Help / advice needed please.

My 2007 RRS HSE 2.9 has gone into a Land Rover dealership as my suspension light came on.
It wasn't the compressor so had to go back in for further investigation.

Took a hideous call earlier and this is what they said.

There is a problem with the dynamic hydraulic system and valve/pump possibly pipes need replacing and cost is a minimum of £5800 some 12 hours labour and possibly another £2k.

To add the sting my rear tailgate won't open and glad therefore needs replacing due to corroded switch and thats another £1k.

So just shy of 9k which is probably just under half of what car is worth - not under warranty.

Does that sound right? Car has been regularly serviced / had no trauma

Absolutely gutted

that was "glass" needs replacing not glad

Sounds painful. Have you got a local specialist, im sure most of that cost is made up of a very high labour rate? Maybe source your own parts to help bring the cost down further? Did they say what fault codes were stored?

Reference the tailgate, are they saying both switches have gone? Would seem unusual for them both to go at the same time without something else being the cause?

thanks for the reply Ian much appreciated.

No they didn't tell my what the codes were. I'm going to ask them to put in writing tomorrow and then speak to local speciality dealers as you say.

I did initially take to my local garage, who is great but not a RRS specialist, but his diagnostic equipment wasn't detailed enough to properly identify the fault which is why I then took to the Land Rover garage.

I just find that amount criminal and no doubt lots of high labour charges.

They then said I could "patch it up" for about 2k and then sell on..! But don't really want to do that to some poor sod.

Re: tailgate - the main boot opens ok its just the top tailgate. Apparently the switch has corroded and wires into glass so whole screen needs replacing at about 1k!

I'm a bit stumped but hopefully speaking to some other dealers locally will help. I'm also going to speak to the garage I bought it from but don't hold out too much there. Someone has also suggested I speak / email Land Rover direct to see if they will as a gesture of goodwill help out - but think that's clutching at straws.

Car was running fine with no problems at all and I've never heard of this before I can't find anything similar on the internet so no comparable evidence.

thanks again for the reply

The glass tailgate switch can be replaced for a few pounds. It's an easy DIY job. Although the wiring in the glass screen has been known to fail, it's got to be worth trying that before changing the glass. I had a LR dealership tell me that the glass needed replacing when my rear screen demist stopped working. Half an hour of my time cleaning the electrical connection in the spoiler and it's still working two years later!

Find a decent indie and get them to look at the vehicle - LR dealerships are too expensive if you're paying for the work yourself. They're also not that good in a lot of cases it seems. They don't seem that good at doing basic diagnosis either. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

If you do need a rear screen I would hit the breakers yard / eBay rather than pay £1k for a new screen.

Keep us posted.

cheers guys much appreciated

I didn't think I did need a rear screen - as the heating/de-mister works fine.

Just thought I needed a new switch.

Certainly won't be getting them to fix

I'll see what tomorrow brings - thanks again for your input.

Never posted on these things before

MD73 if you don't mind a trip down the A3, M27...speak to Shaun Merrington here:

www.sandcmotors.co.uk

He's very good and just might be able to help you.

Good luck  Carl

thanks V8SC

will definitely check that garage out.

huge thanks

Hi

If it is the upper tailgate switch I can vouch for it being easy to replace. I did mine the other day and if I can do it anyone can.

I did have to remove the outer panel of the tailgate though as I couldn't release the clips on the switch from the outside.

David

MD73 wrote:

My 2007 RRS HSE 2.9 has gone into a Land Rover dealership as my suspension light came on.
It wasn't the compressor so had to go back in for further investigation.

Took a hideous call earlier and this is what they said.

There is a problem with the dynamic hydraulic system and valve/pump possibly pipes need replacing and cost is a minimum of £5800 some 12 hours labour and possibly another £2k.

To add the sting my rear tailgate won't open and glad therefore needs replacing due to corroded switch and that's another £1k.

So just shy of 9k which is probably just under half of what car is worth - not under warranty.

Does that sound right?

Hi and welcome,

The fact that the dealer is proposing to charge you £1k for new tailgate glass without even trying changing the £15 switch first gives a good indication of their attitude to customers.

Regarding the 'dynamic hydraulic problem' fix at around £7800 (and that will be without VAT) is this JLR's latest scam idea?

There was a lady in another post recently complaining that her and husband had been charged £10,500 or so by a dealership for a similar 'dynamic system problem' that had no symptoms but was attributed to 'contamination of the fluid'. The lady eventually confessed that her husband had put water in the dynamic response reservoir' so my sympathy was muted but that still seems a heck of a lot of money for replacing a few parts and a flush out of the system and recalibrate.

As already suggested - the OP should find a good independent and get a second opinion. Just out of interest I note the OP is in Guildford so is the dealer Guava by any chance?

There have been some good reports about Guava but you have to bear in mind that, in the minds of some owners, smarmy front desk personnel, posh leather sofas and free coffee constitute 'great service' - not an opinion shared by most owners who understand a little about servicing.

I hope the OP finds a simple and inexpensive solution but I can't help having a bit of a rant:

Isn't it about time that JLR management adopted a different attitude to customers? It is obvious that the dealerships instructions to staff are to 'squeeze (extort?) as much money out of every customer that walks in by any means necessary'.

How about changing that to 'treat every customer how you would like to be treated yourself'?!!! 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

Hi Paddi,

Thanks for the email. Yes was Guava indeed.

I have the report now and have emailed to a few local garages and hopefully they can help.

I also called JLR direct who got my hopes up saying they would contribute but soon dashed as the call back was a negative primarily because I didn't buy from a main dealer ! Nothing to do with the fault really.

I'm just shocked it costs that much! Come on. I understand cars go through wear and tear but the thick end of 10k is just a joke.

I've loved driving my car and its been fine up until this point but sadly think this will be my last JLR.
thanks all

M