Transmission Fault light at 2500 miles - MY14 LR4 Lux

[ougrad1]

Dang! I am two weeks from receiving my new MY14. Reading stuff like this gives me pause. I'm not buying my LR4 as a town car. I will be taking it all over the Rocky Mountain and West regions where I'll be out in the middle of nowhere. LR dealers will be hundreds of miles away. I'll be on trips many hundreds of miles from home so I can't just "tow it to the dealer and wait a week at home with a rental while they fix it."

There are a lot of things I don't like about the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Lexus LX570. But, sheez, I need a vehicle I can trust.

To umberto's comment, is this a sign of issues creeping into the MY14 model? Maybe in how they are doing the wiring as epiclr4 found with his AC?

Given your reaction, maybe you should consider the land cruiser

 

[danrhiggins]

Given your reaction, maybe you should consider the land cruiser

Guilty as charged! Maybe I should just get a Buick.

 

[Matt]

Guilty as charged! Maybe I should just get a Buick.

Dan - If you think about it, the 14 is kind of like buying a first run. New engine new tranny. Likely new wiring harness etc… The issue in this thread could be random, or not. The 14's have not been around long enough to determine any statistical significance.

 

[epiclr4]

Dan - If you think about it, the 14 is kind of like buying a first run. New engine new tranny. Likely new wiring harness etc… The issue in this thread could be random, or not. The 14's have not been around long enough to determine any statistical significance.

Very true. Plus they have hardly produced any of them (note the availability thread).

Could be another issue in general with fixing issues. That was one reason my dealership said would have possibly made things better was if they would have had another one on the lot they could have pulled it into the shop and been able to compare the two.

 

[Surfrider77]

Isn't the engine the exact same 5.0L Jaguar V8 in the pre-2014 models, but with 2 cylinders deactivated and a supercharger slapped on top? Mechanically, the engine should be just as solid as the rest. ECU programming could take some tweaking to perfect. Thankfully, those can be programmed at the dealer following TSBs, etc.

The half-assed engine change is one of the reasons I am happy to have purchased a 2013 V8. One benefit of going to a SCV6 should the weight savings. The way LR have gone about it gives none of that. Heavier engine (V8 with a SC bolted on), less power, marginal fuel savings.

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_AJ-V6_engine#AJ126

The AJ126 V6 is basically an AJ133 V8 engine that has 2 less cylinders and is made on the same production line as the AJ133.

The one thing they did do right is the 8 Speed transmission. It is a fantastic unit that is shared across multiple platforms (BMW, Audi, LR, etc.) That transmission is a great addition to any of the LR4 lineup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission

 

[danrhiggins]

The one thing I would have loved to see is the 8 Speed transmission. It is a fantastic unit that is shared across multiple platforms (BMW, Audi, LR, etc.) That transmission would be a great addition to any of the LR4 lineup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission[/QUOTE]

The MY14 transmission is the 8 speed and does get great reviews across other vehicles. This makes me more interested in understanding why the OP has had a supposed issue with the transmission. But to epiclr4's comment, it may not have much to do with the transmission itself but possibly with some other wiring problem. Maybe the way the gear selector knob is wired to the transmission?

 

[danrhiggins]

Very true. Plus they have hardly produced any of them (note the availability thread).

Could be another issue in general with fixing issues. That was one reason my dealership said would have possibly made things better was if they would have had another one on the lot they could have pulled it into the shop and been able to compare the two.

This makes me curious about how many MY14 Discovery 4's are being sold/used in other countries. And I wonder what they are seeing.

BTW, I also take the descriptions of the problems reported on this forum and share them with head of the service department of our dealership. It has not been clear to me how much they communicate with each other.

 

[epiclr4]

Isn't the engine the exact same 5.0L Jaguar V8 in the pre-2014 models, but with 2 cylinders deactivated and a supercharger slapped on top? Mechanically, the engine should be just as solid as the rest. ECU programming could take some tweaking to perfect. Thankfully, those can be programmed at the dealer following TSBs, etc.

The half-assed engine change is one of the reasons I am happy to have purchased a 2013 V8. One benefit of going to a SCV6 should the weight savings. The way LR have gone about it gives none of that. Heavier engine (V8 with a SC bolted on), less power, marginal fuel savings.

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_AJ-V6_engine#AJ126


The one thing they did do right is the 8 Speed transmission. It is a fantastic unit that is shared across multiple platforms (BMW, Audi, LR, etc.) That transmission is a great addition to any of the LR4 lineup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_8HP_transmission

This is all exactly as I have discussed with my Service guy. Somehow they kept the same engine block, just closed off 2 cylinders and bolted a blower on it. Nothing fancy at all.

In terms of the ZF 8 Speed tranny I will say that the LR programming on the tranny is not very good. In comparison to the BMW's I have driven that all have the same or significantly more power the shifts are not very good. They are slow and typically not very smooth. Especially and primarily on the downshift. Going up it does alright, again, just not very quick.

The other sad piece of this is from what I have read, the programming isn't very good in the Range Rover Sport either. The shifts are slow and not nearly as coveted as the BMW's reviews.

 

[umbertob]

Isn't the engine the exact same 5.0L Jaguar V8 in the pre-2014 models, but with 2 cylinders deactivated and a supercharger slapped on top?

Cylinders removed, not deactivated. Those who have seen the SCV6 engine "*****" say it looks a little dorky, a V6 where an 8-cyl block clearly belongs. Other than that, yes it is the same engine.

 

[danrhiggins]

In terms of the ZF 8 Speed tranny I will say that the LR programming on the tranny is not very good. In comparison to the BMW's I have driven that all have the same or significantly more power the shifts are not very good. They are slow and typically not very smooth. Especially and primarily on the downshift. Going up it does alright, again, just not very quick.

The other sad piece of this is from what I have read, the programming isn't very good in the Range Rover Sport either. The shifts are slow and not nearly as coveted as the BMW's reviews.

I would think that they could refine the programming with experience, right? Also, doesn't it have the ability to "adapt" based on the driver's behavior. I've heard of that in other vehicles. I'm not sure how it works or more importantly how well it works. But if it is programming then they should be able to refine that.

Hey, maybe Gap Diagnostics can come up with a way for us to "adjust" the programming. ;-)