2005 Land Rover Discovery HSE from UK and Ireland - Comments

The sunroof doesn't work, dealer has tried to fix, neither do the rear roof vent controls (no power getting to them).

The dipping external mirrors sometimes fail to reset to their original position.

The gear selector has jammed in reverse twice, but then freed itself after about 2 minutes.

The comfort setting, which is meant to be key coded to each key, doesn't work.

The memory seats don't store your settings.

And finally, warning chimes go off intermittently, you check the info display, but there's no reason, they just like to sound off, happens about once every two trips.

Don't get the wrong idea, despite all the faults, I actually really like this car. The ride is great and the performance is excellent considering it weighs 2.5 tonnes. We also get 26.8mpg, which is pretty good, although you change your driving style as hurrying along just doesn't suit it, and doesn't 'feel' right. It also looks good, and everyone who comes in it loves it (even 4x4 haters).

Bad points though (apart from the awful build quality) is that the headrests aren't adjustable, and as I like the seats upright, they push your head forward. Also they have a poor shape, so on longer trips you get a little sore - the seats in our Vectra are way better.

There is also a massive blind spot on your right hand side due to the large B pillar, some cars, like our Golf before (and the Vectra) have a split external mirror to compensate, but not the Land Rover.

Overall, it's a good car, but a real shame about the build quality.

Thanks for this review. I have test driven 2 Disco 3's the first one was an HSE with privacy glass and all in black. I found this to be a gloomy place to be in and was put off the car. I then went to a dealer in Carlisle who took me out in a base 7 seater to their off road test facility and was totally won over. I currently have a Subaru Outback 3.0Rn which has been faultless and I'm not so sure about Land Rover quality. I do nearly 30,000 miles a year and the last thing I want is endless trips back to the dealer.

Okay, time for an update on my Landrover. Since my initial posting two main things have happened. Firstly the dealer fixed the sunroof... hurrah 'cept it's winter here now so it doesn't matter. But the next thing is not good news: we were driving back from Wales, doing around 120km (80mph) when a chime went off (no surprise) but this time the dash readout said "engine system failure" and the car started losing power. We were heading up a hill and basically the car just went slower and slower (my foot was to the floor) until I pulled off halfway up. We turned it off and looked in the book (there's about three pages dedicated to all the different messages you can get on the dash readout!) for what the problem was, but to no avail! Anyhow, we waited 5 minutes, restarted and presto, all was fine!? I haven't had time to drop it into the dealer for them to plug it into the diagnostics machine, but all's fine so far. Sort of justifies my initial review though e.g. bad build quality!

Oh, for the chap who does 30,000 miles per year (??) don't bother with the landrover, at around 80mph+ it needs lots of slight correction to keep it in lane and it becomes quite tiring after a while, also, the seats haven't gotten any better, lovely for short trips, but unsupportive on long ones, still I'm not fat and I have the feeling they were designed for 'larger' people (or for a certain large consumer market with 'large' consumers, you know which one). Hate to say it, but our 04' Vectra SRi is a far superior motorway car. So for that chap, stick with your subaru or if you do have to buy a larger 4x4, then try the touareg (spelt right?) or x5 both are far better at speed (I test drove both, but I could be wrong as I only did about 3 miles at speed).

I intend to update every six months or when the next major issue occurs (so could be quite soon).

Dave Ayre N.Ireland

Discovery 3 Tdv6 S Auto.

I have owned this Land Rover since June ’05 (new Feb ’05 as demonstrator) and have 26,000 miles (smiles until now) on the clock. I have enjoyed this model more so than my previous 2 Td5 GS.

The history to date is as follows:-

Average 24 mpg

Tyres getting low!! (at least 40K life on Td5)

Air bag indicator on. Module replaced (July/August)

Air bag indicator back on!!!

Low coolant warning on. Advised to be sensor fault.

Loss of power 3 times. Coasted almost to a halt before power resumed.

At present my Discovery is with the dealer from 14/12/2005. They have loaned me a Freelander.... Please can I have a Disco !!!!

Will keep you posted.

Dave Ayre N.Ireland.

Smile back on my face!!! Collected my Disco this afternoon (16th),after getting software upgrade.. Will see what happens next!!

Dave Ayre

N.Ireland.

Bad News,,,,,,

Fault as before, ie.power loss on the 17th.and getting worse,, Have left Disco back with dealer on Monday 19th.Held for two days and have now it back. They tell me it was the fuel filter,, Time will tell,,

21/12/2005.

Original owner again: Well I'm glad I didn't take the Discovery in when I had my first failure as its had a few more now. I'm dropping it off at the dealers this afternoon to get the following checked out:

1. December 17th: Warning lights and messages: Transmission Failure, Limited Gears Available plus Engine Management Fault (again)

2. December 18th: Warning Message HDC Fault

3. December: Warning Message: Hand Brake Fault (twice)

4. Rear Side demists not functioning

5. Intermittent Issue: In normal mode Transmission holds onto 3rd gear up to 3000 rpm at approx 30mph steady speed and won’t change up into fourth even when coming off the throttle, fixed by manual override via shifter– happened approx four times.

6. Intermittent Issue: Transmission whine in third and fourth gear when off the throttle, occurs around 50% of most trips (worrying as I suspect it's a mechanical not an electronic issue).

7. Intermittent Issue: Engine surges (around +/- 300rpm) when on steady speed and throttle opening, generally happens around 30-35mph.

Despite all this, it hasn't stranded me and I really do enjoy the car. On boxing day we had five adults in it plus a large babyseat and all were impressed with ride, room and features e.g. heated seats in rear (my mother in law drove it as well and was extremely impressed). Just a shame about what I suspect is dodgy electronic software probably due to a poor testing program.

Again, I'll update when I get the car back from the dealer: Will they fix the issues? What will go wrong next and how long before it does?

Stay tuned for my 43,000 pound (sterling) Land Rover Lottery adventure...

PS, feel free to email me if your from Land Rover and you'd like to apologise personally at robin_ellard@hotmail.com.

Phil from Shropshire

I have had the disco since May. We previously had the TD5. It is a superb car. The comfort and features are very impressive. The best point is its towing ability. We tow a caravan 1500kg's and you hardly know its there. However... we have had many warning lights about the suspension and despite many visits to the dealers they are still there. The dealer has admitted that there are problems with the car and its software. Just hoping they can fix it.

Well, after picking up my brand new Disco 3 TDV6 HSE, on my way home with it the 'engine system fault' came on along with a drop in power. Another warning also came on again resulting in a drop in power - causing me to stop by the side of the road, wait for 2 minutes and then restart. Surprise, surprise after the restart everything is clear. The car has done 26 miles, needless to say it'll be at the dealers first thing in the morning. Not a good start!

That's interesting since I have read a few car magazine reviews in which the testers had the same problem.

It's yet another reason why people should lease their new vehicles instead of buying (these days you can customize leases for any amount of miles per year).

What a shame. I once aspired to own one of these because of their reputation for durability and offroad capability. I guess that ended in the 1980s.

I have a Disco 3 TDV6 SE Auto. Park Brake Failure 2 times since Jan 2006 and the wing mirrors don't reset to it's original position after dipping. Other than those glitches, I really love the car. It's a shame the loan car at the dealership I took my car into is a Freelander. I would have expected a similar car at least as a courtesy car. The Freelander is not exactly nice to drive at all.

D3 Owner from SE Ireland.

I have my D3 for almost a year now & have had no issues (yet).

However I do feel that the quality is not in the new Disco as was in my much loved 300TDi’s that I had over the years. Car manufacturers are just over complicating their cars these days, I mean to say…..”Software updates” on a car???

May I suggest to you all, that you have a look at the forums on www.disco3.co.uk where you will read of many owners having similar issues to those listed above.

Original owner back again...

Okay, my mistake about the side windows not demisting, those little lines in the side rear windows are the internal aerial's so whoops, can't really complain about that.

As for all the other glitches, they are still there although I haven't had a 'systems failure' for a while, but it has been replaced by the dipping wing mirrors that now don't reset to normal position every 5 or 6 times.

Also, its always chimming away at me, yes when it drops below 4 degrees you get one, but sometimes it chimes for no reason, why?

Oh Landrover, why couldn't you have got the electronics right?? Nokia can, Sony can, Toyota/Lexus can and even Microsoft's stuff now works!! Who did you use to do yours??Probably some West Midlands company that used to make furniture legs or something and now does electronics as part of a UK Government Diversifaction scheme or the like...

Okay, enough of my ranting, sorry, I do really like this car, still like driving it AND... I've started recommending to other dads to get one...

Bit like fancying that cute girl a school, you know the one. she's going to break your heart, you know it, but you can't stop raving about her...

Third week of my first land rover, a Discovery 3 7 seat TDV6 S. It replaced a dismally poor 2004 Renault Grande Espace which was beset by electrical faults. With a newly acquired boat and three kids this seemed a solution. Reading this and other sites I feel I have walked into a replay. So far gas struts for tailgate replaced, rear park sensors failed and on back order as I'm told a common fault and front fogs fused twice this week, I think the dash switch is the problem. Dealership seem relaxed that this is normal!!!

Nice car, but looks like I have only scratched the surface of whats in store. I'm getting depressed at the predictability of what lies ahead. Our Saab 95 Estate has been faultless, wish they built something bigger.

I have had my D3 since November 04 - it was one of the very first sold, and have now covered over 40,000 miles.

I had three suspension failures, which resulted in the car sinking to its bump stops whilst driving along. These occurred fairly early on in its life, and ended up with the dealer replacing a wiring loom to fix. This I now consider cured, as the car has covered 32000 miles since the last occurrence.

I have had many software fixes applied which have improved things a lot. These include the PDC (park distance control) which was intermittent and the heating which was always too cold.

The latest problem I have is a failure of a gas strut on the tailgate, the mounting has come adrift and the car will need to go to the bodyshop for a repair, as the back of the D post is inaccessible.

The electronic park brake has also broken, and will be repaired along with the above strut problem.

All this aside, I really love driving this car! it is like nothing else I have ever driven. I could not imagine what I would replace it with, nothing comes close.

If you want, or have a Discovery3 you must look at www.disco3.co.uk there is so much information on there. There is more knowledge on there than you will find at the dealers! If you have an issue, just ask the forum and you will get an answer.