Special Programs off

[pburns1009]

My LR3 has been awsome for the most part, however, it just turned 60,000 miles and I have been getting a warning: Special Systems Off. If I just turn the key till the dash lights come on and allow it to do a "systems Check" everything works fine, however, if I go ahead and start the engine without letting it do it's systems check, then I get the warning....I called the dealer and of course they won't give me any advise over the phone, bring it in and they will deal with it for a $$$$$$$$$$$. Any suggestions>
Thanks

 

[umbertob]

For all weird messages popping up upon startup, the first suspect is always a low battery. I'd get that checked first, before going to the dealer.

 

[gtc]

I'd second umbertob - you may have enough of a drop when cranking that something gets messed up when doing the system check (would have thought the cranking would interrupt the check, but who knows!). I have noticed that with low power conditions, I'd often get an HDC failure when cranking, but that HDC would become available almost as soon as the engine was running.

 

[GrahamWelland]

I'll add another vote for the battery check/replace. I had hundreds, literally, of fault codes including check engine random behavior & even key interlock issues and they all cleared when we determined that my battery was getting to the end of it's life. Cranking the vehicle and normal operation seemed fine but the electronics on startup were very sensitive to the dying battery.

Replaced the battery after 4+ years and all is fine.

 

[drmoss_ca]

Mine gave this and a variety of other errors on systems check at startup, always in cold weather but not in warm (cold means -25C where I am). The battery also went flat a couple of times, without anything being left on. It did this from new, and I was told it was due to taking lots of short trips so the battery could never get enough charging for the number of starts. So when I finally went to the dealer and asked for a battery tender to be installed, they actually put in a new battery and talked me out of the tender. Oddly, there hasn't been one error message since on starting up. I did wonder if there was a secret recall for a bad batch of batteries? I haven't had a bill yet for that visit so I don't know if I'm being charged for the battery.

Chris

 

[zdas04]

The '05s were notorious for sending off error messages like a Roman Candle when the battery was low. Mine flashed through 25 error messages that were too fast to see, then settled on a red "check oil" light and error. Replaced the battery and never had that problem again. The dealer told me that putting it on the charger every week or so would help, but that just tells me that the charging system is not up to the task in the '05.

David