1999 Land Rover Discovery TD5 XS-7 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Paint resprayed 3 times on inner rear doors (dirt on the seals rubs the paint off)

Rear air suspension failure at 30,000 miles.

Cooling system total failure at 50,000 miles.

Brackets holding 3rd row of seats have broken 4 times (still broken - parts on long term back order)

Rear pull-out luggage cover replaced 4 times (broken connector)

Significant diesel fuel leak at 64000 miles (still not fixed...)

Numerous recalls.

Long term significant sunroof leakage from 40,000 miles (needed numerous attempts to fix).

Anti-roll bar bushes failed at 65000 miles.

Squeaking seats (0 - 10,000 miles)

The most unreliable and poor quality vehicle I have ever owned.

I still cannot quite believe how Land Rover could produce a car so poor. It might be able to climb any mountain, but something will likely go wrong as you drive there along the motorway...

The only good things I can say about it are that it is a practical family car (my kids love it) and useful when the weather is bad.

These good points could apply to any 4 x 4 and are significantly outweighed by the downside of Land Rover ownership. Luckily mine came with a 3 year warranty that has now expired.

Driving one of these cars without warranty cover is just like playing Russian Roulette...

I agree completely with your comments. I bought one brand new and it had 3 things wrong with it straight from the dealer. I dumped it before the warranty could expire because I did not want to get stuck with that lemon. 3 factory recalls in the first 9 months I owned it.

Does anyone know what the td5 diesel leak is at the rear of the engine?paul@1a1a.co.uk.

It's an opening where diesel has seeped through.

I agree! I bought mine used at 40.00 km. A great family car (my kid's love it too). Warranty ran out a year ago and it is now costing me a fortune.

What a shame.

Hi I purchased a 2002 TD5 drove great, when on holiday driving through France 4th gear (auto) started shuddering, car only covered 26000, silly niggles or disaster? depends if covered under extended Landrover Approved Warranty.

Australian owner - early 1999 TD5 Auto/7. Purchased at approx 105,000 km in apparently excellent order. Have never abused the vehicle and replace oil and filters each 5000-8,000 km. After replacing sagged front springs, failed rear airbags with springs & supplementary air bags, completely renovating the auto, replacing radiator, viscous fan assy, thermostat and shock dampers plus fitting a transfer case lock, I am very much poorer even after using after market components. The ABS shuttle valve still immobilises the ABS, Traction Control and Hill Descent functions permanently (a common problem and clearly a design fault which LR ignores). Fortunately, any capable driver does not rely on these in any case.

Land Rover have made their vehicles far too complex and will not stand by their product failures. Component costs are prohibitive and critical parts are often restricted to dealerships only - eg the ABS Shuttle Valve (approx $300) can be replaced on my model; however, Land Rover prefers to quote some $6,000 to replace the entire ABS hydraulic unit and charges ridiculous 'prestige' hourly rates.

Now at 176,000 km, it is a fine machine, but not much real improvement over my old 1973 Range Roverwhich still provided sterling service at age 30. Most recent problem is a blown head gasket due hose failure plus possible head replacement (aluminium). Of course, LR quotes approx $10,000 for a new head, but others can do the whole job for about $3,000. Would never buy another Rover product, but, having spent much money to date, will persevere for the forseeable future. Note for other auto owners - the Sprag Clutch which failed in my ZF gearbox is identical to that used in small auto sedans!!!

During a period of unemployment two years ago I took a temporary job loading vehicles onto car carriers (boats) at Southampton docks.

One day we had a car park full of brand new Discoveries to load (about 100 in total). I was staggered to find that many Discoveries were virtually undriveable straight from the production line. I can remember one which was unable to climb the metal ramp into the car carrier because the engine was not working correctly (eventually I had to select low range).

I asked the team leader about the build of Land Rovers (while he was attaching jump leads to one which wouldn't start). Apparently, the faults are expected to be rectified during the pre-delivery inspection. Land Rover apparently don't consider making the cars correctly first time is necessary.

I pity the people employed in Land-Rover dealerships.

I purchased a new 99'from the dealer and it is the worst truck I have ever owned. The first week of ownership I had to return to the dealer because the gas filler door would not open. That should have been my first clue this purchase was a mistake. Two weeks later (first rainstorm) the windscreen had a severe leak. Back to the dealer again. A visit to the dealer was common place with this piece of junk. The doors do not work, the rear hatch has not opened in a year. I have more leaks and spills with this so-called 4x4 that I have a good mind to just torch it. This weekend coolant was leaking from somewhere and after careful inspection I could not find the problem. Concerned over the leak the first thing I did this morning was re-inspect the truck. I found no problem, started the rover and the radio does not work! It's stuck on one station. The volume can't be lowered! This is insane!

I purchased a new 99'from the dealer and it is the worst truck I have ever owned. The first week of ownership I had to return to the dealer because the gas filler door would not open. That should have been my first clue this purchase was a mistake. Two weeks later (first rainstorm) the windscreen had a severe leak. Back to the dealer again. A visit to the dealer was common place with this piece of junk. The doors do not work, the rear hatch has not opened in a year. I have more leaks and spills with this so-called 4x4 that I have a good mind to just torch it. This weekend coolant was leaking from somewhere and after careful inspection I could not find the problem. Concerned over the leak the first thing I did this morning was re-inspect the truck. I found no problem, started the rover and the radio does not work! It's stuck on one station. The volume can't be lowered! This is insane!

I Have a 99 TD5 LandRover Discovery.last year going from Geelong to Adelaide the motor started dropping back to an idle early in the trip, this would happen 20 times in 100ks.The engine could be reset by turning the motor off and restarting, I kept looking for the dealer in the next town. and was surprised to find no LR dealers between Geelong and Adelaide. I hiccupped into Adelaide after a nightmare trip towing a large caravan, turning the key off as I rolled through busy intersections to reset the electrics. I called the RAC road side assist. They couldn't fix it, so pointed me to the local LR dealer, These people found oil had got into the injection wiring loom, dried it out, charged me $630.00 and away I went, OK for 1 day, then it developed again, miles to the north of Adelaide. I put up with it for 3 days. Back in Geelong, wanting to steer clear of LR dealers, they had already given me the wrong radio code. I went to my local 2 man garage, they know nothing about these vehicles, but they soon found a broken wire in that injection loom, charged me $140, its been good now for 12 months. Now the rear right air spring is leaking at 140,000 ks. My next caravaning vehicle won't be a LandRover.