Hi, I would just like to check with the members here, about the drivers door lock acting the maggot again.

I thought that I had the lock issue sorted, after the rod connected to the rear of the key barrel became disconnected. I sorted it out by fitting a new rod locating spring fixer.

However, today I went out in the car, and pulled into a garage to fill up. And what happened - I closed the drivers side front door, to fill up, and the door just bounced back open. I immediately knew that the latch was faulty, again.

The difference this time is that the lock, or latch, is vibrating or buzzing, really loudly, when I unlock the car with the remote keyfob. As with the last time, neither the inside pull handle, the key barrel, or the outer door handle don't release on the drivers' door. Only the passenger door, the two rear doors and the tailgate, for a second or two, just long enough to get those doors open.

Am I right in guessing that the door latch has packed up this time ?

Pierre3.

Sounds like it.

Thanks, Richard. I am going to buy a new one and hopefully that will sort out the problem.

I am surprised how noisy the vibration noise is !!

One other question, if you happen to know the answer - I buy my parts from Landrover in Belgium as this saves any extra duty when arriving in Ireland, although, admittedly, I am paying it in Belgium - but looking at the description for the drivers' side door latch, RHD, there are a number of different part numbers. Is there any chance that you might happen to have a listing for a 2001 P38, with the VIN nr. being W3 1 A452327 ? I read through an older post where you listed the various VIN numbers and the relevant years, but on the LR Direct website there is no part number relating to a VIN 1A452327.

Pierre3.

Pierre3 wrote:

Thanks, Richard. I am going to buy a new one and hopefully that will sort out the problem.

I am surprised how noisy the vibration noise is !!

One other question, if you happen to know the answer - I buy my parts from Landrover in Belgium as this saves any extra duty when arriving in Ireland, although, admittedly, I am paying it in Belgium - but looking at the description for the drivers' side door latch, RHD, there are a number of different part numbers. Is there any chance that you might happen to have a listing for a 2001 P38, with the VIN nr. being W3 1 A452327 ? I read through an older post where you listed the various VIN numbers and the relevant years, but on the LR Direct website there is no part number relating to a VIN 1A452327.

Pierre3.

I noticed that Rimmer Bros now do an EU VAT All Inclusive Service. When I am in France I have several times ordered from RLD Autos who have good stocks of parts & very rapid delivery.

https://www.rld-autos.com/fr/pieces-land-rover/range-rover-p38

The 1 shows it to be a 2001 model, A shows it built at Solihull and 452327 is the individual serial number for the car. You will see parts listed as for cars after YA430702 which shows 2000 model (Y) and serial number 430702, so that is the one you want, part number FQJ103280. Model year was shown by a letter up to 2000 but then changed to numbers from 2001 onwards. When they ran out of numbers for model year, they went back to letters.

This is how the Land Rover VIN is decoded:

Geographical Region (1st Character)
S Europe

Country (2nd Character)
A United Kingdom

Manufacturer (3rd Character)
L Land Rover

Model Type (4th and 5th Characters)
LB Series III
LD Ninety, One Ten, 127, Defender
LH Range Rover Classic
LJ Discovery
LM Range Rover L322
LN Freelander
LP Range Rover P38
LT Discovery Series II

Wheelbase (6th Character)
A Series III 88″, Defender 90″ extra heavy duty, Range Rover Classic 100″, Range Rover (38A) 108″, Freelander
B Series III 88″ Lightweight, Defender 110″ extra heavy duty, Range Rover Classic LSE 108″, Freelander Commercial
C Series III 109″, Defender 130″ extra heavy duty
D Series III 109″
G 100″ (Discovery)
H 110″ (L/R)
K 130″ (L/R)
M Special Build
R 110″ (24 volt)
S 90″ (24 volt)
V 90″ (L/R)

Body Style (7th Character)
A Basic, Soft Top, Pickup, Hardtop Van Commercial, Freelander 3 Door Commercial, Discovery 3 or 5 Door
B Series III 88" Station Wagon, Defender 3door Station Wagon, Range Rover Classic 2 door, Discovery 3 door, Freelander 5 Door
F Defender 4 door Crew cab non Hi-capacity
H High Capacity Pick Up with/without crew cab
M Defender 5door Station Wagon, Range Rover Classic 5 door, Range Rover P38 5 door, Discovery 5 door
R Range Rover Moneverdi

Engine Type (8th Character)
A 1.8L, inline 4 cylinder, ‘K’ Series, High Compression Unleaded
B 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, turbo-diesel, 19J 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder, ‘L’ Series, turbo-diesel
C 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, diesel,12J 1.8L, inline 4 cylinder, ‘K’ Series, Low Compression Unleaded
D 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, petrol, 17H 1.8L, inline 4 cylinder, ‘K’ Series, Low Compression Leaded
E 3.5L, V8 carb, petrol, High Compression,2.4L, inline 4 cylinder, VM Diesel, 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder, BMW M47 (Td4), diesel
F 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, turbo-diesel (200Tdi/300Tdi) non EGR/cat, 11L or 16L, 1.8L, inline 4 cylinder, ‘K’ Series, High Compression Leaded
G 2.25L, inline 4 cylinder, diesel, 2.5L, V6, ‘KV6’ Series, Unleaded
H 2.25L, inline 4 cylinder, petrol, 2.5L, V6, ‘KV6’ Series, Leaded
J 4.6L, V8 Efi, petrol , 2.5L, V6, ‘KV6’ Series, Ethanol
L 3.5L, V8 Efi, petrol
M 3.9 & 4.0L, V8 Efi, petrol
N 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, VM Diesel
P 2.6L, inline 6 cylinder, IOE petrol
V 3.5L, V8 carb, petrol, Low Compression
W 2.5L, inline 6 cylinder, BMW Diesel
Y 2.0L, inline 4 cylinder Mpi, petrol
1 4.0L, V8Efi, Low Compression with Cat
2 4.0L, V8Efi, High Compression with Cat
3 4.0L, V8Efi, Low Compression without Cat
6 2.5L, inline 4 cylinder, turbo-diesel (200Tdi/300Tdi) EGR/cat
8 2.5L, inline 5 cylinder, turbo-diesel (Td5) EGR
9 2.5L, inline 5 cylinder, turbo-diesel (Td5) EGR without Cat (Disco II), 2.8L, inline 6 cylinder, M52 BMW petrol

Gearbox Type (9th Character)
1 Series III 4 speed / Right Hand Drive, LT95 4 speed / Right Hand Drive, JATCO 5 speed Auto / Right Hand Drive
2 Series III 4 speed / Left Hand Drive, LT95 4 speed / Left Hand Drive, JATCO 5 speed Auto / Left Hand Drive
3 Chrysler 747 3 speed Auto / Right Hand Drive, ZF 4 speed Auto / Right Hand Drive
4 Chrysler 747 3 speed Auto / Left Hand Drive, ZF 4 speed Auto / Left Hand Drive
5 RHD 4 speed gearbox + overdrive
6 LHD 4 speed gearbox + overdrive
7 LT77 5 Speed Manual / Right Hand Drive, LT77S 5 Speed Manual / Right Hand Drive, LT85 5 Speed Manual / Right Hand Drive, R380 5 Speed Manual / Right Hand Drive, PG1 5 speed5 Speed Manual / Right Hand Drive
8 LT77 5 Speed Manual / Left Hand Drive, LT77S 5 Speed Manual / Left Hand Drive, LT85 5 Speed Manual / Left Hand Drive, R380 5 Speed Manual / Left Hand Drive, PG1 5 speed5 Speed Manual / Left Hand Drive

Year of Build (10th Character)
A 2010
B Ser. III CSW or R/R Phase II, or 90/110 face lift to 1987 or M/Y 2011
C R/R 1986 M/Y or 2012
D R/R 1987 M/Y or 2013
E 1988 or 2014
F 1989 or 2015
G 1990 or 2016
H 1991 or 2017
J 1992 or 2018
K 1993
L 1994
M 1995
T 1996
V 1997
W 1998
X 1999
Y 2000
1 2001
2 2002
3 2003
4 2004
5 2005
6 2006
7 2007
8 2008
9 2009

Build Location (11th Character)
A Solihull, United Kingdom
F Worldwide
G South Africa

Unique Serial Number (12th - 17th Characters)

Nigel, I have used Rimmers quite a number of times and, as you have noted, the fact that they have a system whereby they can include duty and taxes in advance, on their invoice, is very handy. Being in Ireland it saves having to wait on delivery of parts while an Irish based courier deals with the customs and needs to be paid up front before delivering goods. But I also buy from British Parts, in Belgium, as then there is no delay in delivery as the company is in the EU.

Richard, thanks for a really comprehensive explanation of the VIN numbers. I hadn't realised that there would be so much information contained therein ! One thing that I would think may be incorrect is the last line about the part number for the drivers' door latch. The part number listed looks to be for a LHD car. I checked with British Parts and they then went to LR in the UK and it appears that the part number that I need is FQJ103220. I have a RHD car being that I am in Ireland. But, again, thanks for the VIN detail information.

Pierre3.

We both got it wrong. Yes, the number I gave you is for a RH latch for a LHD car, but the one you have FQJ103220 is up to VIN XA428521, a 99 model. You need FQJ103260 which is listed as RH, RHD car from VIN XA428522 (see https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/parts/index/part/id/9.55820.56288.60756/brand/land-rover/).