Member Since: 17 Dec 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 51
Awful Handling
Just bought a 55reg hse Discovery , only had chance to test around busy town centre and all seemed fine , EPB made a sequel if engaged but I had read this was a simple and common fault fixed by a few hrs labour (hopefully) , it drove home fine on motorway and there was no fault codes on dash , then when pulling on to rougher B roads the ride became terrible in that you would be driving straight then it would seem to wobble all by itself a bit like the feeling you get when you hit water at speed with the wheels on one side (aqua planning ) , also when pulling away with a bit of speed if feels a bit like the wheels are spinning and the abs is trying to control it but there is no spinning as the grip is fine , the revs seem to search up and down , something I have since noticed it does even when the cruise control is on giving a slight sensation of acceleration and then de acceleration . By the time I had driven 18 miles on a b road I had started to feel travel sick and is really not relaxing driving as you're on tender hooks keeping it on the road . The ride over pot holes is a bit rougher than I was expecting to , having come from a leaf sprung Navara I was expecting a big improvement but it's just as rough on bumps ! The air suspension seems to work in that it goes up and down when asked and the bloke who sold it said he had just spent £1200 on the suspension so should be good for years . I'm a farmer and I would liken the handling to when your towing heavy cattle in a trailer and they keep moving around and pushing and pulling you all over the place only I haven't a trailer on , it's as if it accelerates and deaccelerates just at the wrong time to cause it to sway ,but still no fault codes appear !
I have it booked in to an independent landrover specialist for wednesday but was just wondering if anyone on here had any ideas as I'm worried I've bought a lemon !
17th Dec 2011 11:30 pm
caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
Could be the DSC activating when it shouldn't. It will drop the engine power if it thinks you are out of whack. Switch it off and see if there is any difference.
Low air in a tyre? Steering angle set wrong, steering angle sensor is faulty, height calibration out, faulty height sensor?“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
18th Dec 2011 2:53 am
popsdosh
Member Since: 09 Nov 2009
Location: cambs
Posts: 442
Welcome to the Forum from a fellow farmer.
I can assure you that when its working properly you wont even know you have cattle in the trailer.
A couple of thoughts spring to mind the first is the dynamic stability control but usually this makes the ride rough if you press the dash button to disconnect it by mistake.I dont think actually switching it off will give you the answer if its not working but I suppose if the ride is the same it would indicate that DSC is not functioning at all as there is a marked difference(if you enjoy the experimenting turn it off and try cornering at speed you will see what those electronics actually do).The only way to tell if not functioning would be to have the vehicle fault codes read which I assume the indy will do.
Another cause worth considering though would be a grabbing brake disk especially when you say pulling away is like the ABS is working.Check how hot each wheel is after a bit of a run.
Just a thought as well with it being new did you have any of the special programs engaged I just thought yesterday was icy and you may have been tempted to use snow and ice setting this would cause those symptoms in normal driving.They are really for extreme conditions!
Just a little tip if driving on muddy slippery fields press the DSC button to disengage it provides extra grip.
18th Dec 2011 7:57 am
DiscoDunc
Member Since: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 16390
The vibration / wobble sounds similar to the symptoms of requiring a gear box flush. You may also feel as if the car can't what gear to select and feels as if you are driving over rumble strips
Re the ride etc, I would get the arb bushes and suspension bushes checked along with the arb drop arms and track rod ends
If these havnt already been changed they may be due
Get the garage to check wheel bearings whilst they are looking at itDuncan
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If purchased from a dealer I would take it straight back for rectification.
Do you have any additional warantee ?
Welcome & good luck.
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18th Dec 2011 9:45 am
The Transformer
Member Since: 22 Jan 2010
Location: Leicestershire
Posts: 1791
Check your tyres and pressures too, they can make a D3 do all sorts of weird things
18th Dec 2011 10:33 am
Chips1973
Member Since: 17 Dec 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 51
Thanks for replies guys,
I thought about the dsc button so switched it off but it made no difference , revs still up and down and wobbling . As said above it does feel a bit like it can't decide which gear it wants so I pushed the lever over into manual and left it in 6th on motorway but still did the same , I was wondering if it could be linked to the park brake problem , i.e could that be grabbing slightly ( I guess it's a centre handbrake like on the old landy's) and so it cause any wheel to brake depending on which wheel has best grip and so chuck the truck around , was in normal mode but did try in snow ice etc. and again made no difference .
Very glad to hear that when working correctly you don't know you even got cattle in the trailer because the navara and old discovery before that were awful when towing cattle , could never go much over 40mph or you be through the hedge !! The good reputation for ride is what made me go for a D3 over a pathfinder so was a big shock to discover the ride worse than my leaf sprung navara , love everything else about it though and it cost around £1500 less than one from a dealer with a bit of warranty so I guess I've got a bit of room to spend on it yet . I will update as to what the indy guy finds wrong .
18th Dec 2011 11:04 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Having read this and speaking as a non techie, sounds like 2 issues.
Gearbox needs double flush or Torque converter on the way out, may be fixed with a double flush, may not.
The work done for the suspension it may need a proper 4 way alignment. If a load of bushes have been changed and not aligned (or aligned and then settled) then it could feel like that.
The car will have needed loads of things changed since new and you might now be playing catchup. These are not cars that just need annual maintainance and MOTS.
18th Dec 2011 11:16 am
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Have you checked tyre pressures as suggested above as a slow puncture will cause the symptoms you describe?Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 17 Dec 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 51
Just had a word with dealer who said I've got 21 days cover for major parts , so bit of good news there , he's also emailed invoices for height sensor and wheel bearings he's done from landrover garage before he sold it to me , so it sounds genuine enough but can't believe the garage let it go as it is , so maybe the problem has come from being in storage for a few months .
18th Dec 2011 12:36 pm
Chips1973
Member Since: 17 Dec 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 51
Dealer just sent me an invoice for some of the work he had done it was to investigate noise when turning and it states they replaced N/S/F bearing , also it notes there is play in the O/S bearing but is not making noise so was not replaced .
So maybe the problem comes from wheel bearings , checked all the tyre pressures as suggested but they were all near enough ,no more than a couple of psi out .
18th Dec 2011 7:01 pm
popsdosh
Member Since: 09 Nov 2009
Location: cambs
Posts: 442
Seriously if you disengaged the DSC and it made no difference I would say that is were your problem is as with it disengaged it should make a marked worsening of the handling.The default is DSC working so I hope you understand my logic for saying this.You will need to get the fault codes checked out on diagnostics to be sure ,I have never heard of a gearbox needing flushing that affects handling.I happily tow an Ifor with five conti cows up at
50.
18th Dec 2011 7:25 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26702
If they have not changed them already, my money is on either (or both) front lower wishbones or rear upper wishbones. If the dsc is cutting in on only moderate cornering, then there is something not right at all.
You know when it is cutting in because it makes a whirring noise, and a yellow light on the dash will flash. The only times I have seen this on mine is when I had a puncture, and the other time was just before I lost control and went into the ditch!
It may also be a steering angle sensor that needs fixing.
I have just had front lowers, and rear uppers done, and the handling is transformed.
18th Dec 2011 10:30 pm
caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
The point I was making about turning off the DSC is when turned off it is not fully off it just changes the perameters. So it may change the point at which it engages.
Many things can affect handling, Bushes, height sensors, steering angle sensor, wheel alignment, steering components etc If not set up correctly can cause issues. Get the dealer to sort it to your satisfaction.“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
18th Dec 2011 10:54 pm
Chips1973
Member Since: 17 Dec 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 51
Right, picking the discovery up from the indy garage tomorrow , it's all done but they want to test drive it first ,
They've changed a load of bushes by the sound of it and a steering angle sensor so that should solve the handling , also the egr valve needed changing. They have also changed the oil and filter in the transmission with Miller equivalent oil as the genuine stuff was a fortune , they said the old oil and filter were black so hopefully this will make a big improvement to the fluctuating revs , just hope there's not a more serious issue in there ,as the oil was quite bad I will take it back and change the oil again in a month . The EPB needed new discs and shoes , so there is a fair bill coming I suspect , although talking to him on the phone the part prices he was quoting seem quite reasonable compared to the Nissan parts for my previous navara and his labour rates are under a 1/3rd of the nissan garage , I dread to think what the above would cost to have done on a nissan or a disco at a main dealer .
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