1994 Land Rover Discovery TDi review from Australia and New Zealand
"This was a white lemon"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
On delivery the horn only worked intermittently. Reported to the dealer at each service. Still had same fault in 2001.
The vehicle danced all over the road until the dealer replaced the original steering damper with an aftermarket one.
At approx 35000 Km the front brake pads wore down to the metal.
The front shock absorbers & the front coil springs needed replacing at about40000 Km.
The vehicle wore tires out at a prodigious rate. This vehicle wore out four & a half sets of tires in 11300 Km.
When the vehicle was about 15 months old, it broke down. The starter motor pinion had failed to disengage the ring gear (on the flywheel) ; this caused the starter to act as an uncontrolled generator. That is until it had melted the battery & the starter itself. Cost of starter replacement was in excess of $1500 plus labor.
The battery was not available in Australia, so a smaller battery was fitted, but this required fabrication of a new battery retainer.
Shortly after this the handbrake cable seized solid. Of course when the handbrake was applied & required removal of the cable before the vehicle could be moved. Cable cost a little more than $150.
The front hubs started leaking at about 85000 Km & needed new seals.
The next failure was the death of this vehicle. Traveling along the highway, It pulled violently to the right. We narrowly missed on coming traffic, but in so doing the vehicle slid out of control, hit a small embankment & rolled. My wife & I were lucky not to be seriously hurt. The disco was a write off. When it was pulled on to the back of the recovery vehicle, only three of the wheels would turn. The front right wheel was locked solid. I checked the condition of the wheel rim, but could not see anything that might stop the wheel from turning. It was my conclusion that a wheel bearing had failed.
General comments?
Service costs are steep. Costs of parts are vicious.
Despite hard seats they are reasonably comfortable on a long trip.
Fuel efficiency is good, but this becomes a small factor in the overall running costs.
A bit of a slug when loaded on the hills.
Recommended reviews
| Regardless of my grumbles will buy another Discovery. |
|
| 1994 - Discovery 2 Door Wagon 3.9L V8i A pleasure to drive |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1994 |
| First year of ownership | 1994 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.5 turbo diesel Manual |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 113000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Rodeo |
| Date of Entry | 27th April, 2003 |