Hey Scotty,
I Bought a flooded 2023 Land Rover Defender with 4,000 miles that run & drives. Even thought it ran there were some electrical issues. I had all of the modules located under the Driver seat replaced. The entire system was updated. My problem I’m having from day one is, the rear hatch door will not open. The 4 doors open but not the hatch door.
The tech trouble shoot the door mechanism, fuse box, the modules etc etc and we still can’t get the door open. He sent direct current to the door and got it to open that way but cannot open it the normal way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
The Tech is not a Land Rover Dealership Tech. But his shop specializes on Euro cars and Land Rovers as well.
Never I say never buy a flooded car and especially a Land Rover. Insurance companies Total them because it cost too much money to fix them over time when they are flooded, especially if it was salt water. Those things are all done by electronics. The computer systems and the wiring gets wet and shorts out. All hell breaks loose. If somebody brought me a car like that, I wouldn't work on it because I know the hassle of flooded cars. Not good luck if you can find someone who will work on it. They'll probably charge you 250 bucks an hour for God knows how many hours of analysis
I sure hope you didn't pay much at all for this car since you might end up junking it. Not all electronics and sensors go bad at the same time after car gets flooded and you'll probably end up replacing sensor after sensor and spend thousands testing and figuring out what's wrong after another sensor goes bad. Hopefully you can drive it for a while but it'll be like a ticking bomb.
Maybe create a new circuit with a switch to send direct current to it when you want to open it?
Good luck.
I Bought a flooded 2023 Land Rover Defender
Most of us here would view that as another way of saying "I walked through a cow pasture without looking where I was stepping."
I hope it wasn't flooded with salt water - if so the corrosion to wiring and electronics will be particularly fierce. Even if it was a fresh water flood, as @jvin and @scottykilmer) have said you're going to be chasing electrical problems on that thing for a long time. Also water and muck trapped inside inaccessible areas can in time cause severe rust.
Hopefully you got that thing for a rock-bottom bargain price.
