Problems with 2003 Land Rover Range Rover EQUIPMENT

Sept 2003 my wife was driving 50 mph in washington dc, and the car started to make loud noises, and stopped on the highway at rush hour. the car would not go into drive without making screeching noises. land rover annapolis said it was a front differential failure and they had to replace the transmission/ front differential. warranty covered the costs of this. may 2008 my wife was driving 60 mph on a 4 lane highway, rt 45 in houston. the car made the same noises as in 2006, so she pulled over and could not put the car into drive without the screeching noises. range rover houston north said it was a front differential issue and it needed to be replaced for $2500. this is the 2nd time this happened, and according to rang rover houston n, there is a future recall on this because it is an issue with all models http://www.lemonauto.com/complaints/land_rover/landrover_range_rover.htm *tr

First occurrence - driving in residential neighborhood about 10-15mph. my 2003 rr made a big clunking noise then immediately followed and awful screeching noise. i was unable to drive, truck instantly stopped and screen stated put in neutral. i was stranded on side of road waiting for a tow truck with my 3 children, the youngest was 4 months. second occurrence - less than 1 year later, i was on vacation in cleveland ohio thanksgiving time. driving about 30 mph and the same exact noise happened and instantly the truck stopped, i knew exactly what it was. it was 11:30 pm, i called my insurance company and there were no tow companies open. finally someone came to assist me and pushed my 7000lb truck into an empty lot until the next day. when the help arrived they parked about 3 feet behind my truck, not knowing the truck was not safe in park my truck drifted back and hit his new bmw truck. both times the differential went up i had to pay for it! over $2500 both times not to mention the cost to tow my truck back to md from ohio $1600. i must say that when my truck arrived at the shop all of the mechanics knew about the issue with rr's and their differentials. this is so sad, there is no warning it just happens. i expected so much more from range rover, the name to me means quality but this vehicle has not lived up to its name. not to mention that the company has not acknowledged that this is a common issue with these vehicles and they still will not take ownership of this defect. there are many more stories like this, coincidental as it seems my good friend with a 2004 rr differential went up the same day as mine, luckily she was still covered under warranty. *tr

2003 range rover hse , loud knocking noise when going from reverse to drive, 5 minutes later a grinding noise happened that was very loud. the car responded with a loud grinding sound when trying to apply gas. i was lucky that i was not on a highway and could pull the car over. *tr the check engine light illuminated, there was a radiator leak and the left rear tire had a slow leak. updated 10/11/07. *jb