Disco 4 (LR4) Steering failure... could have killed me

Cutting a very long story as short as possible...
Disco 4 went in for service and investigation of a small engine oil leak to an independent. On the way back from the garage one of the turbos blew so it was towed back to the garage. Three weeks, two new turbos and one bruised credit card later I get it back. Immediately returned as the brakes were soft, the steering was all over the place and the suspension dropped into safe mode. I presume that the mechanic rushed to finish the job and didn't bleed the brakes or check the tracking after the body was put back on. Brakes bled and tracking fixed, it was returned home.
I can't say it ever felt completely right but then, 20 days later, the steering wheel suddenly developed a lot of play whilst driving on the motorway. Limping the car home, the steering completely failed on the driveway. Exposing the steering column revealed the issue (see photo). Easily fixed, but should never have happened in the first place.
I've completely lost faith in the mechanic, and have booked the Disco into a LR dealership for a review of his work.

That will be an easy bolt to miss, but in all honesty, if you're a mechanic and have bolts left over from the vehicle, then something is up.

Steering and brakes are the up most safety items, these bits are check once, check twice and check again for peace of mind, if you had been involved in a fatal crash there would have been serious repercussions for the mechanic!

If I am working on the steering or brakes on my own vehicle it is a check and check again, no time wasted in having a brew and a smoke while you look it over thoroughly to ensure it's safe.

1970Jules said:

Cutting a very long story as short as possible...
Disco 4 went in for service and investigation of a small engine oil leak to an independent. On the way back from the garage one of the turbos blew so it was towed back to the garage. Three weeks, two new turbos and one bruised credit card later I get it back. Immediately returned as the brakes were soft, the steering was all over the place and the suspension dropped into safe mode. I presume that the mechanic rushed to finish the job and didn't bleed the brakes or check the tracking after the body was put back on. Brakes bled and tracking fixed, it was returned home.
I can't say it ever felt completely right but then, 20 days later, the steering wheel suddenly developed a lot of play whilst driving on the motorway. Limping the car home, the steering completely failed on the driveway. Exposing the steering column revealed the issue (see photo). Easily fixed, but should never have happened in the first place.
I've completely lost faith in the mechanic, and have booked the Disco into a LR dealership for a review of his work.View attachment 137988

Click to expand...

dieseldog69 said:

That will be an easy bolt to miss, but in all honesty, if you're a mechanic and have bolts left over from the vehicle, then something is up.

Steering and brakes are the up most safety items, these bits are check once, check twice and check again for peace of mind, if you had been involved in a fatal crash there would have been serious repercussions for the mechanic!

If I am working on the steering or brakes on my own vehicle it is a check and check again, no time wasted in having a brew and a smoke while you look it over thoroughly to ensure it's safe.

Click to expand...

jesus you were lucky you got home

Cripes! my gummers! You were lucky to get back - glad that most importantly you did!

Sounds like a real cowboy mechanic.

The brakes not being bled should never have happened.
The bolt missing from the steering - that's seriously negligent.

I would suggest contacting the mechanic and explaining that as a result of the danger (and inconvenience) caused you expect a full refund of the labour charges you paid for the work, and that should this not be forthcoming you wont hesitate to provide full details of the shoddiness of his work on social media / review websites / etc and will consider taking legal action.