I finally did it and binned my 07 S model for a 2012 sd4 auto and like many have said it makes the car a much nicer place to be. I have a few questions to ask over the coming weeks as while it’s a lovely drive it does have a few issues to attend to. It didn’t help that the front passenger spring snapped 2 miles down the road after collecting it, now resolved after taking it back. I did also decide to check the tyre pressures as it felt a bit wallowy and no surprise 19psi in the rears , 24 and 26 in the front, so clearly it’s never been checked. It has had the cam belt and pump done so I can deal with the rest.

Questions now, I had a Towbar fitted on purchase, all coded in etc. Fridge now works properly in caravan when towing,bonus after the last car. The auto box also behaves differently when hitched up, not for the better either. Also should the reversing sensor alarm still sound when hitched up in reverse? I stop it on the dash but would have expected it to not alarm at all?

The big issue I have is the auto box isn’t happy when hitched up. It hangs onto gears longer which I understand but 10 minutes onto the motorway at around 55mph we had the most horrendous vibrations and shuddering through the car, getting less as I slowed further. It was as if something was out of balance, driveshaft or loose wheel type of sensation. Came off at next junction checked everything, all appeared ok. Rejoined motorway, still the same but I drove in manual and within a mile or so it had gone. The auto box seemed snatchy when setting off too. I have just driven to Cornwall, manually and car has been fine, unhitched auto is fine, seamless on upchanges, randomly lumpy on down changes. Thinking on return to get the fluids changes and rear diff etc serviced.. Garage indicated it had had a front transfer box done by the last owner if that bears any relevance.

Your thoughts and experience welcome as always.

Hi
probably sound idea to get auto box oil changed and if you are up for it the rear diff and also worth getting haldex done also.
I have 13 plate and i have not had any of the symptoms you have described and i tow horse box plus trailer with (small) tractor on so it does get some stick. I know this sounds obvious but are you sure it is in D drive mode and not S sport mode?
Anyway good luck getting it sorted.

Mileage?
Recorded Service History?
Error Codes?
Various Oil Condition and Levels?

Some additional info would be handy.

I remembered seeing this thread that mentioned the working of Parking Sensors with towing kit installed.

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic462.html...p;start=15 FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Cheers for replies. It has service history, several stamps in book but only had it a few days so not looked into yet between work and leaving for holiday. It’s done 106k. Funny you should mention sports mode and drive mode, i understood d to mean standard drive mode and moving the lever to the left puts into command shift mode which I thought was just a manual version of standard. I didn’t know it had a sports mode or even how to switch it back to standard. When towing, I have just moved the lever from d to the left command shift and driven from there with no problems. I wondered if the gearbox may need a software update for towing as it definitely operates differently when the caravan is plugged in.

Glad to hear your enjoying the Sd4, its true what we all said about them!

It does seem to perform differently towing but it's apparently not a different mode. That was my initial thoughts the first time I towed with the Sd4 I assumed it defaulted to a different 'map' when towing electrics were plugged in but its apparently just sensors reading throttle position, speed and load etc and telling the box when to change, which when you think about it really is different, but constantly variable if that makes sense? All I do know is it sometimes holds onto a gear far too long for my liking and revving higher than necessary so I tend to drop it across into command shift and change up manually.

As you rightly say 'Sport' mode is gear lever to left, remaining a full automatic and within that then you can change up or down manually in command shift mode, and with flappy steering wheel paddles if you have them as well.

Reminds me of the joke, a man buys his first automatic car and comes back to the dealer next day complaining about it. He says its fine when I put it in day mode D, but when I put it in night mode N it goes nowhere and when I put it in race mode R the bloody thing goes backwards!

The reverse sensors should deactivate with trailer electrics plugged in. My 2014 with genuine LR towbar does anyway but it does not have a switch on the dash to deactivate them. Perhaps earlier models operated like that? My Discovery 2 did.

As for the shuddering no I've not experienced that, mine is on 108000 miles but I changed autobox oil completely at 70k and then a 3 litre drop and refill around the 100k mark. I plan another 3 litre change at next service. Hopefully it's just fluid related and a change will cure it. The landrover recommended service intervals are too long. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

If you search the Repair manual for "Trailer" you will see the Trailer Module signals to the CJB and makes a few changes when you are towing


Also the FL2 senses when there is extra strain ---

Uphill and Trailer

Uphill and trailer mode can be active when the transmission is operating in normal, sport or Terrain Response modes.

When the vehicle is pulling a trailer or driving up an incline, the TCM detects the increased resistance by monitoring engine torque and speed signals received from the ECM on the high speed CAN bus and also transmission output shaft speed sensor signals. Uphill and trailer mode will provide downshifts to prevent a drop in transmission torque output and maintain driving force.

Also
The system can detect when a trailer is connected to the vehicle by a message output on the medium speed CAN bus from the trailer module. When the parking aid module detects that a trailer is connected to the vehicle, the rear sensors are disabled to prevent constant warnings due to the close proximity of the trailer. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Cheers Bob. I’m not 100% it was the gearbox at fault, the only reason for thinking that was setting off it bumped into gear at each junction. It’s weird when I returned to the motorway in manual mode the issues persisted but to a lesser extent and within a mile or so went away and haven’t returned since. Assuming it was a transmission fault surely the car would have gone into limp mode.
Do you tow in auto, sport or command shift? I have adopted command shift until I get home…it’s a long way to push it if we break down.

Thank you Ian. I suspect it’s a third party wiring set up hence why the reversing sensors continue to work, it’s easy enough to silence them with the dash button. Everything else works as it should including the caravan fridge which was continually faulting with the old car so overall I’m happy with that set up. On another note, having been out in traffic today in auto, occasionally when you release the brake pedal the car bangs into gear and lurches forward, maybe a couple of times on the bounce, then it sets off smooth again, definitely not right but hopefully a fluid change will sort it.

Chrism551 wrote:

Cheers Bob. I’m not 100% it was the gearbox at fault, the only reason for thinking that was setting off it bumped into gear at each junction. It’s weird when I returned to the motorway in manual mode the issues persisted but to a lesser extent and within a mile or so went away and haven’t returned since. Assuming it was a transmission fault surely the car would have gone into limp mode.
Do you tow in auto, sport or command shift? I have adopted command shift until I get home…it’s a long way to push it if we break down.

Hi again
when i first got my FL2 i towed our horse trailer up our un-adopted road is S mode thinking it would be better for towing but it wasn't and i never used that mode again to tow (i use D mode).
The car struggled. When i chose D mode after that i never had anymore problems.
So move lever to left for sports mode (shows on dash as S) and you can also then use command shift when in sports mode.

Thought i would update you all on my first few weeks of ownership and around 1500miles of use ( around 750 towing) with things that have cropped up. We are getting around 28mpg around town, not sure if that is average for these being auto or not. In line with the tyre pressures which were well down, i thought i would have a quick look at the air filter and it is black, so clearly not been serviced. The car had cam belt and water pump done and supposedly an oil and filter but i doubt the oil has been done so planning full service first. Still have intermittent issues with the gearbox on down changes and particularly when you come to a stop, it feels like its trying to change down again, hopefully a fluid service will sort that. Rear tyres are just over the wear limit while fronts have plenty on, both cheap and nasty makes so getting road noise drone that comes and goes. Rear drivers door doesnt lock or unlock so i assume lock module is duff. Key still tight when ejecting, think the case is new so maybe a cheap chinese copy thats a bit oversize? Only have one key so need another. We have developed a slight knock on the front suspension, the same as plagued us on the outgoing car, no doubt lower control arms or drop links Sat nav is a waste of time, radio not much better. Are there any audio upgrades available for these? Drivers heated seat not overly warm when on, my hyundai gets red hot which is ideal for backache after a night shift. Do the heat pads lose their efficiency or are they only ever tepid? Brakes showed in history as being replaced around 10k ago but not very grippy especially with caravan on the back so planning a revamp of those too. Last issue lots of surface rust on the underside, must have lived near ( or under ) the sea so looking for recommendations on suitable treatment route for that. Other than that, love the car, totally effortless to drive, and better in every way than the previous car. Im glad i took the advice of you guys on how much better the sd4 would be, you were spot on!