Discovery 5 Alarm going off, losing coolant quickly and trying to find spare tyre

I’m hoping for some help on here.

I’ve had the discovery 5 hse for 2.5weeks and it’s been back to the dealer for the 3rd time today.

- intermittent alarm sounding at all hours on the activation info it’s stated ‘bonnet open’.

- coolant level low. Took it back, filled the coolant, light came back on after 1week. They said they have pressure tested in and checked gasket - no leak found. Odd that it would lose so much coolant so soon?

- low spare tyre pressure, the car is looking for a spare tyre but when I came to add air - it has no spare tyre, instead a slime kit. Dealer said it’s doesn’t come with one but if that’s the case, why is the car programmed to look for a spare ?

Any advice is much appreciated

Thank you

I check out the bonnet switch. Obvious starting point.
2 The garage are bullsh!tting you, stick with it, the coolant has to be going somewhere. Either a leak or a blown head gasket, which is still a leak. BUT, if it has been after an intervention then an airlock could be the reason.
3 This should be fixable with a few clicks on a diagnostic. But the "Dealer" needs to be an LR one OR have the proper kit.

Welcome to the forum.
Now that you are here you might like to go to the "introduce yourself" part of the forum and do just that.

All the best
Stan.

The alarm is an easy one - faulty switch, quite common, the selling dealer needs to change it.
Coolant level - is it dropping or is it just reporting as being low? they need to test the level sensor circuit then check oil & transmission coolers for internal leakage.
The TPMS is an odd one, it's possible the previous owner had the optional spare wheel, which they kept and the dealer just chucked in the repair kit on the used vehicle prep check - again, they need to resolve - none of it is, or should be, your problem.

The discovery 5 comes with a spare either it was nicked when the previous owner had it...fairly common. Or the dealer took it and put the slime kit in the car to fool you.

Stanleysteamer said:

I check out the bonnet switch. Obvious starting point.
2 The garage are bullsh!tting you, stick with it, the coolant has to be going somewhere. Either a leak or a blown head gasket, which is still a leak. BUT, if it has been after an intervention then an airlock could be the reason.
3 This should be fixable with a few clicks on a diagnostic. But the "Dealer" needs to be an LR one OR have the proper kit.

Welcome to the forum.
Now that you are here you might like to go to the "introduce yourself" part of the forum and do just that.

All the best
Stan.

Click to expand...

Thank you stan.
I feel the dealer (not Land Rover) is fobbing me off. I’ll be persistent and be as much as an inconvenience as I need to be to get it sorted!

They did say it was an airlock, but for it to happen twice in such a short space of time makes me think otherwise. Today they said they pressure tested it and checked the head gasket and all was fine. Time will tell.

Thank you
Jon

Stocky81 said:

Thank you stan.
I feel the dealer (not Land Rover) is fobbing me off. I’ll be persistent and be as much as an inconvenience as I need to be to get it sorted!

They did say it was an airlock, but for it to happen twice in such a short space of time makes me think otherwise. Today they said they pressure tested it and checked the head gasket and all was fine. Time will tell.

Thank you
Jon

Click to expand...

A pressure test will not find an airlock, obvs.
Keep banging away at them!

Graculus said:

The alarm is an easy one - faulty switch, quite common, the selling dealer needs to change it.
Coolant level - is it dropping or is it just reporting as being low? they need to test the level sensor circuit then check oil & transmission coolers for internal leakage.
The TPMS is an odd one, it's possible the previous owner had the optional spare wheel, which they kept and the dealer just chucked in the repair kit on the used vehicle prep check - again, they need to resolve - none of it is, or should be, your problem.

Click to expand...

Thank you. Good to have this advice so I know what to go back with at least.

The coolant came on only a few days after we got it. I took it back and questioned if a service had actually been carried out as they said it had. They rectified the problem then just at the weekend the warning light of low coolant came of again just a week later (driven 40miles approx, I wfh) in the meantime our mechanic friend had put 2ltrs of coolant fluid in!)

The bonnet open issue that was triggering the alarm was said because it may have had a dirty catch . I questioned this response and just asked for it to be sorted. It had today, until I got home and off goes the alarm again!

The spare tyre problem, I can’t imagine the car would be programmed to look for the spare if it shouldn’t have one. I’ll raise this again, or perhaps call Land Rover directly ?

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Stanleysteamer said:

A pressure test will not find an airlock, obvs.
Keep banging away at them!

Click to expand...

What causes an airlock and what will resolve, please?

Stocky81 said:

What causes an airlock and what will resolve, please?

Click to expand...

Generally it is caused by the system being emptied for one reason or another then not being properly filled.
Each engine has its own idiosyncracies as to how it needs to be filled. they may or may not have bleeding points that need to be used.
I am not familiar with your engine but that makes little difference, the correct procedure needs to be followed.
But having to add 2 litres is a bit much!
Sometimes an airlock will work its way out, but the heater matrix needs to be filled properly and as for the rest, very often you need to ensure the reservoir, with it's pressure cap off, is held up in the air above the rest of the engine, or the filler is extended enough, the engine is warm enough to open the stat and the engine is revved up to ensure any other valves open to allow water and air to pass through. Sometimes certain hoses need to be loosened to let coolant and air out.

I'll let those who know the engine comment more accurately!

Stocky81 said:

Thank you. Good to have this advice so I know what to go back with at least.

The coolant came on only a few days after we got it. I took it back and questioned if a service had actually been carried out as they said it had. They rectified the problem then just at the weekend the warning light of low coolant came of again just a week later (driven 40miles approx, I wfh) in the meantime our mechanic friend had put 2ltrs of coolant fluid in!)

The bonnet open issue that was triggering the alarm was said because it may have had a dirty catch . I questioned this response and just asked for it to be sorted. It had today, until I got home and off goes the alarm again!

The spare tyre problem, I can’t imagine the car would be programmed to look for the spare if it shouldn’t have one. I’ll raise this again, or perhaps call Land Rover directly ?

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Click to expand...

The spare wheel issue is relatively easy to prove - put your VIN into www.vindecoderz.com and it'll list all the vehicle options.

Dirt does not cause issues with bonnet latch switches - but over-lubrication does. It needs the faulting bonnet latch switch replacing.

Two litres of coolant is a lot - and you don't get an 'airlock' unless the coolant system has been drained for work on the vehicle. I forgot to add EGR coolers to the items I mentioned above. In all honesty, given the recurrent coolant problem, and the attitude of the garage, personally I'd be rejecting the vehicle. The law has changed, you do not need to give them xx number of opportunities to resolve issues, and you are in the first month of ownership since purchase. https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

Graculus said:

The spare wheel issue is relatively easy to prove - put your VIN into www.vindecoderz.com and it'll list all the vehicle options.

Dirt does not cause issues with bonnet latch switches - but over-lubrication does. It needs the faulting bonnet latch switch replacing.

Two litres of coolant is a lot - and you don't get an 'airlock' unless the coolant system has been drained for work on the vehicle. I forgot to add EGR coolers to the items I mentioned above. In all honesty, given the recurrent coolant problem, and the attitude of the garage, personally I'd be rejecting the vehicle. The law has changed, you do not need to give them xx number of opportunities to resolve issues, and you are in the first month of ownership since purchase. https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

Click to expand...

Thank you.
I’ve called them again this morning as despite the alarm problem being ‘fixed’ it was going off again at all hours last night.
They have said they will order a replacement direct from landrover and replace.

I called landrover direct before calling the dealer to check if the vehicle came with a spare and the reg shows it should. Garage response was, it didn’t come to us with one. I highlighted that wasn’t my issue and it needs one, so we’ll see where we go with that.

As for the coolant, I’ve suggested to the dealer it goes to Land Rover for a full diagnostic at their expense before I make a decision on whether we keep it or not

Thanks for your advice

Just reject the car for being unfit for purpose, get your money back and walk away with a sigh of relief.

Anaconda said:

Just reject the car for being unfit for purpose, get your money back and walk away with a sigh of relief.

Click to expand...

Thisloosing coolant at that rate is not good.
When the level has dropped, air has replaced it.

Using coolant with no obvious leaks, says to me run away fast!

Stocky81 said:

Thank you stan.
I feel the dealer (not Land Rover) is fobbing me off. I’ll be persistent and be as much as an inconvenience as I need to be to get it sorted!

They did say it was an airlock, but for it to happen twice in such a short space of time makes me think otherwise. Today they said they pressure tested it and checked the head gasket and all was fine. Time will tell.

Thank you
Jon

Click to expand...

A quick call to an LR dealer should could help with the spare tyre issue. The dealer will have access to the original build specification, which will list a spare tyre or inflator kit, which ever was supplied.

The coolant issue is a concern.

Personally I'd be returning the vehicle for a refund, as it should be issue free.

Either D4orD5 can’t remember which has a known issue with one the bonnet catches sticking so allowing the bonnet to open slightly, this would be enough to trigger the alarm.
I had it happen on one of mine but I change cars that often i can’t remember which model it was.

I had issues with my D3 and found that the egr coolant thermostat had disintegrated and parts of it were found blocking the crossover hose.