The Truth about Land Rover LR3 Reliability - TFL Expert Buyers Guide

The Land Rover LR3 is quite possibly the best balance of on-road drivability and off-road capability of any vehicle ever made. These vehicles are cheap, they're fantastic to own, and in this video we're going over all the things you want to know about Land Rover ownership, talking about what options to buy, what to avoid, common issues to look out for, and why you may want to consider an LR3, and of course we're talking reliability. The Land Rover LR3 is a luxury off-road SUV built between model years 2005 and 2009. It was for sale in a number of different trims with a couple different engine options, and it was also available as a five or a seven seater. Let's get the big question out of the way. Is the LR3 a reliable vehicle? Well certainly Land Rover does have a reputation for unreliability, so much in fact that with the LR3 they got rid of the word Discovery from the nameplate altogether, at least here in the US, and they didn't bring it back until the Discovery 5. But that being said, the LR3, specifically the ones sold from 2006 through 2009, are pretty much renowned as the most reliable Land Rover ever made. They have a lot of really great attributes to them that make them long-lasting vehicles, and it's pretty common to see these with 200, even 250,000 miles before major issues start occurring. Now that's not to say it's a Toyota. It certainly isn't a Camry. Things will go wrong, and we're going to address those in this video, but these can be very reliable long-lasting vehicles. Holzkern of Vienna, Austria, has a lineup of cool new watches unlike anything we've ever seen. For a limited time there's a two-for-one free deal that's this week only. Buy a watch and an accessory and get a free gift for your special someone. Check out this one, the Primus, made with leadwood and marble accents and held together in a sleek, durable stainless steel case. No two watches will look the same. That's right, this elegant and sleek watch was only made for you. Even better, Holzkern is offering TFL viewers a 15% discount on their first order. Go to holzkern.com slash tfl car to check out the Primus watch and Holzkern's complete lineup of high-quality, highly original men's and women's timepieces, jewelry, sunglasses, and more. And if you see this after the sale is over, don't worry. Go to www.holzkern.com slash tfl. Use the code tfl15 for 15% off. Let's talk engines. First things first, when you're out there looking to buy an LR3 to pop the hood, the hood catch is located underneath the R. That should save you some fumbling. Now, this video is targeted primarily to US viewers because that's where most of you live. And in the US, the most common engine option in the LR3 is going to be what the silver LR3 has. This is a 4.4 liter V8. It's called the AJV8. They use this engine in Aston Martins. They use it in Jaguars. They also used a variant of this engine in several Ford products like the Lincoln LS and even the Ford Thunderbird. Now, compared to the Discovery 2 that had fundamental engineering faults in the V8 regarding head gasket slip liners, this 4.4 liter is an excellent engine. In fact, I would wager to say this is probably one of the better engines developed in the 21st century. I really mean that. These things last a super long time. 300 horsepower, 315 pound-feet of torque, and it was made into one transmission option here in the US, a six-speed ZF automatic. The V8 in this silver Land Rover is so silky smooth. It's not like a screamy or shouty V8 like you might expect in an American car, but it's got a lot of low-end torque compared to the V6. It actually kind of hustles you down the road quite well. I've heard them with exhaust on them too. They sound kind of cool. So, yeah, pretty good. Fuel economy, not excellent. Figure mid-teens, especially with the lift, but it's not much better than the V6. Starting in 2006, Land Rover did offer a more affordable and more economical engine option. So, this Land Rover has the 4 liter V6. This is a pretty rare option because this engine developed 216 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. And the reason this is a pretty rare engine option is because it only got one mpg better. However, it made close to 30% less power than the 4.4 V8. 216 horsepower, 269 pound-feet of torque. That's not a lot to motivate 5,590 pounds worth of Land Rover brick. So, these engines are pretty rare. They're also less reliable than the AJV8 because these had timing chain issues. This is virtually the same engine you could get in the Ford Explorer. Note, the LR3 is not based on the Explorer. We'll talk about that in a sec. But yeah, I mean, other than some oil pan changes, it's basically an Explorer V6. Not very common, not as sought after because if you're looking to tow, if you're looking to cruise at 80 miles an hour up interstate 70 here in Colorado at 10,000 feet above sea level, this just won't cut the mustard. So, if it were me, I'd try to find a V8. Chances are you'll probably find one. It's actually much harder to find a V6. Let's get one thing out of the way first. If you're shopping for an LR3 and you're looking at two, one's a V6, it's a good price, and it's in better condition, and the other one's a V8, and it's more expensive, and it's in worse condition, get the V6 because this engine is not objectively terrible. It's fine here. I'll go full throttle. Yeah, I mean, it progresses down the road. I'm a pretty slow driver. It's never really bugged me. It's fine, but if you have the option, get the V8. I will say the fuel economy is better on the V6. We drove our old LR3 for many thousands of miles, and it averaged about 17 mpg. This V6 is averaging 17.1. There you go. That's an improvement. The secret sauce, the thing that really makes the LR3 so special, at least in my opinion, is the suspension because you can drive these vehicles every day, float around town in absolute comfort, and then flick a paddle, raise the suspension, and go anywhere off-road. The four-corner independent air suspension on the LR3 is really incredible, and I think better than the stuff that Land Rover uses today, at least in calibration. Now, people are very scared of air suspension in Land Rover and Range Rover products, and rightfully so in some vehicles. We've all heard the horror stories of, my suspension collapsed, and now it's going to be $10,000 to fix, but LR3 air suspension really isn't all that complicated, and it's quite robust. At the heart of the Land Rover air suspension are four air struts, one on each corner. These are essentially balloons that inflate and deflate to change the ride height of the vehicle. Now, it's common misconception that these need to be replaced every few years, or even every few thousand miles. We've owned three LR3s here at TFL collectively, and every single one of our LR3s have ridden on their original air struts. Let me repeat that. This LR3 belongs to Alex, our videographer. It has 147,000 miles, it's been modified, and the date code on the air struts are original. In this case, July 20th, 2004. So that means this vehicle with nearly 150k is riding on its original air suspension, which is not uncommon. The other two we've owned are in a similar boat. Now, apart from the air springs, there are a couple of things that can go wrong. At the rear of the Land Rover is a compressor that supplies air to each of the air struts, and the air compressors can fail. It's actually pretty common. Now, it's not a super expensive part. It's also not a super expensive fix. But what can happen is sometimes the air lines or the valve bodies that distribute the air to the individual struts can start to leak. That causes the compressors to run all of the time. That causes them to overheat and wear prematurely. Now, if you're test driving an LR3, make sure you turn it on. You should hear that compressor kick on for a couple of minutes. If it runs continuously, it usually means there's a fault in the system, and it usually means that that compressor is probably going to have to be replaced. Not a huge deal, not super expensive, but definitely something worth noting. If you do want to eliminate all air suspension problems altogether, you can convert these to ride on coil springs. In my opinion, you kind of lose a lot of the magic. It is an option, and quite honestly, all the suspension components are very gettable and not that expensive. You know, you might think that this pretty large and scary looking air strut is going to be $1,500-$2,000, but you can buy them for $250-$300 per corner. I've seen them as low as $800 for all four, so not really that expensive, and in my opinion, definitely worth keeping. Now, this is why I love the air suspension, because especially when they're just a little bit worn out, they provide one of the most comfortable rides of any car I've ever driven. You know, every SUV now is aiming to be sporty and aggressive and have a sport mode that dials it in for canyon use. The LR3 is like, screw that. There is no sporting context in this vehicle whatsoever. It's just a barge. It's like a 1970s American luxury car, and that's what I love about them. They just waft over positively everything. They cannot be bothered by bumps. They cannot be bothered by turns, to be honest, but who cares, because all we do in America is drive in straight lines anyways and go off-road, and that ride quality is perfect for all of the above. Let's get one of the most common misconceptions out of the way. I see a lot of online commenters saying, well, the LR3 is just a rebadged Explorer. That is not true. Now, Land Rover LR3 development actually started under BMW. It was called Project Heartland, and then it really transferred to Ford, and that's where things really got going, and initially, it's true. Land Rover did send engineers over to Dearborn to explore the potential of making the Land Rover ride on the Explorer platform. That idea was scrapped altogether because it was deemed not suitable for a Discovery platform, and there is just about nothing, apart from the engine on this one, shared with an Explorer. The suspension, the frame design is completely different. It's all different, so it's not an Explorer underneath. I promise. Now, what is underneath this platform is something really interesting. This uses a combination of body-on-frame and unibody architecture, so yes, it does ride on a somewhat traditional ladder frame, but the body shell itself is actually integral into making this vehicle nice and stiff. LR3s typically don't suffer from that many rust issues. I mean, I personally would try to stay away from like a Midwest or a Northeast car, so crawl underneath, see if there's any major rust problems, but they typically don't rust out that bad. And one other cool fact about the LR3, if you maybe want something that looks a little bit more sporty, the Range Rover Sport of this generation, the mid-2000s, rides on the same platform. They're also fantastic. They use the same 4.4 V8 in a lot of cases, and they're great vehicles. If that's a little bit smaller, a little bit more fuel efficient, a little bit more sporty, that's also a good option. Let's talk about some of the common failure points on the LR3 and things worth looking out for. Starting with differentials, early LR3s, specifically the ones pre-2007, do have a tendency to go through diffs a little bit quicker than they should, so take a listen out for any kind of weird groaning or clunking out of the differentials. Control arms, especially lower control arms, will wear out. You might hear a popping or clunking if you drive over bumps. Transmissions, once again, seems to be more of an issue on earlier cars, but they are, quote, sealed by life, according to, sealed for life, I should say, according to Land Rover. But, you know, whenever I see that, I'm always a little skeptical. So, transmissions, you know, can fail, especially if it's had a hard life. And then, try to find one with the most maintenance history possible, right? The most documentation possible. From my experience, you know, we had that LR3 a few years ago. We bought it for five grand. The darn thing just wouldn't break. We drove the beans off of it off-road, and it just kept coming back for more, also on its original air suspension, and no problems whatsoever. Not to say yours won't. There are electronics that can go bad. They really are pretty solid, especially compared to the Discovery 2, or even some of the engine things that the LR4 struggled with. The 3 is just, like, right in that sweet spot. Now, there are three primary trim levels that you'll find across the LR3 lineup. This is a complete base model, this black one next to me. Abroad, it was called the S. Here in the U.S., it was just referred to as the LR3 base. But, from there, there was an SE, which is what the silver one is. You'll find, typically, more SCs than any other trim. And then, the top line was the HSC. And we'll talk about some of the big differences now, and what options you should look out for. Now, this base Land Rover, you'll notice, is missing some things compared to the SE. First of all, it's got halogen headlights compared to the high-intensity discharges that you'll find on this SE. This is a really nice option. Really illuminates the road in front of you quite nicely. You also have headlight washers, which is really nice. We're also missing, on this LR3, fog lights. This SE has fog lights, which is a nice option. So, look, if you want some goodies, hang out for an SE. Hang out for an HSC. It's pretty rare to find these complete, bean-can ones. And it's definitely worth finding the right one that fits your lifestyle. Certainly, front-end design with the high-intensity headlights is a nice option. Although, these halogens are super cheap to fix. The bulbs are very affordable. Now, I personally think this Land Rover, in general, has aged super well. When you consider this design is going on 20 years old, both outside and inside, it's held up really well. The inside is not super luxurious by modern-day standards. Yes, we do have these wonderful leather chairs. So comfortable, by the way. And I love these little captain chair swivel armrests, which you can height adjust. You also have that fantastic Land Rover command driving position, where they sit up high. You've got a great view of the world. It's like the opposite of a sports car, where you want to be down low. These things sit up super high. But apart from that, right, like a lot of the plastics are pretty basic. Land Rover was criticized for some of its material choices here, but super functional and long-lasting. You often don't see that many button or material failures on the inside of the LR3. And now we're going to dive into some of the differences between the base spec and a more loaded one, which you definitely may want to consider if you're buying one of these. We're going to start with the radio. Now, this SE does come equipped with the upgraded radio option. There were a couple of different options. It does have this rather antiquated, early 2000s kind of number pad here, but it's got a small screen. It's got FM, AM, CD. And most importantly, it has an aux port with one of the most hidden aux actual inputs you'll ever find. It's located behind the center console. So a lot of folks buy these, think they don't have an aux port. It's located basically in the backseat, which is pretty funny. This one also has the upgraded Harman Kardon audio system, which sounds fantastic. It's a really nice option to have. As we step into this base LR3, you might notice the radio looks fairly similar, but it's missing some key options. We don't have that number pad. We do still have, of course, six FM presets, which you can select for FM, AM, CD and aux, except the base LR3 doesn't have that aux port in the back. It's something you'd have to wire in separately, kind of a faff. So if you do care about audio, try to find an SE or an HSE. This one also doesn't have the Harman Kardon audio system. It's not terrible, but it's not as good as that actually really, really decent Harman Kardon system. Another cool thing that this LR3 has that mine doesn't are some of the comfort features. So for example, this SE has heated seats. This was a pretty expensive option. All HSEs, I believe, came standard with the heated seats. Mine does have dual zone automatic climate, but I don't have these buttons right here. This is for the heated windshield. In this windshield are little heating elements, which get the windshield nice and toasty in the winter to help melt snow and ice and that kind of thing. And it's a great feature. Works super well. But it's worth noting, if you do want to replace that windshield, it's pretty pricey. I've heard upwards of $1,000. You could just put a standard piece of glass in there like mine has. But if you really want the true LR3 ownership experience, the heated windshield is pretty cool. Now, stepping in mine, you'll notice that I do have in this base model dual zone automatic climate control, which is great. I also have this really funky fan switch with these little lights that turn on to indicate how fast the fan is blowing. And then, of course, the auto functionality. What I don't have, though, is the heated windshield. So I'm missing that button here. Instead, I just have my rear defrost and my standard front defrost, which is a little bit of a shame, but it is what it is. At least I'll save money when I need to replace this windshield. This is a pretty rare option in these trucks, but one which I kind of think is worth looking for. A fairly limited number of LR3s came spec'd with the navigation system. And, well, the navigation system, it's pretty useless in 2023. But that's not why I like this screen. It's really this right here, the four by four info page. You see, if you get this screen, what you have here is a visualization of exactly what the suspension, the four wheel drive system, the steering angle is doing as you drive along. And if I change the different drive modes, you'll notice that the screen will actually change a position there as well. And you can see what the different diffs are doing. These all have four wheel drive, right? But you can see what the center diff lock is doing. And it's just a really cool visualization. You also have an idea of like when your hill descent control is engaged. I love it. I think it's a really cool kind of vintage throwback thing, which maybe is not super useful, but definitely adds to the Land Rover experience. Now, most LR3s you'll find for sale probably won't have the screen, which means you get a cubby instead. Just this huge cavernous hole in the center of the dash. It's useful for storing stuff, but it certainly isn't as cool as that screen. Alex said, who owns that LR3, by the way, he even found a kit to add Apple CarPlay to that screen. How rad would that be? This Land Rover is available with a couple of different roof configurations, believe it or not. This one has the sunroof. So you've got a glass panel here in the front, which slides open. But even cooler than that, above the second row, you have another glass panel and even one for the way back. So this was kind of an early pioneer of a glass roof. Really adds a lot of light to the inside of the LR3 and makes it feel a lot more airy. Now, of course, it also adds some complexity. I have seen those rear panels crack, which is not great. And then clogged sunroof drains are also a very common issue. It is possible to avoid that issue altogether by doing what I did, where you get the fixed roof, which, you know, is problem free, but doesn't allow nearly as much light in. I actually, I kind of prefer the sunroof. It makes it feel more creamy in here. The LR3 was the first vehicle to debut Land Rover's legendary terrain response. Now, of course, every car nowadays has an off-road mode. It's very, very common, but this takes it to the next level. So I have five different off-road programs. You've got normal, you've got snow, there, loose grass. There's also a mud and ruts program. This is like a sand program. And then the far right is actually the rock crawl setting. And this enables the throttle programming, the traction control programming, all of that to work in its most effective mode, depending on the terrain. Really cool. And it works really well, even 20 years later. Now, the rest of these paddles are also very important. This left paddle controls the suspension. So if I pull it down, it goes into axis height. So the suspension is going to drop to allow getting in and out of the vehicle nice and easy. I can also push it up a clip from there. That's going to be your normal height. That's normal everyday driving around. And then from there, there's an off-road height, which is going to give you the most possible clearance off-road. And there's even an extended mode. So if the sensors that you have high centered it, it will give you a little bit of extra clearance as well to try to get you off that obstacle. This button right here is your hill descent control, which helps you maintain speed going down obstacles. And then this right here to the right of that is the selector for the low range transfer case. So you have high and low range, got to put the transmission in neutral, and then you can select high and low range. If you're shopping for one of these, make sure it goes into low range nice and easily, or that could indicate you have issues with your transfer case. Worn out keys are a pretty common Land Rover issue and one which is fairly easy to address, but oftentimes the buttons will start to cave in and sometimes even fall off. One cool thing about the LR3 key is that it charges itself automatically when it's inserted in the ignition, which is pretty cool. And this little bottom button is actually programmable. So you can make it do things like push that button, have the suspension lower without you in the car. So it's easy to get in and out of lots of cool stuff you can do with that button. So I wanted to get the LR3 up on the lift to show you some things underneath the vehicle that are definitely worth noting. It's a different day, which is why I'm in different clothes, but let's go check out some really interesting things underneath these beasts. There's a little plastic cover located on the bottom portion of the front fascia. And when you remove that, it's just a couple of little twist clips. You'll notice that big beefy ring right there. That's actually a integrated front recovery point. I do believe all LR3s have that. You just have to remove that front fascia and you'll find it hidden underneath there. Moving a little further back, you'll notice the bash plates for the engine as well as the transmission. And one thing worth noting is if you find one of these that's got a lot of marks underneath, there's a chance that it's been driven off road. Not necessarily a bad thing, but something worth noting. Here we see the control arms. These do have a tendency to fail over time. Specifically, the bushings will go bad. And then up above that, you can take a peek at the air struts. Moving further back, we find the exhaust system, catalytic converters. Unfortunately, a little bit easy to steal on these vehicles. And then you'll also notice this crossmember just ahead of the integrated transfer case, or if you're British, transfer box. This vehicle does have the stock exhaust, which is pretty big and chunky. Got the hangers there. And then here we have the fuel tank with the integrated cover or guard, really, to protect it against damage. And that's another good place to look for big scratches, dings, scuffs, dents, that kind of thing that lets you know how hard it's been used off road. Now, as we move to the rear of the vehicle, we're going to talk about one of the most highly contested points of conversation in the LR3 community. And that has to do with the rear differential. It is possible to spec these vehicles with a locking rear differential from the factory. And it's really cool. It's an automatic locking system. The computer engages it when it sees fit. And I have kind of a hot button take on this, which we'll get into right now. Now, there are a couple of ways to tell whether or not your LR3 has that desirable rear locker. The first and probably the easiest way that can hint as to whether or not you have it is to crawl underneath the rear of the vehicle and look at the spare tire. So that rear locker came in an off-road package called the HD Off-Road Group. And that gave you a couple of things, including a full-size spare. Now, crawl underneath. If you see 17580R19, or if you see temporary use only, it means you have a space saver spare. And it means you likely don't have the rear locker. But the way to tell for sure is to actually look at the diff assembly itself. So we're looking toward the rear of the vehicle. There you've got the driveshaft as it enters the diff. And then if I had the rear locker, there would be a little actuator located right about there. Let's see if I can find a picture of the diagram, some wires going to it. And then you'll know whether or not you actually have the rear diff lock, or if you've got an open diff like this one that doesn't have the actuator. So here's the thing about that locking rear diff, super desirable. People pay big bucks for LR3s to have the rear locker, in some cases a couple thousand dollars more. In my opinion, I can kind of take it or leave it because the terrain response and the traction control on these vehicles is so impressive. You really don't need it for 99.999% of scenarios that you're going to be off-roading your LR3 in. This is not a hardcore rock crawler. It's not some Wrangler with solid axles. You know, this is a 5,500 pound, in some cases, seven-seater SUV. It'll go incredible places. The terrain response is amazing. I would forgo the rear locker if it means spending a couple grand more. Just get an open diff one. You're going to be shocked where it can go, even with the open diffs. It's really impressive. One more thing worth mentioning while we've got this vehicle up on the lift is the towing capacity. So when properly equipped, an LR3 can tow up to 7,700 pounds, which is a lot of weight. And they had an integrated tow hitch that had a really unique design. The actual receiver pulls out when you twist that little lever. It's got a key in it. People lose the key. You can actually buy replacements online, and then that just slides down from the frame rail there. If you're going to tow, you definitely want the V8. They're pretty good tow rigs. They're very stable. They're not that quick by modern standards, but I know plenty of people that tow very happily with their LR3s. Now, what should you pay for an LR3? Well, that is a good question. When we bought our first one a few years back, it was five grand, and that is about what they were worth. Well, unfortunately, the community has really caught on to this vehicle, and now a good one is going to be probably closer to $10,000 or $15,000. Especially with maintenance history, you're going to be looking in that $15,000 range. You know, it's a bummer that things are getting more expensive. I still think it's worth every penny. If you can get a good one that's been well maintained with a good maintenance history, that's always helpful. I got this one at a gamble. No maintenance history. It was a charity auction. $4,500. I think I did pretty good, but prices are all over the board. Certain states are going to be more expensive than others. I'd like to try to find a stock one if you can, and then do the mods yourself so you know they've been done correctly and it's not been abused off-road. But yeah, the pricing has gotten, unfortunately, a little bit more expensive. Honestly, I would get an LR3 over an LR4. I just think they're a little bit more reliable and a little bit more clean in their design, but that's up for debate. Now, if you do end up with an LR3, this little tool should be one of the first things that you buy right off the bat. This is not sponsored, although I wish it was, because these little dudes are like 500 bucks. This is the gap diagnostics tool. This allows you to unlock a lot more potential in your LR3 and can really get you off a trail in an emergency. For example, if you have a ride position sensor fail, the computer doesn't know what ride height the thing should be at, and it just collapses essentially. The suspension goes to its bump stops. If you're in oversized tires, you might not make it home. With the gap tool, I can now plug this into the OBD sensor, and with the app on my phone, I can basically override the internal computer and say, no, no, no, you are not collapsing right now. You are going to go to this height. I command you, and then you can get at that height and get off the trail. Lots of other cool settings you can change with this tool that you can't typically change on an LR3. Definitely worth the investment. I just wish they weren't so expensive. I mean, $500 for a little OBD thing, kind of bold, but what are you going to do? It's worth it. Now, look, guys, we drive a lot of cars here at TFL, both new and used. We're very fortunate in this job, and I have to say the LR3 is certainly one of my, if not my, all-time favorite cars, because it still is relatively affordable, can be had in a lot of different configurations, and can last a fairly long time, but give you an experience like no other car. It's a phenomenal thing to own, and I can't recommend them enough. Let me know what you guys think in the comments section below. I'm excited to see your typical Land Rover hate comments, but as always, this has been Tom from Behind the Camera Case. We'll see you in the next video.