Might be cheaper to sue. That said, I have no technical expertise as to whether or not such parts would be seen as acceptable for failing after the amount of use it has had.

It is often a fine line when something breaks/fails as to whether it is unsatisfactory and should have lasted longer (i.e. sue under SOGA) or whether it is perfectly reasonable for something to break/fail after the usage it has had.

You are still covered by the protection afforded by SOGA but any claim will likely be lengthy and defended heavily by the dealer. Victory would see a free of charge repair and refund of all your court costs (which in the small claims court are relatively low.)

Defeat would see the end of whatever money has been spent on costs (but not more) and still a repair to find money for. Some have seen it through and even the mega might of Curry's have been defeated when sued.

Just for info and best of luck with whatever you do  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I'll try the straight forward approach
First. If that fails you're hired. You can
Sue the pants of them.

Stuart

Fair enough  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Don't I recall someone else on here deciding he was going to sue? thought he had it in the bag until at a very late stage LR came out all guns blazing, case looked to be going to a higher court, barristers employed and LR making it clear they would be going for full costs etc if they won. When the chap looked into the abyss of possibly losing his home to pay his own legal costs let alone LR's if he lost the case he wisely decided to pull out of the process.

I suspect that with some industries, motor manufacturing being one of them, because of the risk of a principle being established companies will fight you to the death. The eye watering costs to them to lose a case where a principle was established that cars should last say 100,000 miles without suffering a common or frequent component failure is plenty of encouragement for them to do this. We can understand that a whole raft of haldex units or diff components or rear door locks, flywheels etc etc failing on cars belonging to forum members suggest shoddy quality that ought to be able to be addressed by action under SOGA. In real life it wont be so simple,

Contact Mike on here and ask for any advice or help he might be able to offer. Getting a second opinion sounds like solid advice as well, Alex makes a good point re the rare nature of the fault as diagnosed by your dealer.

Good luck!

I remember looking into that case and the person made several errors. They tried taking on LR when they should have just sued the dealer as that is who is responsible. They also tried to rely on something promised over the phone which when it came to court, was conveniently never said. Always use emails and letters and save them and use recorded mail.

Also, in small claims court, your costs are limited to what you pay and you do not pay the opposition costs even if you lose. The opposition must pay if they want to appeal.

I will never claim it is simple as law rarely is but if you go about things properly, you won't end up in the mire like the aforementioned chap.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

P.S, there will never be a blanket precedent set by a decision as each case is judged on its own facts. The small claims court would rule without both sides citing cases left, right and centre. That's for the appeal courts or for arguments strictly on a point of law LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I've not heard of this failure either.
Have you made any progress with L/R customer relations?
I know how you feel owd lad, rotten innit
Let us know how you go on.

Yes, Mav71 reply was insensitive to say the least. Absolute no need for it  Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

It's nice knowing I'm the first with this problem!

What concerns me (and I'm waiting for the garage to get back to me to discuss this) but what if the transfer box is replaced only to find that the problem still exists? Am I down £1300 and have to try something else?

Poor car, it's like your pet dog not being well. you know the vets bills are going to be awful but you just want it better.

Stuart

Wait to see what the garage state
In the meantime, have you tried L/R customer relations?
When you go down this route, they agree to pay all or more likely a %age of the repair Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

I'm talking with Mike here which is great.
Also the garage have confirmed that they've had 2 Freelander transfer box replacements last year.

Stuart

Out of interest what behaviours were you seeing prior to the failure?

Hi Ninocass,

The noise started as a whine, almost like tyre noise. At first I thought it was the road surface I was on.
The noise is at its worst in the 50-60mph range and got louder quickly.
Sometimes it is actually quieter and then suddenly gets louder.
I probably didn't notice the noise so much at first due to the volume of my music however it's now loud enough even over a bit of Iron Maiden.
From the cabin, it was difficult to tell where the noise was coming from however I did feel that it was coming from the front. So I was a little surprised when they first suggested the rear diff.
The location of the noise was quite obvious to them once they had run the car up on the ramp.

I hope you're not hearing the same noises!

Stuart

stooby wrote:

Alex,

You raise an interesting point. The dealer used listening equipment to come to the conclusion that the transfer box is at fault.
Even they are surprised. Do you think it is worth trying to get a second opinion?
They reckoned it was the diff but when they had it on their rolling road or whatever they found that it was coming from that area.

Ghawk2005 - This is the cost of a full replacement. Apparently they don't repair them. Perhaps I should ask some of the independents for a quote or second opinion.

Stevie5tapes - I'll be calling customer relations tomorrow and see how I get on with that. Failing that I'll try Mike.

Tigger - I love my Freelander. The £33k miles I've done have been great fun. My comment about the joy of Land Rover ownership is in reference to a lot of people who love Land Rovers despite some of their problems. Perhaps I've been looking in on the Defender forum too often.....
As for Mav71, my problem with his useless post, 'I can't comment about your problem but I'm alright Jack' was a waste of his time, my time and in fact sounded like he was rubbing it in.,
Seriously, why did he bother replying? I've had a really cr4p day to be honest, Land Rovers aside and that was the first reply I got? P* off.

Stuart

Just chill out mate. I responded to you insinuating the 'joys' of Land Rover ownership would be a foregone conclusion of being a bad one.

But yes, I had no issues and I make no excuse for it.  Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

One of the problems one comes up against these days is that garages - particularly main dealers - tend simply to replace components rather than to investigate and fix where possible. Given the level of labour costs that can often make sense, but it can also leave you paying for a new component where a simple fix would have sufficed.

The transfer case is not a complex component, and Topix does list procedures for changing its left, right and rear seals, so these are clearly replaceable. One wonders if that might be all that's necessary, rather than a complete new box. But as for how one would go about finding out, that's a different matter if all the dealer wants to do is replace.

Mav71, I'm not your 'mate'. However did you get that idea?


Pab, indeed at this point unless I can find someone else to do a full diagnostic on it then I can only take the garage's word for it. I did speak to them earliler today and they are 'very confident' that the transfer box is the problem. Because of the vibrations it is producing however they cannot rule out any issues with the rear diff until the transfer box is fixed. So it might not be the end of the story even if the transfer box is replaced. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. What exactly I do next will probably depend on what response I get back from Land Rover.

Stuart

Stooby,
Feel free to keep us updated with how this develops should you wish to do so.
I hope for you it all comes out in the wash nice and clean  Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.