1998 Land Rover Range Rover: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover
On the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover, the failure owners report most often is thermostat failure, with 3 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 65,000 miles. Overall it scores 65 out of 100, high risk for a 1998.
High risk for a 1998 — 146th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. 28 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 16 named failure modes on the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover, and the three most-reported carry 29% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Thermostat failure leads with 3 reports and about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other fuel system problem follows with 3 reports.
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into fuel (6), cooling (4) and suspension (4).
When these failures get reported
8 of the reports on the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 65,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 13% by 50,000 miles and 75% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 50,000 and 60,000 miles, which alone holds 38% of the dated reports.
13% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 16. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 3 mention a crash, 3 a fire and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.82, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: thermostat failure at $250–$900, other fuel system problem at $300–$2,200, fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure at $250–$1,800 and air suspension failure at $900–$4,500. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
29% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thermostat failure | cooling | 3 | 3 | — | 58k | — | 0.4 | $250–$900 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.4 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure | fuel | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $250–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Air suspension failure | suspension | 2 | 1 | — | 89k | — | 0.3 | $900–$4,500 | High |
| Other engine problem | engine | 2 | 1 | — | 68k | — | 0.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 2 | 1 | — | 30k | — | 0.3 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Heater core failure | cooling | 1 | 1 | — | 115k | — | 0.1 | $700–$2,400 | Moderate |
| Transmission will not engage a gear | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 103k | — | 0.1 | $1,500–$6,000 | Critical |
| Complete transmission failure | transmission | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $2,800–$8,000 | Critical |
| Fuel gauge or level sensor failure | fuel | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,200 | Moderate |
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $1,000–$5,000 | Critical |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover draws about 3.7 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 80th percentile of complaint rates among 1998 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 7,623 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 1998 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Thermostat failure
My husband and I purchased a 1998, land rover range rover 4.6 hse (VIN# [xxx]) from frankel land rover hunt valley on september, 06, 2002. We purchased the range rover land rover certified, which came with a 12-month/ 12,000 mile warranty after additional inspection work was done above and beyond a maryland state inspection. After having the range rover for nearly five months, it incurred major problems. The range rover broke down twice within a week. Below is a summary of each incident. Incident #1 february 5, 2003 at about 8pm I was driving the range rover, heading home when the first problems arouse. The range rover was over heating. I noticed the temperature gauge read hot. Then the steering became very hard. When I pulled over, I noticed the range rover started smoking from under the hood. I then got out of the range rover and noticed something was dripping under the bottom of the truck. The range rover was towed to the dealer. It was assessed that the thermostat was the problem. This service was completed 2/10/03. Incident #2 february 15, 2003 at about 2pm my husband was driving the range rover to work. While driving he…
My husband and I purchased a 1998, land rover range rover 4.6 hse (VIN# [xxx]) from frankel land rover hunt valley on september, 06, 2002. We purchased the range rover land rover certified, which came with a 12-month/ 12,000 mile warranty after additional inspection work was done above and beyond a maryland state inspection. After having the range rover for nearly five months, it incurred major problems. The range rover broke down twice within a week. Below is a summary of each incident. Incident #1 february 5, 2003 at about 8pm I was driving the range rover, heading home when the first problems arouse. The range rover was over heating. I noticed the temperature gauge read hot. Then the steering became very hard. When I pulled over, I noticed the range rover started smoking from under the hood. I then got out of the range rover and noticed something was dripping under the bottom of the truck. The range rover was towed to the dealer. It was assessed that the thermostat was the problem. This service was completed 2/10/03. Incident #2 february 15, 2003 at about 2pm my husband was driving the range rover to work. While driving he…
Recalls on the 1998 model year
NHTSA has issued 3 recall campaigns covering the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover, affecting an estimated 18,987 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover engine and engine cooling:cooling system:hoses/lines/piping/ and engine and engine cooling. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:HOSES/LINES/PIPING/FITTINGS
25,033 vehicles 2000-10-16- Defect
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Coolant system leaks have been identified in areas where the coolant could be subjected to elevated temperatures.
- Consequence
- Consequently, the fluid could ignite causing an under-hood fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will make a series of modifications to several underhood hose components to eliminate the release of engine coolant.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
20,426 vehicles 1999-01-19- Defect
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. As a result of water ingress and subsequent ice blockage, the transmission breather tube can become clogged, expelling transmission fluid from the dipstick tube onto hot engine components.
- Consequence
- This leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in an underhood fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will remove the transmission breather tube from the inner fender and a section of the hose will be cut at an angle. This action will remove the end of the breather tube from any pooled water and will eliminate water droplets from clinging to the end of the tube.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
22,870 vehicles 1998-07-01- Defect
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Certain underhood hose and tubing components can fail allowing fluid to leak, such as engine coolant, windshield wiper fluid, and automatic transmission fluid.
- Consequence
- This leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, can result in an underhood fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect these vehicles and replace these components. Note that not all components will need to be replaced.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 1998 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 1998 — 146th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. Every score on this site is a rank inside its own model year, which is what makes a 2004 and a 2019 comparable at all.
Across the 26 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 61 and 2023 worst at 84, with 1998 itself at 65.
If the model year is negotiable, 1996 and 2007 score lower than 1998 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 1996–2002 generation specifically, 1996 is the strongest year at 61 and 1997 the weakest at 70.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 1996-2002 generation, 1996 Land Rover Range Rover scores best at 61 and 1997 Land Rover Range Rover worst at 70.
What this page cannot tell you
28 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 28 reports, 8 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 29% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover?
The most-reported failures are thermostat failure (3 reports, median 60,000 miles), other fuel system problem (3 reports) and fuel tank, filler or evap failure (2 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover reliable?
It scores 65 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 146th riskiest of the 271 1998 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 1998 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Land Rover Range Rover is best?
Within the 1996–2002 generation, 1996 scores best at 61 out of 100 and 1997 worst at 70. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed