2017 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY Complaints

I am filing this complaint regarding a catastrophic engine failure on my 2017 Land Rover Discovery HSE Luxury with the 3.0L V6 supercharged engine. The failure was caused by a broken timing chain, which resulted in severe internal engine damage. This component failure has been confirmed by an independent Land Rover specialist, and the damaged parts — including the broken chain — are available for inspection upon request. The incident put our safety at risk, as the vehicle experienced sudden loss of engine power while in operation. A complete engine stall, especially in traffic or at highway speeds, could easily lead to loss of power steering and braking assistance, significantly increasing the chance of an accident. Prior to the failure, we noticed several warning signs, including an illuminated check engine light, rough idling, and multiple diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), such as P0018, P0019, P0300, P0304, P0305, and P0306. These symptoms began appearing a few weeks before the engine failed completely, but escalated quickly. To our knowledge, there is no recall or technical service bulletin (TSB) addressing this known issue on this model and engine configuration. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Land Rover, the police, or any insurance agency, but the independent mechanic confirmed that the failure was internal and directly related to the timing chain system. We are submitting this report in the interest of public safety, as this type of failure on a vehicle with regular maintenance and 140,000 miles should not occur without warning. We believe this may indicate a broader reliability issue with the timing system in these engines and urge the NHTSA to investigate.

Had engine cooling system repaired at dealer in 2023. In late 2024/early 2025 - engine coolant loss returned. We maintained engine coolant at recommended levels until we could get vehicle into dealership for diagnosis and repair. During routine local trip, low coolant light suddenly came on and immediately following that, engine stopped in the middle of traffic. Wife was barely able to navigate vehicle to safe place alongside the road. Vehicle was towed to dealer. They diagnosed engine failure due to oil cooling system failure. We contacted JLR and they offered no solutions. This is a $40,000 repair on a vehicle worth at most $20 to $25,000 retail. We had to dispose of it to a salvage buyer at an extreme loss.

Timing chain broke while driving ~30 MPH on [XXX] [xxx]around 2:30pm pt. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This particular vehicle comes with a plastic coolant water outlet. When the plastic melts, it causes the coolant system to fail, and the engine will overheat. The plastic can only withstand heat up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Most engines run at 195-220. There was no reason for the manufacturer to use this type of plastic. Over 1,000 aftermarket coolant water outlets have been sold as a replacement for the manufacturer's part. There is a class action lawsuit for the faulty coolant water outlet. [XXX] v. Tata Motors Group, Jaguar Land Rover Limited, and Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted to drive(D), the vehicle failed to respond immediately. Additionally, the vehicle lost motive power while driving. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The following messages were displayed: "Gear Box Fault", "Forward Collision Fault", "Hill Descent Fault", and several other unknown messages were displayed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the body harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Discovery. The contact stated that rainwater was entering the vehicle and the computer system was not responding due to the water intrusion. There were no warning lights illuminated. The occupants of the vehicle were also getting wet. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the windshield and sealant needed to be replaced. The windshield was replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

Upper and lower hoses that the Antifreeze travels through disconnected while driving on the highway due to the dipping in the roadway. Not enough play in the hoses to accommodate the stretching and pulling on the hoses while the car goes up and down resulting in the hose’s disconnecting and losing antifreeze and the engine shutting down. It happened to me 2 times in a matter of 3 weeks resulting in this dangerous situation.

Windshield leak leads to unknown amount of water egress before the leak is visible inside the vehicle. This leads to electrical damage and loss of vital controls in vehicle.

The contact owns a 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport. The contact stated that while reversing from a parking spot, the steering wheel seized. There was an abnormal screeching sound detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the failure was due to the steering rack and the motor had disconnected. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 64,271.

My vehicle just hit over the 90,000 mark. I did all recommended services when they were due, less the spark plug replacement as I just hit that marker. I was driving on 285 in Atlanta in the far left lane and went to speed up which did not occur. My car was still on but would not accelerate. I ended up being able to get to pull over 5 lanes and park. Turned off my car and it would not crank. Called Land Rover SOS and waited 2 hours for a tow to the dealership. In that time I was able to get my car running to get some AC flowing 3 times and heard no crazy noises or knocking noises; attempted to drive each time and pushing the gas got me no more than 5 mph. Dealership called a couple days later stating that although my engine was sludge and metal free ‘meticulously clean’ I needed a new engine due to my engine jumping time. I corrected the service advisor that the timing chain jumps time, not the engine. Requested a service manager to contact me and was told the same thing and that it is a very common problem with my make and model around 100,000-120,000 miles. I requested they pull codes as they encounter this issue and know what it is and didn’t want to waste time and money in the process cuz they knew what the problem was. They provided the codes later that afternoon(P0011 & P052A) and I retrieved more than what they gave me when I took my car off the property to another mechanic as I was not forking over $14,000 for a new engine. I replaced the camshaft sensor myself as a starting point and car would turnover and sputter off like it wasn’t getting gas. After reading other complaints, I see this happens often. Not safe at all to be driving in 5-7 lanes of Atlanta hwy traffic. Still waiting to see what this other mechanic is going to fix.