Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, SUVs, Land Rover
Land Rover explains poor showing in Initial Quality Study
Land Rover has offered an explanation as to why it tanked this year's J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study. The brand landed last with a rating of 204 problems per 100 vehicles, well below the industry average of 124 ppv. The company says the issue revolved around Land Rover's switch from BMW-based engines to mills sourced in-house from Jaguar. New engine management software for the vehicles failed to take into account "all the different electrical connections" that Land Rover engines must mate to versus Jaguars. Likewise, in the case of the Range Rover specifically, glitches were caused by the fact engineers retained the original BMW electrical architecture. In most cases these software glitches triggered fault codes that resulted in the check-engine light coming on, which in turn disturbed many owners and led to the brand's poor IQS results. Land Rover maintains that it has gone back and fixed the issues along with other niggles like squeaky brake pads and the Range Rover's tough-to-close back liftgate, and has the data to prove it.
Past quality problems, however, are still haunting Land Rover. In J.D. Power & Associates most recent report, its Vehicle Dependability Study that measures problems reported by original owners of three-year old vehicles, Land Rover also placed last with 438 problems per 100 vehicles, well above the industry average of 227 ppv and quite a distance from the second worst brand on the list, Saab, with 326 ppv.
[Source: AutoWeek via WindingRoad]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
autoindia 7:08PM (8/10/2006)
Excellent Blog
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autoindia 7:09PM (8/10/2006)
Good Blog
Thanks,
Binu
http://www.autoindia.com
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Petey 7:09PM (8/10/2006)
Does the VDS add extra weight to more severe problems. EG: A seat belt light that wont go off isnt the same thing as a blown transmission?
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Sean 7:16PM (8/10/2006)
Shouldn't the second sentence read "well _above_ the industry average..." instead of "below"? The last sentence has it right.
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Roger 7:35PM (8/10/2006)
Interesting explanation. In the process of switching from BMW to Jag engines, it seems natural that there would be challenges with electrical/computer integration. I would have expected those components would have been thoroughly tested.
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akatsuki 7:44PM (8/10/2006)
Yeah, and their customers really care about their excuses. They shouldn't have released product if they weren't ready for it. Short term gain for one year of profits will not excuse them from lost customers, poor resale value and the weakening of brand equity.
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villano 7:59PM (8/10/2006)
I think today the market don't worry about all those issues. They keep selling a lot. Wait some years and hope everything will better change.
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AM 8:10PM (8/10/2006)
Hmmm, a British car having electrical problems? Who'd a thunk it?
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Drew 8:15PM (8/10/2006)
You can easily read b/w the lines here - basically it boils down to the fact that while other automakers spend millions on rigorously testing as much of their in-house hardware to ensure dependability, Land Rover couldn't give less of a sh*t. It's not like they have a history of long-term dependability and quality anyway, unless your Land Rover has the good fortune of having a military-size maintenance facility working on it constantly, you can look forward to having your Rover 4-wheeling in a garage 10 days out of every month. Stuff the excuses and get your sh*t together FORD.
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Trevor 8:29PM (8/10/2006)
Drew wrote: "Land Rover couldn't give less of a sh*t. It's not like they have a history of long-term dependability and quality anyway"
Actually, Land Rover does care. It was Ford that forced Land Rover off of the BMW powerplants too soon. Not Land Rover. Oh, and as for the reliability, there is no other vehicle manufacturer with a higher percentage of vehicles still in operation on the road than Land Rover.
Land Rovers come with free scheduled maintenance. All this means is that when a customer comes in for their 7500 mile oil change, they also plug it into the T4 and download the updates. Done, end of story.
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RJD 8:30PM (8/10/2006)
A Land Rover with electrical problems. Who would have ever thought of that!
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WillDaThrill 8:43PM (8/10/2006)
Um, yeah there are. Toyota, Honda, I think Volvo is up there too (could be wrong). Look Trevor, it's cool that you're a Rover fan, but don't start spouting lies.
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El Norte 8:58PM (8/10/2006)
Trevor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover#Quality_problems
Best to put fingers in your ears and hum.
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K 9:43PM (8/10/2006)
'Electrical problems' and 'Jaguar engines' are certainly two terms that have never appeared together before.
But giving credit where credit is due, Jaguar seems to be an innocent bystander on this occasion.
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Howard Kerr 10:13PM (8/10/2006)
While I realize it was a newer vehicle than this survey dealt with, a read of the LR3 long term test in this month's C&D would give most readers the idea that Land Rover has more problems than "software glitches" and substandard electrical/electronic connectors. And I guess that management doesn't consider Freelander problems to be all that critical.
Land Rover has the HIGHEST percentage of it's vehicles still in service compared to EVERY other manufacturer? I SUPPOSE it's possible....but then again Ford AND Chevy BOTH claim that here in the U.S. they have the longest running/most durable trucks.
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Ruckus1 10:25PM (8/10/2006)
"niggles"? Amazing.
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A Catalano 10:50PM (8/10/2006)
Neighbors Rover blew its tranny out several thousand (~5) outside of the warranty (35K). Dealer said tough,-pay or go. He now owns a Toyota Landcrusher and is quite pleased. British Cars have a reputation to protect,- and Rover's doinit.
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Finished.Law.School 11:06PM (8/10/2006)
Ford should sell Land Rover and Jaguar. This is all the more reason for it.
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Will 12:23AM (8/11/2006)
"Oh, and as for the reliability, there is no other vehicle manufacturer with a higher percentage of vehicles still in operation on the road than Land Rover."
Actually, this is true. I heard from Top Gear that %70 of all Land Rovers ever made (or made from some year ago) are still in use and running on roads today.
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Drew 2:21AM (8/11/2006)
Ok, I'm going to say what a lot of people probably already know, but the reason that there are so many Rovers around is b/c they were like the AK-47's of the 4x4 world in the WWII & post-WWII era. Ever heard of the British Empire? Well, they didn't use Willys Jeeps. They used Rovers (and they still are, and if you think armored Humvee get nailed by IEDs, try a thin-skinned Rover, British troops are just loving them to death, literally). And guess what, when the British had to let go of their colonies and literally created the Third World overnight (and the foundation for half of the world's vacations spots like Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc.) they left their garbage behind, i.e. Land Rovers. I mean, c'mon...just b/c Cuba uses 1950s Chevys doesn't mean Chevy's are reliable - they're the only things moving there!
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