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emorgans



Member Since: 11 Jan 2013
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6
2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey
Roof Rail Removal - NIGHTMARE
Long story short. In an attempt to put a roof top tent on the 110 supported by a Front Runner Slimline with backbone the installer broke some of the nuts in the roof when removing the factory roof rails. On taking it to the local dealership they were informed it was a known/common issue that occurred during build process but said “Not our problem and it’ll cost $2,500 to repair”. I’m pretty flawed by the lack of support by an obvious fault caused during manufacture and wrote a formal complaint asking for consideration under warranty and got this response…

“Given the circumstances above this is a retail repair and should not be put through as a warranty repair. This is a reminder of why we have genuine accessories and authorised retailers to carry out fitment of genuine accessories.”

Pretty rude and unsupportive in our opinion so thought I’d reach out to anyone who might have had a similar issue (I’m sure I’m not unique) to understand if there might have been a more favourable outcome and support due to the acknowledged manufacturing fault. Any help would be appreciated…
Post #967434 12th Oct 2022 11:44am
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LR Nuts



Member Since: 10 Aug 2022
Location: UK
Posts: 1141
 
I had a similar problem with Freelander 1 3dr.

On removing the bolts x2, the internal 'anchor plate' dropped down the B pillar and must have ended up near the floor pan. Never to be seen again. The 'anchor plate should have been securely spot welded to the internals of the roof.

I 'rivnut' a repair, which held for many years.
Post #967443 12th Oct 2022 1:44pm
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BuckBlu110



Member Since: 19 Apr 2014
Location: in the pub
Posts: 714
United Kingdom 1994 Defender 110 BMW M57 3.0 Diesel CSW Buckingham Blue
Was it a dealer that broke the parts or a third party installer?
Post #967470 12th Oct 2022 5:48pm
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mse



Member Since: 06 Apr 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 5038
United Kingdom 2016 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Scotia Grey
I would be working on whether it was a design/build failure or a 3rd party failure.

If the dealer say we know this is a fault, then it seems a design or build failure and therefore warranty.

Doesnt matter how you found out about it.

It would be the same as taking you car for a service to a none LR place and upon removing the brake calliper they found the pipe crimped and the dealer saying because they didnt find it, its not a warranty issue

That said, if your 3rd party installer was over excited etc then its on them Mike
Post #967522 13th Oct 2022 7:59am
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miker



Member Since: 13 Sep 2015
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1763
United Kingdom 1999 Defender 110 Td5 CSW Rioja Red
If it was done during the install of the new equipment then I'd say the blame could fall on the installer, but as it seemingly happened during the removal of the original parts... seems pretty clearly a manufacturing issue!
Post #967529 13th Oct 2022 10:21am
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emorgans



Member Since: 11 Jan 2013
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6
2012 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Orkney Grey
It was the third party installer that broke it. But as soon as it happened they were onto LR to diagnose the issue. TBH I’m not surprised by the dealer response as they are taking a not their problem, initiated by someone else approach. Though I feel there is a fault which seems to be over zealous application of loctite on the nuts during manufacture that I want LR to acknowledge and support the fix.

At the end of the day it really just damaging my perception of the brand and 20+ years of loyalty… but then some companies don’t really care about delivering outstanding outcomes to their customers preferring the short term bottom line thinking.

Thanks all for your comments.
Post #967531 13th Oct 2022 10:47am
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XplusYplusZ



Member Since: 16 Aug 2021
Location: UK
Posts: 489
I think it would be really difficult to prove that the bolts broke due to metallurgic stress failure, and that it wasn't in fact your 3rd party installer blasting away at them with an impact wrench, mallet and a chisel..

IF you'd bought the tent/roof rack from JLR, and paid JLR to do the install, and JLR broke the bolts. You might expect them to fix the problem without charging the extra labor..

But paying a 3rd party installer, to install non-OEM parts..

I think your only chance is to go after the installer - they broke the bolts, they should be responsible for resolving your problem. Either fitting new ones or paying for rectification.

(I hate being on the dealer's side)
Post #967554 13th Oct 2022 3:19pm
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ginjez



Member Since: 18 Sep 2011
Location: huddersfield
Posts: 1763
2011 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 ST Santorini Black
Just playing devil's advocate here - if you had used the roof rails and they had rattled loose due to no thread lock being used what would your opinion be then? LR have tried to ensure what is essentially a structural part not working loose
Post #967628 14th Oct 2022 8:23am
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GreenMonster



Member Since: 30 Sep 2020
Location: Virginia
Posts: 77
United States 
Too bad you or your installer didn’t see the many threads on this issue over the past two years. Removing the rail bolts resulted in similar pain for several others, and has also happened with many other cars if you peruse the internet, so a fairly common issue with these types of sheet metal fasteners. Too late for you now, but the proven solution is to use an induction bolt heater turned on for 3-5 seconds for each bolt before loosening. This softens the loctite and the bolts turn with ease. Frontrunner warns about this on their site which you unfortunately missed. Lucky8 put this video together on this. Frankly, your installer should have known this as many other cars have had similar issues.
Post #968200 18th Oct 2022 3:56pm
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