New LR4 owner. General thoughts on servicing, engine oil etc. please

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catman

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Bottom line: check the service manual and make adjustments to the list of things suggested according to your own situation. Next time I will be going to my local garage who has been looking after my Land Rovers and Jaguars for years for much less money and very reliably.

My local dealer would not "break apart" the mileage based services (such as 45k, 60k, 75k, 105k, etc). They have a time allotment for each check per the standard repair guidelines (like 10 min to check bulbs) which really ramps up the cost. They said it was all or nothing, so in the end, it was nothing as I have a great indy shop closer than the actual dealer.[/QUOTE]
 

ktm525

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Hi guys,
After three Saabs I finally got myself a 2010 LR4 with 105k km's on it (Toronto, Canada). Have owned it for 2 months and absolutely love it! I thought my Saab 93 sportcombi V6 was a pleasure to drive, but this has it well beaten (maybe not on twisty roads).

Anyhow, a few questions / advice sought:

At the risk of sounding like a **** who has bought a car that is expensive to maintain, and then whines about maintenance costs - it is due the 96k km service. Primarily filters and fluids. $650 from dealer and $707 from indie.......the price difference I could not work out, given limited stuff to do and indie labour $40/hr cheaper than dealer (no detailed cost breakdown from dealer). Totally capable of doing filters and fluids myself (especially as indie quoted me $230 for non-OEM filters alone, and I can get them from Eeuroparts.com for $100!). That leaves the inspection part of the service. I guess potentially useful.........am in two minds........... Car has last two years of main dealer service history with it, so not like I am trying to maintain dealer service history from new. Interestingly it got a brand new engine from LR under extended warranty in 2015!.......$12k item!!

Engine oil............am I correct in concluding that the fancy Castrol 5W20 oil specified by LR primarily relates to its longevity re. allowing reduced maintenance frequency? Cannot find it in Toronto (apart from at dealer), so if I do it myself, correct in thinking Mobil 1 synthetic twice a year will be fine?

just did a trip to northern Ontario. Freezing rain, car felt great on Blizzaks.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, comments etc.!

Yes you are on the right track. The "fancy" Castrol is related to extended oil change intervals. For years I ran yearly oil/filter change using Mobil1 EP (aprox 16 k kms or 10k miles). Now I am spooked by the PCV system dumping used oil onto my valves and due to the direct injection having no cleansing fuel to keep valves clean. Now I swap oil every 6 months (quality synthetic but not extended drain formula) and replace the filter yearly. Cutting my filters apart they are still super clean after a year so my belief is swapping them every 6 months is too much.

In a couple years you should look at a transmission pan swap (filter and fluid). Your front lower control arms will fail in the next 2-3 years and they will need replacing. Also keep a sharp eye on coolant level and be aware of any sweet coolant smells. The V8 waterpump is notorious for failing.

Other than that you are all good.

Awesome news on the engine.
 

Mozambique

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Thanks for the suggestions - much appreciated.
I know...........topping up the windshield fluid is taking the **** a bit.
Basically I will be doing fluids and filters for the 96k km service myself. Booked service with the dealer online 3 weeks ago and have not heard a peep back. In fact I think I requested todays date actually. I heard their customer service can be crap (Metro West LR in Toronto), so not that surprised.
 

Mozambique

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Yes you are on the right track. The "fancy" Castrol is related to extended oil change intervals. For years I ran yearly oil/filter change using Mobil1 EP (aprox 16 k kms or 10k miles). Now I am spooked by the PCV system dumping used oil onto my valves and due to the direct injection having no cleansing fuel to keep valves clean. Now I swap oil every 6 months (quality synthetic but not extended drain formula) and replace the filter yearly. Cutting my filters apart they are still super clean after a year so my belief is swapping them every 6 months is too much.

In a couple years you should look at a transmission pan swap (filter and fluid). Your front lower control arms will fail in the next 2-3 years and they will need replacing. Also keep a sharp eye on coolant level and be aware of any sweet coolant smells. The V8 waterpump is notorious for failing.

Other than that you are all good.

Awesome news on the engine.

Thanks!
Actually the LCA's were replaced in 2015 so that the vehicle qualified for an extended LR warranty. Previous owner went for that, which saved them $12k on the new engine!
 

ktm525

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Probably the timing chain guides. Good for you with a new engine.
 

Quijote

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Many of us who change our own oil do not subscribe to the extended change intervals in the owner's manual. 5K to 7.5K miles seems to be the consensus to ensure that everything stays copacetic. However, if you do stick with this change interval, the consensus among the group seems to be that Mobil 1 is fine. That's what I did in my last LR4. In my current one, I have committed to Castrol and the more frequent changes above. That fits my personal risk management profile.

Just to be clear: This is what LR calls for:

CAS06258_LARGE-View2.jpg


What I and others use is Mobil1 Extended Performance 5W-20.

https://www.mobil.com/english-us/passenger-vehicle-lube/pds/glxxmobil-1-extended-performance

If you read through this lengthy dialogue below, you will see that there is enough proof that WSS-M2C945-A superceedes WSS-M2C925-A.

https://www.justanswer.com/ford/5dtom-does-wss-m2c945-a-spec-replace-wss-m2c925-a.html

That and other stuff I found at the time convinced me that Mobil1 EP 5W-20 was good.


Also, note how even the "mighty" Mobil1 0W-40 which I used on my 911 Turbo and other fancy European cars does not meet that spec. It has to be Mobil1 Extended Performance.

https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1
 
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pabs406

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I’ve been using Mobil 1, but only the Advanced Full Synthetic. Is this inappropriate?
 

Quijote

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Just to add other random thoughts...

If you read the discussion I linked, it suggest that the difficult-to-meet Ford spec simply refers to properties for high-mile oil change intervals. It may well be that any full synthetic oil of good quality and proper weight is fine if you are committed to say, 7.5k-mile or less oil change intervals. Just a thought.

For all the drama about oil, I've yet to hear of any catastrophic or other engine failures attributed to oil. There are reports that suggest chain/tensioner issues happened to show gunky oil deposits on engines that followed LR's recommended 15k-mile oil change intervals. That's a weak argument without more data. Plus LR itself has in effect admitted to a poor design by changing it.

I certainly played it safe during the factory warranty period using the recommended Castrol. Coincidentally, since my warranty expired the LR4 has been and will continue to be driven only ~5k miles per year (instead of ~7.5k miles), so my yearly oil changes will span relatively few miles.
 

wdalyinnh

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Is there a RAVE pdf manual for the LR4? I've got one that covers new RR and disco II and it's fantastic.
 

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