Defect Investigation Detail
LAND ROVER / RANGE ROVER / 2003
| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Action Number: PE07019 | Vehicale/Equipment Name: LAND ROVER |
| Vehicale/Equipment Model: RANGE ROVER | Vehicale/Equipment Year: 2003 |
| Component Name: POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT | Manufacturer's Name: Land Rover |
| Date Opened: Apr, 04 2007 | Date Closed: Aug, 15 2007 |
| Subject: FRONT DIFFERENTIAL/DRIVESHAFT FAILURE | Summary: in response to an information request (ir) letter sent by the office of defects investigation (odi), ford stated that the primary cause for the majority of the reported front differential/drive shaft failures is a misalignment of the joint between the two components.certain levels of misalignment may over time cause an uneven wear of the splines.continued wear of the splines may result in a shearing of the splines and the inability of the driveshaft to transfer torque to the front differential. to address the issue in the field, ford initiated a service campaign in june 2003 to correct the misalignment issue and, if necessary, replace the front drive shaft and/or differential.the service campaign covered model year (my) 2003 and my 2004 vehicles built from april 18, 2002 through july 3, 2003.in production, ford introduced a change to the lubricating grease of the joint in february 2003 and a change to the assembly plant alignment process in july 2003 to address the misalignment and wear issue. odi identified one crash related to the alleged defect.the crash involved a subject vehicle being struck in the rear after becoming disabled by a front differential/driveshaft failure and pulling to the side of the road. this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea07-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of front differential/driveshaft failures in the subject vehicle population. |