowered, but so what; cruising the highways wasn't the intent of getting the vehicle.

I hear horror stories regarding maintenance of this vehicle, and I'm looking forward to experiencing some of them myself. If you get one of these vehicles, please be mechanically inclined, for the work I performed at the dealer or an independent would make the ownership cost prohibitive; doing it yourself, the parts for the aforementioned fixes were about $120.00.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th September, 2015

4th Mar 2016, 21:19

Thank you for your review. I am currently looking at a 2002 Disco II SE with 200k on the ODO. I am a skilled mechanic and plan on routine maintenance. They way I look at it, it's a 14 year old vehicle and things will go wrong.

2002 Land Rover Discovery II SE 4.0 V8 from North America

Summary:

It's a blast as long as you know stuff will break

Faults:

Spare tire mount.

Door lock actuator.

Alternator & battery.

ABS/TC/HD lights/sensors.

Sunroof mechanism failed.

Horns failed.

Assorted electrical & mechanical issues.

General Comments:

I had a Mustang GT previously, so I obviously wasn't getting anywhere in the weather, nor could I haul anything.

I got the Land Rover wanting the best in off road capability, but somehow forgot to look at maintenance.

Oops.

Had a lot of problems early, and took it to the dealer where they proceeded to handcuff me to the waiting room table and violate me from the hindquarters in a most disrespectful manner, while extracting large sums of cash. How rude. I nearly got rid of it because I couldn't handle any more $1500 bills.

Then I found a local mechanic who had a good reputation with foreign cars. Automatically my bills were cut in half. I've been religious with all routine maintenance since I bought the vehicle.

What I've learned:

1. Don't ever, EVER, take this vehicle to the dealer. Find a reputable local mechanic. I drive 20 miles to the mechanic to get service because the dealer is twice as much.

2. Don't ever forget rule #1.

3. Stuff will break. This is no Honda. Expect strange things breaking and expect to pay for it. I expect to pay $1200-$1500/yr now in maintenance and repair bills. It's in my budget now.

4. It IS kick-ass off road. Took it to a buddy's hunting cabin about 5 miles off road and over a stream, and it was a blast! Also had about 50 inches of snow this winter and I was the only one on the block climbing over 30" snow banks and up the steep hills in my neighborhood. Booyah! Didn't even think twice about taking it to the mountains during a shutdown snowstorm for serious snowboarding, when everyone else was sipping hot chocolate at home.

Overall, I'm happy once I figured out how to hack it as a LR owner. I work from home and only put about 8500 miles/year on it. I was going to get rid of it in a few years, but figure I might as well just keep it until the engine blows up and then part it out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th June, 2010

26th Aug 2010, 10:06

Great honest review! Thanks for posting, I'm considering this exact vehicle, and appreciate the review!

15th May 2011, 21:46

I also have a 2000 SE. A lot of the sensors provide erroneous reports and then after a while the lights go off, thus you don't have a problem.

It is very important to follow the maintenance schedule to the letter. My Jeep Cherokee in the past year cost more to fix then the LR. You may pay slightly more at the dealer but the work is guaranteed (only bring to dealer for complicated items). If the problem comes back up to 3 months later the repair is on them, they also provide a brand new vehicle loaner when your vehicle is being repaired so I'm a happy customer.

I've had the vehicle for 4 years and my repair and maintenance was around 2K over this period. Also, don't be afraid to get a Rave manual and do some the work yourself. The engine is based on 1963 GM technology. You can also get a lot of parts off eBay real cheap.