Land Rover is recalling 2,301 Range Rovers across two different actions that both involve the risk of fire. The greater of the two surrounds a drive belt, overheating, and a coolant leak. The other, involving a single 2023 Range Rover, focuses on a missing gasket that could allow hot oil to lead to a conflagration.
The big batch of 2,300 Range Rovers includes 1,037 plug-in hybrid models from 2018 through 2021 and a further 1,263 Range Rover Sport models from 2018 through 2022.
All share the same 4-cylinder gasoline hybrid engine and thus, the same safety concern. At its heart, the problem comes down to a water pump drive belt that, if damaged, can lead to an overheating engine.
Read: 2023 Land Rovers, Range Rovers And Jaguars At Risk Of Engine Oil Leaks
Should the engine overheat, it’s possible that the engine coolant elbow pipe could leak. In turn, a leaky coolant pipe could spill that coolant on the turbocharger heat shield and subsequently start a fire.
Understanding the variability in the aftermarket quality and condition of water pump drive belts that might end up on a Range Rover, the automaker’s solution is to replace the coolant elbow and turbocharger feed coolant pipe with new ones.
The single 2023 Range Rover that’s coming in for a recall has a gasket missing from its turbocharger oil drain pipe. Oil leaking from that spot could end up on the exhaust manifold and start a fire of its own. Jaguar Land Rover says that its engine supplier (BMW) notified it that five engines made it through the production line missing said gasket.
Of those five, only one ended up in the hands of a customer here in the USA. Three others were repaired before they left Jaguar Land Rover control and the fourth is evidently outside of the USA. Land Rover says that it’s unaware of any accidents, injuries, or fires related to these two issues.
Owners that want to confirm whether or not they have an affected vehicle can contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or call their local dealership.
