Hi,

Looking for some advice regarding my 2018 Range Rover Velar D240 HSE - 60k miles. I’m mainly looking to make sure that I’m not being taken advantage of with work that I have had done.. it’s a fairly long explanation so please bear with me and my explanations as I’m no expert!

I took my car for its regular service at LR dealership and was told that I had an oil leak on the timing cover. LR wanted a hefty hourly rate to take the gear box out and put sealant on. A family friend had always spoke highly of a LR specialist near me so I took it to them for a second opinion. They performed some investigations and told me that the cause of the leak was the timing chain and that it was common for vehicles with my mileage (60k) and recommended that it be replaced. They performed the work but when I got the car back the oil leak still persisted. I took the car back and they said that there was an additional issue with the injectors, I agreed to pay for parts but not labor as this should have been identified previously and they agreed.

After getting the car back a second time the leak was fixed but I noticed that the car would stutter sporadically and occasionally stall when starting. After approximately 100miles when at some traffic lights the car then also stalled mid journey. I took the car back a third time (which is where I am now) and the garage have advised that there is an issue with the “pistons”.. more specifically on 2 of the 4 large holes in the cylinder block there is a ridge approximately 1cm into the hole about 1-2mm thick in each.. the mechanic explained that this is the cause of the stalling and stuttering issue.. his solutions are either to have a new engine or re-cast the cylinder holes on the block, both of which cost a significant amount of money.

The mechanic maintains the work they did for the oil leak is unrelated to cylinder block issue.. but I wanted to check this forum for any expertise and guidance as I am well out of my depth in these conversations and it seem a coincidence that this issue has arisen now when getting my car back following work being done. To date I have spent ~£3800 for the injectors and the timing chain replacements and the new work is forecast to cost an additional £4-5k!!!

Am I just unlucky and have a dog of a car or could the garage have caused the new issue during the previous repairs? Any help would be hugely appreciated!!

I’ve uploaded a photo of the “holes” the mechanic showed me.. it might not be the exact engine but it’s the same principle to explain what I mean (hopefully!)

thanks,
Simon

So, it appears your mechanic is saying there is a ridge in the bore within 2 of the cylinders of your engine.. this might be true, but seems rather unlikely.. unless the engine is made of chocolate, which, being a modern LR, might be 100% the case .. Then, said mechanic also says this is causing the engine to stall ..

He then states that a new engine is required! Or he can re-bore the engine ?

Is my summary correct ?

I'm afraid my reaction to such "comments" is not really repeatable here , but, IMHO, you need a new garage, and a solicitor with a brain ( possibly the hardest part of the process )..

Do you have LEI on your car ins policy ?

Do you have diagnostics ? IME, this is more likely to be something stupid like a failed/failing battery than what it appears you are being told..

However, I must caution that your vehicle is about 20 years too modern for me - ? I despise electronics in cars, and only work on them under significant protest ..

I'm afraid there is only one solution to your dire situation...

Many on here or perfectionists and treat their vehicles with the same care as a new born baby. I, on the other hand believe, if it runs, leave well alone. Unless oil is leaking out like a torpedoed super tanker it is usually best to just keep an eye on it, in my opinion. Main dealers are money making machines and will do anything to relieve owners of as much money as possible. The description of the fault given by the mechanic seems very implausable to me. Sounds more like they fitted a dodgy injector. As @Disco1BFG says take it to an independant garage for a third opinion but dont tell them what the last mechanic said.

Col

Hello and welcome