Owners have filed 144 complaints on the Land Rover LR3, covering 2005–2009. The system named most often is Suspension (31 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2006, 2007; cleanest: 2009, 2008, 2007. 3 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Land Rover LR3
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 144 LR3 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Suspension 31 Read
The contact owns a 2006 land rover lr3. The contact stated that the compressor for the air suspension had been replaced three times on her vehicle. A week after the most recent repair, the vehicle caught fire while parked in the driveway. The fire department extinguished the fire and a report was filed. There were no…
Shortly after purchase the dash board begain to display warning lights. Then suspension warnings. The pump for the air bag suspension stopped working. The cars ride height was bellow the bumpers & seemingly had no shock activity. I stoped driving it because it said i could cause extensive damage if it continued to be…
On 3/11/14 the suspension warning light came on the dash. I took it to a local auto repair shop who had the diagnostic equipment for land rover (the closest dealer is 3 hrs away). The diagnostic indicated that the compressor for level control was faulty. The diagnostic indicated "recommend compressor replacement with…
Power Train 21 Read
2009 land rover lr3. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle transmission issues. *smd the consumer stated the vehicle would not come out of first gear. According to the repair invoice, the transmission needed to be replaced. The technician found broken bolts in the exhaust manifold
Front differential bearing failed at 51500. Vehicle was brought into land rover dealer at approximately 48000 miles while still under warranty for a noise coming from the front of the vehicle and the dealer failed to diagnose it at this point. The noise rapidly became louder and the dealer finally diagnosed it 1500…
The front and rear drivetrain failed and landrover will not cover the fault due to the fact the warranty just ran out two months ago? I believe the drive train does not just fail overnight?
Electrical System 15 Read
Landrover lr 3 have a known problem of having water collect in the sunroof area due to blockage in some drainage tube from debris. Cleaning of these tubes is not a regular part of maintenance if you take your vehicle to the dealership for scheduled maintenance or service. The water collect and leaks into the cabin…
The contact owns a 2008 land rover lr3. While driving various speeds, the "vehicle fault system shutting down" indicator illuminated and the instrument panel began to malfunction. The contact stated that several codes could be seen using a diagnostic device. The vehicle was taken to a dealer (land rover of new orleans…
I have experienced a remote key failure issue with my land rover that appears to be a result from wiring corrosion (front passenger panel). This corrosion causes the wiring harnesses to become damaged and wiring breaks and exposed to bare metal and could potentially cause fire. This is caused by the drain tubes…
Tires 11 Read
Tires showing uneven wear on inside treads...loud in cabin, completely premature and strange tire wear at 19,000 miles. Very difficult to locate due to the wear being on the inside treads of all 4 tires
2006 land rover lr3 with n 9500 miles was taken to dealer for second episode of rain water leaking - dealer noticed increased wear on both back tires on inner surface. Service representative stated lr issued a bulletin directing new specs on alignment/balancing due to a known issue of dramatic/unsafe wear on inner…
I have experienced abnormal tire wear on my 2006 lr3. The tires started wearing unevenly immediately after the purchase. The dealer changed some alignment issues at 10,000 miles that said they were from a defect at the factory and I was told the tires would start to wear evenly. At 16,000 the tires were found to be…
Fuel System 10 Read
Gas tank is leaking, they have the SUV over 14 days and no repair in been dawn
Vehicles fuel tank had just been filled, after approximately ten (10) miles the vehicle began to exhibit a low power situation and then began to stall at idle, such as stopping at a stop sign or stop light. Vehicle was limped approximately two (2) miles to owners residence where it was allowed to sit for approximately…
Dt: contact owns 2005 land rover lr-3. The contact stated that while slowing down or coming to a complete stop the vehicle staled. There was a recall for the fuel tank that caused this to happen. The consumer had recall repairs done, but problem recurred. The contact stated she has contacted the service dealer, but…
Air Bags 7 Read
He passenger side dash where the airbag is installed has a sudden straight line crack in the dash at the bottom of where the airbag is installed in the dash and a straight line crack on the left of the airbag in the dash. These are perfectly straight lines, vehicle is kept in a garage when not in use. The vehicle has…
The airbag light comes on and stays on
The passenger side dash where the airbag is installed has a sudden straight line crack in the dash at the bottom of where the airbag is installed in the dash and a straight line crack on the left of the airbag in the dash. These are perfectly straight lines and not something the sun did. The vehicle is kept in a…
Vehicle Speed Control 6 Read
The contact owns a 2006 land rover lr3. While slowly backing up the vehicle, it suddenly accelerated very fast into a twelve inch cement wall. There were no injuries. The contact had to turn off the vehicle to stop it from accelerating further. She will take the vehicle to the dealer in a few days because she lives on…
The contact owned a 2006 land rover lr3. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle unexpectedly surged forward twice and crashed into a bush. The vehicle continued to accelerate and then crashed into a building. The contact sustained no injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to…
I was pulling into a staples store parking space and went to stop. The lr3 accelerated as I was braking and the powerful engine revved & wanted to keep driving the lr3 forward. I kept my foot on the brake and immediateley shifted the lr3 into park; shifted back & forth before the lr3 stopped idle. Luckily there were…
Steering 6 Read
Bought car from tsg auto in parker, co. Vehicle had dash cover, when removed cover was cracked around the airbags. The steering wheel cover is also curled
On my land rover lr3 when I turn the steering wheel hard to the right and left there is a loud crunching noise in the front end. The dealer says its common and due to the steering linkage hitting the stop, however this does not happen on all lr3's. I'm driving a loaner from the dealer and this on (same model and year)…
2005 land rover lr3 with broken wiper blades and suspension problem**nar**cc 07/19/07 dup letter send in**nar**cc the consumer stated he purchased the vehicle new on sept 1, 2005 upon possessing the vehicle for 24 days the windshield wiper blades broke and 19 days after that the plastic molding from the driver's door…
LR3 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2008 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2006 | Electrical System | 3 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 87 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.7 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 1.7 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the LR3?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2007 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which LR3 years are the cleanest?
2009, 2008, 2007 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Land Rover LR3 have?
144 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2005–2009. Of those, 3 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.