Hi everybody,
I would just like to share my last experience from my visit to my service dealer two days ago.

After fitting a towbar I went there for them to reprogram my Freelander 2's ECU - necessary if you fit a towbar. The task was simple and succesfully accomplished. Btw, apart from the pdc (parking distance control) programming required for the towbar does anyone know what other software modifications take place? Anything to do with load estimation etc?

Then I asked them to check if there was a software upgrade for the ECU which would solve my small electrical problems (trip reset, radio mute, wipers motion when set to auto after starting the engine). They used my car's serial no to find out what software patches would be necessary and then performed the upgrade.

Results: no more wipe after starting, no trip reset or radio mute for two days, although last two happened only once in 5000km's. The funniest thing that happened though, is that the brakes behaviour has completly changed. My brakes used to be good but with a bit of a rubbery feeling when pressed, now they feel very responsive and accurate. Does the ECU control that too? Also, my consumption went up from 12lt/100 to 17/100 during the first 10 km's after the upgrade but it was back to normal after 50km of driving my way, which (I think) confirmed that the adaptive auto gearbox does actually work. The engine mapping was also changed (through the upgrade) and I think the car is more responsive to my throtle press now.
To conclude, new software, different car, great car!

defkalion wrote:

Hi everybody,
I would just like to share my last experience from my visit to my service dealer two days ago.

After fitting a towbar I went there for them to reprogram my Freelander 2's ECU - necessary if you fit a towbar. The task was simple and succesfully accomplished. Btw, apart from the pdc (parking distance control) programming required for the towbar does anyone know what other software modifications take place? Anything to do with load estimation etc?

Then I asked them to check if there was a software upgrade for the ECU which would solve my small electrical problems (trip reset, radio mute, wipers motion when set to auto after starting the engine). They used my car's serial no to find out what software patches would be necessary and then performed the upgrade.

Results: no more wipe after starting, no trip reset or radio mute for two days, although last two happened only once in 5000km's. The funniest thing that happened though, is that the brakes behaviour has completly changed. My brakes used to be good but with a bit of a rubbery feeling when pressed, now they feel very responsive and accurate. Does the ECU control that too? Also, my consumption went up from 12lt/100 to 17/100 during the first 10 km's after the upgrade but it was back to normal after 50km of driving my way, which (I think) confirmed that the adaptive auto gearbox does actually work. The engine mapping was also changed (through the upgrade) and I think the car is more responsive to my throtle press now.
To conclude, new software, different car, great car!

Defkalion,

when did you take delivery of your FL2? I am curious becasue i have not seen any of the strange electrical gremlins that people have reported, and perhaps it is because the software revisions were already in place when my vehicle was manufactured. I took delivery of mine April 18th which would mean a manufactue date sometime in late February or early March....I think.

gibbergump, I got it delivered 3rd of April. It was supposed to be a January production vehicle, which I don't know if it's absolutely truth. However your service dealer can check if a software update is necessary by entering your vehicle's number in the Land Rover on line system.

When you pick up a new FL2, is the software just as it was when the vehicle was built, or is checking for and applying any updates part of the dealer's PDIs?