Member Since: 07 Mar 2006
Location: Pohjamaa
Posts: 29
Problem with roof bar protection
Hello and this is my first post. Firstly my apologies for maybe placing this in the wrong section and what will be my lack of technical terms.
(Background: took delivery of a Discovery 3 just over three weeks ago and have about 2,200 km on the clock. Yes, being in Finland we use these funny metric figures).
Have had a few little issues (HDC fault) that went away but just when the car was two weeks old we took it to clean it in a very modern car wash (no brushes, just water and pressure and the cleaning agents). Mid way in the programme of cleaning was a large bang and looking around we saw nothing... and thought maybe a hose had wrongly caught the car and would check later. Then the next cycle came with bang bang bang and one saw the (what I now know to be) the metal stripe on the right hand side of the car's roof hanging down over the rear RHS door waving up and down in the air.... bent quite badly.
We have no roof rack/bars nor need for them so the metal cover has never been removed by us. When getting out of the car wash (felt so long knowing some possible damage had happened) there is quite bad scratching over both RHS doors.
Being investigated by the importer now but has anyone else had this problem (good to counter any claims that it is user error, even when it wasn't).
The LR agent's dealership is about 150km away but they have a daughter dealership (same chain but no LR service with reader) about 30lm away. They have the car (my wife's) now as driving to work she got the dreaded "engine system failure" and assistance/importer is now on the case. Anyway, speaking to the local garage whist they gave her a temporary little rust bucket Toyota to at least get to work they said you shouldn't take the LR3 into a car wash as high pressures can cause problems like this. Nothing in the hand book nor the dealer we purchased it from (c 400lm away) or importer's service manager had said anything like this (in fact the importer doesn't even check the metal is pushed down so it cannot be that well known).
Seems a bit optimistic to hand wash only the car.. plus hard to do the roof and underside. Is that just small town BS ?
Any thoughts on the wobbly metal issue would be welcome.
As an aside, we don't have the screen in the middle above the radio. Is there a way to see the software version?
I fear I will be reading a lot on this forum and LR Finland wishing I hadn't.
Thank you for any help and thoughts in advance.
Rgds, Luoto
p.s. Disco starts very nicely first time even with the minus 15c weather currently. Would be nice for the damn webbasto timer to arrive though (seems very odd having a car with no engine block warmer cable and it seems "strange" that the LR3 can warm itself when standing without killing the battery - so claims the dealer's seller man in any case)
7th Mar 2006 6:48 am
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
I have taken mine through once but handwashing is far better and safer DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
7th Mar 2006 8:08 am
luoto
Member Since: 07 Mar 2006
Location: Pohjamaa
Posts: 29
Thanks. Odd that the main dealer's sales man or service mgr or importer service chief have even suggested it could be a problem in car wash and one would hope that LR would have put a damn big warning for it.
Wondering if we had a Friday PM car with this problem and now the engine issues.
7th Mar 2006 8:13 am
SN
Member Since: 03 Jan 2006
Location: Romiley
Posts: 13710
luoto wrote:
Thanks. Odd that the main dealer's sales man or service mgr or importer service chief have even suggested it could be a problem in car wash and one would hope that LR would have put a damn big warning for it.
Wondering if we had a Friday PM car with this problem and now the engine issues.
Unfortunately I think you will find that each party will blame the other! LR people will blame the Car Wash and the Car Wash people will blame LR, and you will be stuck in the middle! Ever since I stepped up from ordinary saloon cars to bigger ones (MPV & SUV) I have stopped using car washes, in my opinion they're designed for 'standard sized' cars - hand washing is far safer, as long as you don't drop the sponge!Steve N | 21MY Defender | 08MY Discovery 3 (history) | 06MY Discovery 3 (ancient history)
7th Mar 2006 9:22 am
luoto
Member Since: 07 Mar 2006
Location: Pohjamaa
Posts: 29
If we get that silly nonsense the insurance company will get involved and the law books will be shaken as well. You don't expect a brand new car to be so poorly designed that that metal thing can fly off (only on one side) with a little pressure. Never happened on the Pajero I had a few years ago with similar fittings (wasn't an issue on the Disco2 as the bars were there).
But washing the roof and the underneath is a pain. And I find using my high pressure hose too risky (don't want to kill the paintwork!)
The car wash was the latest generation of brushless things apparently.
7th Mar 2006 9:29 am
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
We have illegal immigrants over here if you don't want to do it yourself.
I don't see how size matters ( ) if the car fits in the machine should wash it. If it has ripped a roof rail off and this thing doesn't have brushes, then it must have been poorly fitted. I'd fight LR for it. The car wash I have used had brushes and I didn't have a problem.DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
7th Mar 2006 6:04 pm
simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
check to see if there is evidence of the fixings actually being used in all fixing points along the rail. There should at least be tell tail signs of bolts / screws being used (signs of metal wear) or even thread damage showing they were ripped out.
-s
7th Mar 2006 6:16 pm
luoto
Member Since: 07 Mar 2006
Location: Pohjamaa
Posts: 29
Will look when she is back from work but the piece of lightweight metal seemed to have plastic clips that went into the runners. The metal itself was flush to the body unlike the rails on the Disco2.
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| 08MY Discovery 3 (history) 
) if the car fits in the machine should wash it. If it has ripped a roof rail off and this thing doesn't have brushes, then it must have been poorly fitted. I'd fight LR for it. The car wash I have used had brushes and I didn't have a problem.
