NHTSA Complaint #11594607 — 2019 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY

On May 18, 2024 at approximately 4pm, my husband turned on my 2019 Land Rover Discovery from a cold start after sitting parked for about 20 minutes. We heard a slight rattle upon start-up, so he turned the car ignition off. He restarted the car after about a minute and we did not hear the rattle. We began driving the car and after about 2-3 miles, the car started shuddering and began slowing down but did not completely stall. My husband turned off the car again and we waited for a couple of minutes and he restarted the car. It drove fine for about a mile and began shuddering/hesitating again as we were driving. Then the car made a loud warning sound, a warning light flickered on the dash and the engine completely turned off as we were driving. We were in the middle of traffic and had we been on the freeway, there would have been catastrophic consequences as the engine completely stopped. We thankfully were able to coast to a side-street on our immediate right and stopped. The engine would not turn over and my husband was unable to restart the car. I immediately made an appointment with my local Land Rover dealership for 3 days later (next available) and had the truck towed there. After inspection, they told me they believed the main bearing in the engine failed due to an oil pump failure and that the engine would need to be replaced. My truck is 5 years old and has less than 100,000 miles (only about 80K). No previous warning lights! A car this expensive and with so few miles with regular maintenance service being performed by either Land Rover or AAA, shouldn’t need a new engine. This is after I’d had the camshaft adjuster/timing chain replaced in this truck by the same dealership only 3 months prior! After speaking to the service person, he informed me that 2 other Land Rovers were sitting in the dealership waiting for the SAME engine and waiting for 4-5 months to be delivered from the manufacturer with NO ETA! Known, dangerous problem! Please help resolve!