Head’s up if you’re one of the 33,000 owners of 2002-2004 Range Rovers. The NHTSA has launched an investigation into those vehicles’ front driveshafts and differentials. The government agency said it had received 38 owner questionnaires pertaining to the situation and 17 of those claimed the drivetrain parts had failed while traveling at 40 mph or more. As you might expect, chatter on the Internets helped push this problem to the forefront. RangeRovers.net in particular seems to not only have a thorough description of the problem, but also several solutions. We can only imagine the party that will be going on over there when they hear the news.
From NHTSA.gov…
Defect Summary Make: LAND ROVER Model: RANGE ROVER Year: 2002 NHTSA Action Number: PE07019 Summary: ODI HAS RECEIVED 38 VEHICLE OWNER QUESTIONNAIRES (VOQS) ALLEGING FAILURE OF THE FRONT DRIVE SHAFT AND/OR THE FRONT AXLE DIFFERENTIAL. MANY OF THE COMPLAINANTS ALLEGE THAT THE FAILURE RESULTS IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE PROPULSION AND SUBSEQUENT VEHICLE IMMOBILIZATION. SEVENTEEN OF THE COMPLAINTS ALLEGE THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS GREATER THAN 40 MPH. SIXTEEN OF THE COMPLAINANTS ALLEGE THE VEHICLE REQUIRED TOWING AS A RESULT OF THE FAILURES. ADDITIONALLY, EIGHT OF THE COMPLAINANTS ALLEGE THAT THEY EXPERIENCED TWO FAILURES OF THE FRONT DIFFERENTIAL AND/OR FRONT DRIVESHAFT. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN OPENED TO ASSESS THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.
[Source: Automotive News, autoblog.com]
