Piston Slap: Wherever Liberty is Threatened; You Will Find…The Three Amigos!
Christopher writes:
Are you familiar with the Land Rover Three Amigos? I have a 2003 Discovery SE. The ABS, hill decent and traction control lamps all on at once. My mechanic says it’s the ABS module and the fix is $1200-1500 and may not solve the problem. What’s up with this? Sell the vehicle? How do you sell a broken car?
Sajeev answers:
Let’s go back to the Three Amigos movie: remember when Chevy Chase accidentally shot and killed the Invisible Swordsman? It’s the perfect segue to the world of blindly chasing an electrical problem. Because that’s all we have to work with, and that’s a death sentence when it comes to Land Rovers.
So we have questions that need answers. Like how did the mechanic come to that conclusion? He needed to rule out a bad wheel speed sensor and faulty wiring before reaching such a costly diagnosis. And if charming British electronics are as terrible as the Internet says, he has to test the system with a multimeter, testing voltage at every stopping point in the circuit. And using said multimeter to test resistance at the wheel sensors. If something is out of spec, replace it. If not, then perhaps the ABS module is indeed busted.
The parts aren’t cheap, and proper diagnosis of the system is worse, considering labor rates hover around $90 an hour. A 2003 Disco is worth about $7000 as a trade in, on a good day. It’s time to either trade-in at the dealer to reap the tax benefits (whilst buying something else) or dump it on craigslist for maximum cash. And if you dump it on craigslist: be realistic on pricing, take four great pictures and list the pros/cons of the vehicle’s condition in well written English. That keeps you from looking shady, which helps court a good buyer. And makes the process significantly less stressful.
Good luck asking the hard questions, or running like hell away from the Disco.
(Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com)
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We can make jokes about American cars all day, but the reality is that British, French and Italian cars are much more fussy and problematic. Dash warning lights are only an abstract indication of what may be going on within the car. The Discovery is a solid design. But is a temperamental vehicle built to typical British standards by very iffy union labor. My suggestion is, if the ABS is working, pull the bulb and drive the Disco until light comes through the rust holes in the fenders. If you dump this and buy a Lexus or Toyota, like someone above suggested, you're a total puss.
I'm inclined to agree with the mechanic's diagnosis of a faulty ABS module. Remove it yourself and send the module to http://www.modulemaster.com/en/index.php It will cost a lot less. Like maybe $200.