Recalls: Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport
Overview
Manufacturers, or importers, issue recalls for defects or faults which have the potential to cause injury. Generally, manufacturers will inform the original buyers if their vehicle is subject to a recall and of the steps required to remedy the defect or fault. Please note that the recalls below (if any) are for Australian-delivered vehicles only. Furthermore, the number of recalls should not be taken as an indication of a model’s reliability or its safety more generally.
Recalls: Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport
Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport SDV6: potential fire hazard
In December 2013, a recall was issued for L494 Range Rover Sport SDV6 variants. In these vehicles, the positive battery cable may clash with the Dynamic Response System (DRS) suspension pipes. If this occurred, the protective heat sleeve and cable insulation may wear through, causing metal-on-metal contact between the DRS pipes and the positive battery circuit. As a result, the DRS pipes would then carry current and become heated, while arcing may cause surrounding components to melt and combust if the heat source was sustained. DRS hydraulic fluid would also leak and provide fuel for the fire. Land Rover’s investigations concluded that a fire could occur when the vehicle was driven, stationary or parked. As part of the recall, chafed battery cables would be replaced and an additional clip installed to maintain the gap between the cable and the DRS pipes. The recalled vehicles had serial numbers in the range LW000016 to LW323768 (PRA 2013/13880).
L494 Range Rover Sport 3.0 V6 and 5.0 V8: loss of braking assistance
In February 2015, a recall was issued for L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that had supercharged 3.0-litre V6 and supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engines. In these vehicles, the brake vacuum hoses may have been incorrectly routed and could chafe against the auxiliary drive pulley. Over time, the hose may rupture and cause a loss of brake servo assistance. Without this assistance, braking distances would be greater, increasing the risk of a collision. The recalled vehicles were manufactured from 5 July 2013 to 8 January 2014 and had VINs in the range SALWA2EE1EA300003 to SALWA2EF6EA343373 (PRA 2015/14528).
Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: incorrect blower motor wire
In February 2015, a recall was issued for L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that had VINs in the range SALWA2KE2FA504511 to SALWA2KE5FA615621. In these vehicles, the incorrectly sized blower motor wire was installed on the right hand drive (RHD) vehicle harnesses – these could pose a fire hazard (PRA 2015/14551).
2012-15 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: doors may not latch properly
In August 2015, a recall was issued for Range Rover Sport vehicles that were manufactured from 29 March 2012 to 23 May 2015. In these vehicles, the doors may not catch on either the primary or secondary latch and could therefore come open – this could increase the risk of a vehicle crash or compromise the safety of the occupants. The recalled Range Rover Sport vehicles had VINs in the range SALWA2PF1EA000001 to SALWA2KE8FA620148 (PRA 2015/14848).
2012-15 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: second row seat backrest may not latch
In December 2015, a recall was issued for Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were manufactured from 1 June 2015 to 12 June 2015. In these vehicles, the second row seat backrest may not latch into position correctly because the visual indication on the seat latch was misaligned. In the event of a collision, the occupant may not be sufficiently restrained, increasing the risk of injury. The recalled L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles had VINs in the range SALWA2EF5FA538446 to SALWA2VF2FA628976 (PRA 2015/15081).
2016-17 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: front passenger airbag may not deploy
In February 2017, a recall was issued for 2016 and 2017 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were available for sale in Australia from 31 August 2016 to 31 October 2016. In these vehicles, the mixture of chemicals used in the front passenger airbag may not meet specification. In the event of a collision, the initiator may therefore not function properly and the front passenger airbag may not inflate. If the airbag failed to deploy, it would increase the risk of injury to the front seat occupant. The recalled Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles had VINs in the range SALWR2KF3GA111474 to SALWA2KF5GA665736 (PRA 2017/15899).
2016 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: front seatbelt pre-tensioner may fail
In March 2017, a recall was issued for Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were available for sale in Australia from 1 August 2016 to 30 November 2016. In these vehicles, the chemical mix ratio in some seatbelt pre-tensioner initiators may not meet specification and this could cause the initiator to malfunction. In the event of a collision, the front seatbelt pre-tensioner may therefore fail to operate, increasing injury risks to the occupants (PRA 2017/15977).
2016 Range Rover Sport: front passenger airbag may not function properly
In April 2017, a recall was issued for Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were manufactured from 20 September 2016 to 25 October 2016. The front passenger airbag in these vehicles may not function properly due to a deviation in the generant mix ratio. In the event of a collision, the failure of the front airbag to deploy could increase the risk of injury to the front seat occupant (PRA 2017/16024). The recalled Range Rover Sport vehicles had VINs in the following ranges:
- SALWG2PF4GA116357 to SALWA2VF6GA123797; and,
- SALWA2KFXGA665022 to SALWA2KF2GA665418.
2016-17 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: front passenger seatbelt
In May 2017, a recall was issued for 2016 and 2017 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles. In these vehicles, the emergency locking retractor in the front seatbelt assembly may not function correctly. In the event of heavy braking prior to a collision which caused the front passenger airbag to deploy, the front passenger may not be restrained as intended and this could increase the risk and severity of injury. The recalled Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles had VINs in the following ranges (PRA 2017/16051):
- SALWA2KE9GA100008 to SALWA2EK4HA124896; and,
- SALWA2KE2GA591389 to SALWA2EK5HA667139.
2017 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: ‘virtual’ instrument display intermittently goes blank
In January 2018, a recall was issued for 2017 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sportvehicles because the ‘virtual’ instrument display could intermittently go blank (i.e. no information would be displayed). Since the instrument display would no longer display information such as vehicle speed, there would be an increased risk of collision. For the VINs of the recalled vehicles, please see PRA 2018/16520.
2017-18 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: AEB not available
In October 2018, recall campaign N227 was issued for 2018 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were available for sale in Australia from 13 September 2017 to 11 May 2018. In these vehicles, the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) function may not be available when required and a warning message would not be displayed in the instrument cluster to inform the driver that AEB was unavailable. Without AEB, the risk of a collision was increased. For the VINs of the recalled vehicles, please see PRA 2018/17092.
2017-18 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: indicator lamps may not work
In February 2019, recall campaign N277 was issued for Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that were available for sale in Australia from 10 November 2017 to 18 December 2018. In these vehicles, the directional indicator lamps may fail to operate when the steering column mounted indicator controls were used. Furthermore, there would be no visual or audible warnings to notify the driver of this failure. Since the directional indicator lamps were designed to signal an intended change of direction, other road users would not be were of this intention and this increased the risk of a collision. For the VINs of the recalled vehicles, please see PRA 2019/17330.
2021-22 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: seatbelt pre-tensioner may not work
In August 2022, recall campaign N720 was issued for 2021-22 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles. Due to a manufacturing defect, a damaged front seatbelt pre-tensioner tube may have been isntalled on the seatbelt restractor. As a result, the seatbelt pre-tensioner may not operate as intended. In the event of a collision, failure of the seatbelt pre-tensioner to operate as intended increased the risk of injury to vehicle occupants. For the VINs of the recalled vehicles, please see REC-005492.
2017-22 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport: engine overheating, coolant leak and fire hazard
In April 2023, recall campaign N785 was issued for 2017-22 Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles. Due to a manufacturing defect, the engine may rapidly overheat under certain operating conditions. As a result, the engine-mounted plastic elbow in the colling system could rupture – this could cause a coolant leak and a fire in the engine compartment, posing a risk of injury to vehicle occupants and other road users. If the engine overheated, the engine temperature (red) warning lamp may illuminate. For the VINs of the recalled vehicles, please see REC-005649.
Problems and faults: Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport
Overview
This section identifies potential problems, causes and fixes based on the experiences of owners and repairers, online sources and technical service bulletins. This information is provided solely for reference purposes and AustralianCar.Reviews recommends that only properly qualified persons carry out repairs or modifications. Furthermore, the number of items below should not be taken as an indicator of a model’s reliability or the frequency with which they may occur.
To report a problem or fault to the AustralianCar.Reviews team, please use the Contact Us form. Note that AustralianCar.Reviews does not offer advice on automotive problems or disputes; such enquiries will not receive a reply. For vehicles purchased from dealers after 1 January 2011, please see our Australian Consumer Law fact sheet.
2014 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport Supercharged V8: click and rattle noises
In April 2015, Land Rover issued Technical Bulletin LTB00618NAS4 for 2014 model year Land Rover L494 Range Rover Sport vehicles that had 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engines. In these vehicles,
- A single or multiple ‘click’ noise may be heard from the engine bay during sharp acceleration or braking. The noise may also occur during sharp turns at speeds of 10-25 km/h; and,
- A ‘rattle’ noise may be heard when driving over an irregular road surface (cobble stones, bricks, et cetera) until the road surface changes. The sound may also be described as a light vibration and could occur at any temperature or ambient condition.
According to the technical bulletin, these noises may be due to the engine mounts and/or steering gear vibrating. To fix,
- The engine mounts were to be replaced;
- A test drive was to be used to determine if the problem was resolved;
- If not, a new steering gear was to be fitted.
The affected L494 Range Rover vehicles had VINs in the range EA000002 to EA339983.
