1. Home
  2. Land Rover 4WD vehicles
  3. Land Rover Discovery bonnet release at 60 km/h

Land Rover Discovery bonnet release at 60 km/h

Travelling at 60 km/h on the Glow Worm Tunnel Rd, Newnes State Forest several weeks ago, the bonnet smacked into the windscreen without warning. Luckily the road was straight and there were no on-coming cars-I stopped the vehicle without further incident. Upon inspection, two bolt/screws that hold a bonnet plate that engages into the release levers were found loose in the engine bay (on the bar above the radiator).

See photos at:

formatting link
With some difficulty the three of us lowered the bonnet, carefully manipulating the wipers under the bonnet's lower edge (they were in that position because of the accident). Because there was no phone reception, we couldn't call Land Rover's Roadside Assist, therefore we tied the bonnet down and drown slowly home and called there.

Had the bonnet spontaneously released itself minutes before or after, the three of us could have crashed into a pine tree or sandstone road cutting. We are so fortunate the accident took place where it did.

The car: Was I driving an old Disco. No, it's a 2003 Land Rover Discovery, Series II, purchased Dec 2003, under warranty until Dec 2006. Serviced by the book by Land Rover service centres.

Land Rover "Customer Care" were initially reluctant to provide us with a replacement car or cover the costs of towing. This, and other behaviour, was totally disrespectful considering that the three of us could have died due to the malfunction had it occurred elsewhere. Particular mention must be made of Andrew Howard and Maggie (Margaret) Horesch (National Customer Care Manager for LRA) both of whom work in Melbourne--they have shown complete disreguard for our circumstance--I hope none of you have to deal with them when it really matters.

Has anyone heard of this happening to Land Rovers?

The most important issue for me and my family is, why did this accident happen? Furthermore, what will stop it happening again?

Reply to
drystone
Loading thread data ...

I take it that this means that the service book doesn't have a section on checking the bonnet locking mechanism's integrity.

Shit can happen anywhere anytime. There is no rule that says it can't happen again. Might be a good idea to check the securing mechanism yourself.

Reply to
ShazWozza

There is supposed to a secondary bonnet catch so if the first catch fails then the bonnet is still prevented from coming open. My question would be is why did the second catch fail? Bolts vibrating loose on a 4WD used on rough roads is not uncommon and to a certain extent is to be expected, such things should be checked at service time and should also be noticed by the owner/driver when doing regular under bonnet checks as per the owners manual which of course you always do?

Daryl

Reply to
D Walford

The same thing has happened on my 2A at 60mph.

I really almost did have to change my trousers afterwards!

I always check that my secondary locking hasp thing is clipped down and locked now before i drive anywhere.

Reply to
Tom Woods

I'm unaware of the existence of a second catch--can you enlighten me? Is it visible in the photos I've posted?

Since the car has done

Reply to
drystone

Sometimes it's reassuring to have a 90 with the military bonnet clips on the outside...

Reply to
Torak

Nah, the weight of the spare tyre, shovel & pick guaranteed mine to never lift, I pretty much avoided lifting it as much as I could rarely saw any good news in there :)

Reply to
Rainbow Warrior

Reply to
Zodiac

On or around 4 Jun 2006 23:19:22 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@swiftdsl.com.au enlightened us thusly:

can't say as I have, personally.

loctite on the bolts. They shouldn't be able to come loose.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

It didn't. If you look at the pictures it is still latched to the front valance in No.5. What has happened is that combined secondary latch and primary lock unit has become detached from the bonnet. There are only two bolts holding that unit to the bonnet if they fall out...

So you haven't been doing the weekly checks on fluids etc as per the User Manual. You would know about the secondary latch if you had, as you shouldn't be able to open the bonnet without releasing it.

Yes, in No.5 but it should be attched to the bonnet just below the gap in the seal in No.4.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Austin Shackles wrote: ....

That was my thought too, but the smash repairer said then they'd never be able to be undone, if required (when would that be?). He suspected I bought a "Friday afternoon" car, and that possibly some spring washers were omitted.

Reply to
drystone

60mph in a 2A? Definitely a brown trouser moment, even without the bonnet coming open!
Reply to
SimonJ

I should of looked at the photos before, the second catch is the yellow lever you lift to open the bonnet. Both catches are attached to the bonnet by the same 2 bolts which IMO is a bad design.

Reply to
D Walford

Dave Liquorice wrote: ....

I agree with you Dave. I was polite to all I spoke to at Land Rover Customer Care and thought that they would understand the severity of our experience. Several did understand and could put themselves in our shoes, however the ones that had the power to make things better chose to not to. Thus it seems to me that the latter were thinking about the bottom line rather than their customer; i.e. they didn't seem to "care".

Reply to
drystone

snipped-for-privacy@swiftdsl.com.au wrote: ....

Also posted the photos at a more permanent site:

formatting link

Reply to
drystone

Correct, I didn't look at the photos the first time around. IMO thats not a good design, the secondary catch is supposed to stop the bonnet flying open if the first catch fails but it can't work if it all falls off. BTW I went and looked under the bonnets of my 2 Toyota's (Hilux and Corolla), the bonnet latches are a different design but if the bolts came loose then the result would be the same as what happened to the Disco so the Toyota design isn't really much safer.

Daryl

Reply to
D Walford

As Damo also found. Two reported cases of this in as many weeks ...

Adds bonnet release failure to front tire failure as phobias ... as well as the health related thread. Fuck! at this rate I'm not even gunna get out of bed in the morning for fear of breaking meself.

URK!

Reply to
patrick

Is this a troll??????

I mean no-one could possibly have been unaware of LR's s**te attitude to their customers *after_the_sale* ? Their s**te design? Their s**te build quality?

Yeah - It has to be a troll..

Anyway, in the extremely unlikely event your piece was not a troll, LR is at this moment kicking themselves severely up th' arse for offering that very un-traditional longish warranty. So, you can be pleased you've had 'some' impact on the bastards.

You're kidding if you dn't know the answer to that - troll or no troll:-)

Reply to
Toby Ponsenby

A good case for fitting extra bonnet tie downs as required by race cars rules.

I've never experienced either but a car still managed to stuff my knee last week:-) Hopefully I'll find out what's damaged tomorrow.

Daryl

Reply to
D Walford

Its normally in place to prevent the bonnet from flying up.

Reply to
Magic Mushroom Farmer

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.