Has anybody had issues with their rear diff? And anyone in North America? It seems like one of the most common faults with this vehicle. "Transmission Fault - Traction Reduced" came on the screen. Dealer did a 155$ "software upgrade" and that didn't fix it. They say they will proceed by elimination (changing part after part - the next step is the pump in the diff if I remember correctly) until they find a fix.

Dealer told me I can't damage the diff by driving around (is this true!?), so the car is with me until I find out if there are any ways to know what the fix is (instead of using the dealer's technique of replacing everything until it works). Has anyone had their diff fixed successfully (without the problem re-occurring). How much $ to expect?

At the moment, there is no whine coming from the rear diff.

Thanks for your help on this!

Anyone? I know there's lots of talk on this forum about issues with the rear diff; I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced or heard of what the specific problem is and if there is a permanent fix to it (i.e. the diff won't just go after another couple thousand kms).

Many thanks!

Well hard to say i havent heard anything yet about transmission fault, may be software, pump ect, something which controls the unit. All i know is that lr has alot of diff problems whit bearings, i have drived 110tkm and broken diff, buyed new reconditioned item and it is allso broken, broken allready when i buyed it. Now waiting the company who sold me this unit, that he replaces it... One thing which i have noticed is on Genuine unit didnt have Drilled hole in bottom of it, but this reconditioned had tiny hole.

Second thing i noticed, use volvo haldex filter + oil, alot of cheaper THAN lr dealers... same stuff...

Lots of posts on rear diff/ haldex problems. Have you tried the search facility. On my second FL2 and seventh year of ownership, no transmission problems so far.

Also, LR2 DnD, the symptoms you describe are Haldex/Terrain Response problems, not "rear diff". It is unlikely to be the differential at fault. Search for Haldex and Terrain Response. A diff failure will not give you "Traction Reduced" messages.

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Thanks all,

j00ppis, thanks for the info - esp about the Volvo oil and filter. As for the diff, it's a shame. I'm hoping to find out if anyone has had a fix that has been permanent - i.e. has a real solution been found that will last the lifetime of the vehicle and that won't see you back in the dealer for another fix.

Devondave, I did try the "search" engine on this forum. There is lots of info out there indeed, but I can't figure out if everyone is having the same problem (ex: a faulty bearing) or if it's different for everyone (pump, bearing, software, etc.). So I made this post hoping that someone might have found the most common problem and an estimate of the cost to fix it. Glad to hear your FL2 is doing you good!

dunkley201, thanks for your feedback. Rather interesting! Would that be great news than, i.e. cheaper and easier fix?

What's weird is I checked on the LR North America forum and some people said this message was related to the diff. The dealer also mentioned the diff.

I will have time to look into it further after the 23rd. If anyone finds out more about this in the meantime let me know!

Simon

Seems like they are lumping the Haldex unit in with the differential and calling the whole unit the "diff". The Haldex, although bolted to the front of the diff, is an auto clutch unit that couples the front-to-rear propshaft to the rear differential. For more information on what it does search on "Gallery" for "tiguan_haldex_gen4" which is similar to that on the FR2.

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Ok, thanks!

Any idea how much to expect for a Haldex repair?

Firstly, dunkley201 is correct in what he says above - the "diff" as described in the first post comprises two components, the actual rear differential, and the Active On-Demand Coupling (Haldex). The latter substitutes for the centre diff on the FL2, and is a hydraulically-operated, electronically-controlled, multi-plate wet plate clutch. The rear differential itself won't give the transmission fault message, so we're looking more to the Haldex here.

The Haldex has three main components - the clutch unit itself, the hydraulic pump, and an electronic control module. Failure of one of these components could result in the transmission fault error, however, it should be noted that other components also affect the working of the transmission and a Haldex failure is not (as I understand it) the only thing which can result in the reduced traction message. For example, the system relies on the ABS wheel sensors to detect when a wheel loses traction - failure of one of those sensors results in the system not knowing what the wheels are doing, and thus not being able to compensate when necessary.

Thus, proceeding "by elimination (changing part after part...) until they find a fix" sounds potentially expensive! Do you know if the dealer has checked for stored fault codes (one would hope so!), as these should indicate or eliminate many potential causes?

That said, the Haldex pump is a likely cause - it would just be nice if they seemed a bit more confident in their diagnosis before starting to replace things!

Many thanks for the feedback, pab. I'll definitely be focusing on the Haldex, then!

The dealer said they'd checked the fault codes and could not find out what was the problem. So they did a software update to see if it was that. It wasn't. :/

Definitely agree that it would be nice if the dealer knew how to "read" their car a bit better. Love the vehicle but it is a little frustrating when they say they will proceed by "elimination."

I'll book an appointment for this week. I'm just hoping to have a better idea of the problem before I go back so I can help them a little in finding what needs fixing and not to just replace everything haha.

Cheers

Simon

Just had the same messages appear today on mine - see my post in Technical, can't get it looked at until 8th May as dealer is very busy, luckily I bought a warranty after the 3 years were up. MY14 TD4 manual XS Orkney grey.

MY11 TD4 Manual XS Lago Grey, privacy glass, rear spoiler, full ebony leather,rear seat entertainment. Gone
2001/51 plate Disco TD5 GS. Gone
95 N Disco TDi300. Gone

Bringing in my FL2/LR2 tomorrow. I'll post my findings!

Click image to enlarge