Discovery diesel cicra 2003-5 reliability?
Discussion
Hi there,
I need a 4by4 with 7 seats for general duties incl ferrying the strife and kids around, wanted to get something cheapish and have been looking at various options. I've never considered a Landrover before because of the notorious reliability issues combined with extortionate parts bills. But I just wanted to ask you lot, are they really that bad reliability wise?
I'd be looking at a 2003-2005 diesel ideally.
I need a 4by4 with 7 seats for general duties incl ferrying the strife and kids around, wanted to get something cheapish and have been looking at various options. I've never considered a Landrover before because of the notorious reliability issues combined with extortionate parts bills. But I just wanted to ask you lot, are they really that bad reliability wise?
I'd be looking at a 2003-2005 diesel ideally.
That will be the Discovery 2 with the Td5 engine.
Hard as nails & the last "proper" Land Rover engine the purists will argue...
As ever, check for regular servicing, no cambelt to worry about (chain driven). There was an issue with oil in the injector loom/ECU but that should have been long since sorted by now. Some rear chassis will have started to rust so have a good look/poke about.
Top of the Range ES models had leather, air con, cruise, heated seats etc etc so check they all work, especially the powered seats. Sunroofs can & will leak so check for signs of water ingress.
Also, do a Google search of the "3 Amigos" - HDC, TC & ABS lights. Not a major issue and potentially a good bargaining chip that could be an easy fix or a nightmare but you need something like a Hawkeye diagnostic to fix properly.
7 seater models all had rear air suspension. Don't buy one if it has been removed - insurance & ride quality issues...
They also could have been fitted with the hydraulic ACE cornering system & the pipes for that can corrode so that too may have been removed which is a shame.
All in, an excellent used buy & prices are starting to firm up. Facelift came in 2002 so go for one of them. Autos are good too.
Like I said in the beginning, hard as nails if you buy well!
Hard as nails & the last "proper" Land Rover engine the purists will argue...
As ever, check for regular servicing, no cambelt to worry about (chain driven). There was an issue with oil in the injector loom/ECU but that should have been long since sorted by now. Some rear chassis will have started to rust so have a good look/poke about.
Top of the Range ES models had leather, air con, cruise, heated seats etc etc so check they all work, especially the powered seats. Sunroofs can & will leak so check for signs of water ingress.
Also, do a Google search of the "3 Amigos" - HDC, TC & ABS lights. Not a major issue and potentially a good bargaining chip that could be an easy fix or a nightmare but you need something like a Hawkeye diagnostic to fix properly.
7 seater models all had rear air suspension. Don't buy one if it has been removed - insurance & ride quality issues...
They also could have been fitted with the hydraulic ACE cornering system & the pipes for that can corrode so that too may have been removed which is a shame.
All in, an excellent used buy & prices are starting to firm up. Facelift came in 2002 so go for one of them. Autos are good too.
Like I said in the beginning, hard as nails if you buy well!
Edited by piecost76 on Wednesday 6th May 08:17
piecost76 said:
Helpful stuff
Thanks! That's all really useful. I'm going to print that off as a list and take it LandRover hunting on the weekend. I do need something 'hard' because I have a tendency to want to take it into out fields sometimes, and I do want something which can cope with towing a beast box. 
A pleasure - I have had 3 & 3 Amigos aside, never had any aggro at all.
If you're interested in serious off roading, LR did do away with the Centre Diff Lock early on relying instead on the TC to do the work. They reinstated it at the end of production as an option but if you're lucky, you may get an inbetween one that has the CDL internals but without the lever which you can buy a kit for off Ashcrofts. Personally, I never found the need but each to their own!
My last one was a 54 plate Metropolis Auto - very last of the line that I should have kept but went for a Disco 3 instead which incidentally, you can get for about £5k for a high miler.
Another can of worms there!
Take a look here:
http://www.discovery2.co.uk/
Also the D2 Boys club
If you're interested in serious off roading, LR did do away with the Centre Diff Lock early on relying instead on the TC to do the work. They reinstated it at the end of production as an option but if you're lucky, you may get an inbetween one that has the CDL internals but without the lever which you can buy a kit for off Ashcrofts. Personally, I never found the need but each to their own!
My last one was a 54 plate Metropolis Auto - very last of the line that I should have kept but went for a Disco 3 instead which incidentally, you can get for about £5k for a high miler.
Another can of worms there!
Take a look here:
http://www.discovery2.co.uk/
Also the D2 Boys club
Edited by piecost76 on Wednesday 6th May 12:54
piecost76 said:
That will be the Discovery 2 with the Td5 engine.
Hard as nails & the last "proper" Land Rover engine the purists will argue...
As ever, check for regular servicing, no cambelt to worry about (chain driven). There was an issue with oil in the injector loom/ECU but that should have been long since sorted by now. Some rear chassis will have started to rust so have a good look/poke about.
Top of the Range ES models had leather, air con, cruise, heated seats etc etc so check they all work, especially the powered seats. Sunroofs can & will leak so check for signs of water ingress.
Also, do a Google search of the "3 Amigos" - HDC, TC & ABS lights. Not a major issue and potentially a good bargaining chip that could be an easy fix or a nightmare but you need something like a Hawkeye diagnostic to fix properly.
7 seater models all had rear air suspension. Don't buy one if it has been removed - insurance & ride quality issues...
They also could have been fitted with the hydraulic ACE cornering system & the pipes for that can corrode so that too may have been removed which is a shame.
All in, an excellent used buy & prices are starting to firm up. Facelift came in 2002 so go for one of them. Autos are good too.
Like I said in the beginning, hard as nails if you buy well!
Good info ^^Hard as nails & the last "proper" Land Rover engine the purists will argue...
As ever, check for regular servicing, no cambelt to worry about (chain driven). There was an issue with oil in the injector loom/ECU but that should have been long since sorted by now. Some rear chassis will have started to rust so have a good look/poke about.
Top of the Range ES models had leather, air con, cruise, heated seats etc etc so check they all work, especially the powered seats. Sunroofs can & will leak so check for signs of water ingress.
Also, do a Google search of the "3 Amigos" - HDC, TC & ABS lights. Not a major issue and potentially a good bargaining chip that could be an easy fix or a nightmare but you need something like a Hawkeye diagnostic to fix properly.
7 seater models all had rear air suspension. Don't buy one if it has been removed - insurance & ride quality issues...
They also could have been fitted with the hydraulic ACE cornering system & the pipes for that can corrode so that too may have been removed which is a shame.
All in, an excellent used buy & prices are starting to firm up. Facelift came in 2002 so go for one of them. Autos are good too.
Like I said in the beginning, hard as nails if you buy well!
Edited by piecost76 on Wednesday 6th May 08:17
I've got the Facelift ES, had a Discovery 1 ES a number of years ago and there is a noticeable difference between the two.
Only thing that isn't working are the electric seats but looking to sort them before my journey to Scotland in November.
The Engine is decent, feels a bit lacking on acceleration but that's not surprising but once up to speed and cruise control on it's lovely.
I have 7 seats in mine, they're a bit of a faff to take out so if you can just leave them in.
I used this guy http://www.dynachip.co.uk/index.html and got the recommendation from various forums. He travels to you and the change he made was amazing considering the time/money involved. He did tweak mine bit more after a test drive once he found out I wasn't bothered about economy.
The low down torque is massively better, it pulls beyond 4k rpm and is, obviously, much less slow
Economy is a smidge better too unless you're going for it.
The low down torque is massively better, it pulls beyond 4k rpm and is, obviously, much less slow
Economy is a smidge better too unless you're going for it.Gassing Station | Land Rover | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff