MY14 LR4: JotaDe's Thoughts

Hi folks,

Got a month on the car and 1k on the odometer. I wanted to reach out with some questions and thoughts without muddying up my original thread (Frustration with '14 availability) that really had a different purpose.

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  First thought is I LOVE THIS car!
  I love driving it, it feels like it's got the stones to do anything I need as well as giving me just enough luxury to always enjoy driving (and looking at) it.

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  Getting around 15.6 MPG so far lol. But I really have a gas sucking commute (even though it's only ~15 miles each way) that is just stop/go the whole time.

I have my complimentary 2-hour lesson from LR, and luckily I'm not far away from the Quail Lodge in Carmel. I can head on down and enjoy the quaint town and learn all about my LR4 (might even see dirty harry there!). I also plan to get down to Hollister hills with Finlay when my work load lightens up a bit.

For anyone in the bay area I could use some advice on a shop to install sliders. I've done some research and am not positive I can trust the local off road shops with my new toy, but I did find a mechanic here who gets great reviews for British cars (link). I know how to change oil and tires, but never delved deeper into body/engine work (and would never forgive myself if I ****ed something up), maybe when the car isn't so new I'd give it a shot
Any south bay shops recommended for this work?
Also, researching sliders that will also serve as steps to help the kids get in.
Am hoping to find a good set that won't add too much weight.

I really REALLY want a way to use my iPod and switch back and forth to Bluetooth audio streaming from my phone without unplugging the iPod first.
Really annoying - #firstworldproblems
Any known work arounds?

Also I hit a potential software race condition with "ECO mode" that had a less than thrilling result.

1. Stopped in traffic, ECO mode on (engine off), foot brake applied, car in Drive.
2. Switched gear to Park (causes engine to start up), pressed ECO mode button (turning it off), switched gears back to Drive.
   (I performed step 2 quickly)
3. ==> Engine turned off, some lights blinked a few times in the dash, rotary dial descended.
4. Quickly while #3 was happening I pressed the start button and nothing.
5. Don't recall exactly, but may have let go/reapplied brake, pressed start button and the car started back up as expected.

Have not been able to reproduce this since, and I saw no "warning messages" in the dash.
This sounds like a reset of some sort.
How can I find out if any error codes were thrown?

The way this happened I am not reading any more into it and don't have any concerns. I'm only bringing it up to find out how to find the error code (if there was one).

Thanks!

I don't have Stop Start system in my 2013 so can't really sympathize, but why the need to switch to Park before turning off ECO? Could you not just stay in Drive and hit the ECO button to turn the feature off and start the engine at the same time?

I know that on my Evoque loaner coming to a stop and unlatching the seat belt would sometimes cause the dial shifter to move to Park, the park brake to engage and the engine to shut off completely, which caused me some grief when starting to maneuver to parallel park. Don't know if that's by design, can't recall if I perhaps also moved the shifter to Park accidentally (instead of Reverse), and I didn't keep the loaner long enough to be able to study the features and flaws of the ECO system. But it does seem to behave a bit weird at times, perhaps just a matter of getting used to it and to the silly dial shifter going up and down, so many times I put the car back in Park instead of Drive after backing up by flipping that dial the wrong way without looking...

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a workaround for the iPod/Bluetooth music streaming incompatibility, my guess is those devices share the same input in the infotainment system so it is physically impossible for both of them to operate at the same time, and the hardwired input obviously has precedence over the Bluetooth connection. It is indeed a #firstworldproblem.

As for the iPod/BT situation, something similar happened on my MY14 Acura MDX - by design. So this is not unique to LR though it certainly may have been addressed better in other brands.

As for the ECO situation, though I have a MY14 I have never had an issue with ECO. But then again, I have never gone through he series of events that you did. To Umberto's question, you can certainly turn ECO on/off without being in Park. In fact, I have done it a few times in Drive though any more I just leave it on. It has become second nature to let it do its thing and if I need to get the engine going again I just relax the pressure on the brake a bit.

So, as Umberto said, I'm not sure why you were going to Park and then turning off ECO. Not sure why you would shift to Park in traffic but then again I don't have any context.

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, if I have to turn off ECO when driving I do wait for the engine to be off while in Drive.
This was a situation where I was being impatient (and stopped in traffic), I wanted ECO off, so I intended to put it into Park to do this and as I began to do that ECO turned the engine off. Definitely an edge case, but I'm a bit more cautious about the enabling/disabling of the feature.

As to knowing the error code (if one was thrown), I assume I need a diagnostic tool to gather that info?

I'm used to an aftermarket stereo system in my previous car, I guess that's one of the bells/whistles that aren't in all OEM stereo systems. I incorrectly assumed it would be.

JotaDe said:

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, if I have to turn off ECO when driving I do wait for the engine to be off while in Drive.

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You can just hit that switch any time you want to turn off ECO, even at full speed, right? You don't have to wait for the engine to be off.

umbertob said:

You can just hit that switch any time you want to turn off ECO, even at full speed, right? You don't have to wait for the engine to be off.

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I do not think that is the case (I'll double check tonight).
I think you have to be in Park, or in Drive with the engine off (aka ECO mode).

No, I'm pretty sure you can switch ECO off at any time.

I'm a nut. You are right!

Hey JotaDe,

That was an interesting write up, glad you are enjoying your LR4. Definitely keep me posted when you can make it out to Hollister. Just let me know a Saturday, even if the club is not meeting, and I will head down with you. Enjoy!

Regards, David

ECO mode can be turned on/off at any time, driving or stopped, and in any gear.

It's a funny little system that takes some getting used to. After coming to a stop, ECO mode will turn the engine off. If you unclip your seatbelt, the car will think you're getting out and will automatically shut down the rest of the electronic systems and put the car in park. It pays attention to the weather as well - if it's too cold out, it won't shut down. If it's hot out and the A/C is on, it'll shut down for a little bit (i.e. at a long stop light) before starting up again.

Some hate it, some like it. I'm indifferent.