SECOND FAILURE AT DRIRE - Range Rover

[Washy]

Not even the brand new LPG system fitted in France 3 months ago, by a so-called recommended 'accredited expert' passed this second conformity controle at DRIRE Carcassonne today. 

We had had this fitted at the inspector's pet garage, and they failed to put in the safety fuse for emergency cut out and the system is too close to the exhaust, should be 10cm away - it is 2.8cms!! They also did not fit a safety plate large enough to be safe. The main thing he was annoyed about was that they had fitted a very expensive protective 'ski' over the system which the garage said was compulsory  but which was in fact not compulsory but recommended, but the enormous thing covered the all important numbers the DRIRE man needed to see to check the norms........I give up!!!  The inspector has also now decided that the on board computer for the gpl system is not to the french 'norm' although it has the european 00 norm number on it?  I think this guy is making things up as he goes along.

We knew he would fail us because of the missing chassis number, but as it turned out this was the least important thing compared to the dangerous items above.  We found out about the chassis number at the MOT where they told us the american plate was unacceptable.  I rang Land Rover who said they could put it on the chassis but they needed the original paperwork.  That was at DRIRE - Catch 22 situation.  DRIRE now want us to have this done and to have a new 'maker's plate made - he drew a picture of what he (DRIRE) wanted on this plate.

We left there with two notes, one for Land Rover Perpignan where we already had an appointment booked to put on the chassis number, and the other for the garage in Narbonne.

What else?  You may well ask...could there possibly be anything else...of course....the seatbelts, well I should say one seat belt.  The middle rear seat belt does not conform! All the others are fine, they have a circled E2 number, the centre seat belt also has E2 but apparently it should be E2 B....it has a sheaf of material labels sewn to it, as do the others, they apply to the norms in europe again, USA, Australia etc etc. everywhere in the world it appears but not France!!  He told us to go to a scrap yard and find a replacement, I find this unbelievable that he can prefer an old seat belt from any car (I asked him this), but preferably a Land Rover one, to the existing one.  The seat belt unit in the back of a Range Rover is one unit, so we may have to fit a complete new set, sounds expensive. I have no idea what is wrong with the strap it is just like all the others, and all he could say was that is needs to show E2-B....nervous breakdown for me on the horizon!!!!

Next the headlights.....whoopeee they confirmed....but not the top side light.  But it had recently been changed 3 years ago when it was imported into the UK......in the US they have 2 white lights in europe they have one orange the other white.  They have an E number but not the right E number for the man from DRIRE. 

He could not find the engine type/family, he said to ask Land Rover when we go on Monday, the certificate of partial conformity list the engine as being 36 when everything we have is 39 - 3.9 I suppose, it is a Land Rover engine but it is a replacement.

He also criticised the ABS light on the dashboard not working. Now I do not believe this is related to any norm nor is it a fault.  My husband who is a good mechanic but has no access to a Land Rover computer, replaced the ABS system last year but could not reset the onboard computer, it had been flashing for ages....last month we had a problem with the ignition and had to replace part of the unit, while he was doing this he fiddled with the lights and fuses and the ABS light went out.  Now the DRIRE official is causing a fuss about this....it went on the list for Land Rover.....

Also the petrol tank that was removed by the garage at his request and replaced with an identical one - who knows why? Does not have the right homologation numbers, so this was added to the list.  We questioned the removal of this at the time and the garage telephoned the inspector in our presence and he said the old one had to go.......

There are so many questions to be asked here, especially regarding the anomalies in the newly fitted equipment.  I know there is a con going on here, apart from the fortune it cost us to have the lpg system replaced.  We now have to return to the garage and get them to make the amendments to make the unit safe...these are the same folks who did not even connect the new petrol tank and let my husband drive home in a dangerous car.

I think this has now become a consumer rights issue, if not a legal issue and I do not have a clue how to proceed.  A french friend of ours has been helping me to write a letter of complaint, he is away at the moment so I am a bit lost but I do think I now need to contact a consumer organisation. I now have to do battle with the garage as well as DRIRE.  If anyone has any help for me regarding contacting consumer rights organisations in France I would be very grateful to hear from you.

I really hope no one has to go through all of this, the official did say we were 'nearly there', but I do not want to pay out any more money and have him, on a whim suddenly decide that we cannot have french numbers because of the engine number.

Sorry about all this but I had to get it off my chest, all this went on today at the Equipement at Capendu between Carcassonne and Lezignan, not the old DRIRE headquarters at Carcassonne. The official who was terribly rude last time was obsessively condescending this time and this make me suspicious....I am really paranoid now.  We will have to had a third convocation now to DRIRE.

If anyone reading this is thinking about going through this procedure with a Land Rover or a Range Rover I have compiled a list of things you need to make the initial application and now a list of things to check and amend before you get there, you never know this may save you a visit to DRIRE.