Hi all

Please note - I have an SD4 Auto.

Earlier today I had to drive through three areas of flooded road. The longest stretch was about 50m and was easily passable for 4x4's and vans, although I wouldn't have fancied it in a Mini!

Almost immediately afterwards I could smell burning that smelt to me like hot brakes, or maybe a plastic / electrical burning smell. I put this down to the hot brakes going through the water and continued my journey (approx. 2 more miles). The car drove fine.

The car was then parked for approx. 2 hours. When I started it I got the 'Gearbox Fault Traction Reduced' error message. Stopped the engine, restarted after a few minutes and the message was gone.

Drove 20 miles home no problem at all, no burning smell. I had to pass another stretch of similarly flooded road along my way.

Have just gone to start the car and have the 'Gearbox Fault Traction Reduced' message again, which will not clear despite several stop and starts.

Given that this happened in the immediate aftermath of driving through deep water, do you feel I should be worried, or is it likely to be water in a connection that just needs to dry out?

I've plugged in my basic bluetooth code reader and that is saying the are no stored or pending codes.

Many thanks in advance for any advice,

Tom.

It's not unheard of for water to enter the Haldex control module, which is under the vehicle, bolted to the side of the Haldex itself. Was the water deeper that 500mm? Did you drive very slowly through it? Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate. The family car.
2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Gone.
2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE. Gone.
Audi A5 convertible, my daily driver.
1972 Hillman Avenger GT, the project.

Hi Nodge68

I can't be sure of the depth but I'd say it was up to the fog lights of a family hatchback. I drove slowly, but didn't crawl.

Do you think I've fried the Haldex?

Am I able to open / dry the control module?

Many thanks for your help.

A bit late for this incident. Always let the car cool down. Everything is very hot & sudden thermal changes will cause water to be sucked into parts apart from other thermal issues.

On Gibb River Road (Australia), most stopped for at least half an hour to let the car cool down. There is a secondary issue, you can't walk out due to the crocodiles. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Hi Lightwater

Not in any way disputing what you are saying, but isn't it crazy that a Landrover isn't capable of driving through water that normal family saloons can pass with no trouble?! Why are they so delicate?

They will all be in the repair shop getting new transmissions. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

The controller Nodge68 is referring to can be opened and dried. If memory serves and it's been a while I believe in may have a gasket ring???

Regardless, if you have to re and re, I bookmarked this service a while back as a Canadian member of a different forum used them and was quite satisfied. If memory serves again, I believe the Haldex controller/ecu must also be coded if replaced.

https://www.haldexrepairs.co.uk/land-rover...solutions/

Last edited by MotionInc on 11th Nov 2023 1:08 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Lightwater wrote:

A bit late for this incident. Always let the car cool down. Everything is very hot & sudden thermal changes will cause water to be sucked into parts apart from other thermal issues.

Thanks so far everyone.

Does anyone know if opening and drying on the control unit is an easy one for someone with (very) limited skills?

I.e. is it just a few screws to remove a cover?

Thanks again.

I forgot to post the link (I just added) to my post above, there are pictures and a troubleshooting section.