also, IMHO the FL2 auto box is a bag of marbles around town,on a run its very good.

oh, before anyone asks I have driven lots of FL2 automatics, and I was not impressed with any of them around town


Shall I get my hat ?.......

 

I really like driving automatics - even my scooter has twist-and-go transmission. I feel the same about manual gearboxes as I do about starting handles - used to have one, know how to use one, don't want another. Automatics are, of course, far superior in traffic but for me the real beauty is when towing the caravan. Beats a manual box every day. There is a price to pay at the fuel pump of course but it's my choice to pay it - rather like owning a heavy 4*4 rather than a little economical tin box. Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

Always had my own manual cars and at the same time had a number of automatic company cars. Maybe the Freelander diesel auto is a different setup, but with the 177 KW petrol engine it's very nice. The only bad thing I will say is that it is a bit too sensitive when taking off from the lights. 99% of the time I don't need to take off like a rocket and sometimes I misjudge that point with the accelerator. But with less than 4k on the car I need more practice. I like manual cars but don't see the point any more. 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

rjc1944 wrote:

Automatics are, of course, far superior in traffic but for me the real beauty is when towing the caravan. Beats a manual box every day.

rjc1944 wrote:

There is a price to pay at the fuel pump.

I wanted an auto but the dealer didnt have any in and so he said oh youll find a manual much better than an auto, maybe he was worried he would lose a sale

..... & 4 is better than 6 as there are less gears to change! 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

Thanks for asking the question, I'm new to my auto too and was wondering the same thing! I'm only really ever waiting 20seconds or so at lights around my town so I just hold the car in D. Would deff pop into N if I anticipated waiting for longer than 30secs or so though.

One thing that is not especially obvious is that command shift is best thought of as being an auto sports mode. It is still working an auto box unless you start changing the gears manually by stick shifting whilst in command mode. It then starts to behave in effect as a manual box.

Disclaimer: The above was told to me on a LR experience day, I have not experimented to ascertain the truth of it.

PS Alex do you know when exactly the gearbox was changed to require different ATF? Freelander 2 2012 HSE Auto SD4 Ipanema Sand
Discovery 2 2002 ES Auto Zambezi Silver - Gone but not forgotten.

Be aware that if you are on a steep hill and want to stop for any length of time, then try your best to get the car holding on the hand brake before you put it in park. If you put it in park and the car rocks back due to the hill, then you will get a big clunk when taking it back into drive. It doesn't sound or feel good.
Command shift is most advantageous when going down long winding hills where it allows engine braking to save wear and heat build up on the brakes. Mine has never shifted up on it's own but will shift down if the speed drops too low for whatever gear I have manually selected.

Mikehzz
Good tip about the hill stop/starts.

Re command shift. Try just shifting it over whilst parked then just drive off without touching it any more.
That should get it working in auto box sports mode. Freelander 2 2012 HSE Auto SD4 Ipanema Sand
Discovery 2 2002 ES Auto Zambezi Silver - Gone but not forgotten.

Gadge wrote:

PS Alex do you know when exactly the gearbox was changed to require different ATF?

Lots of great advice and guidance as usual
For me it's simply a case of neutral and footbrake when stopped at traffic lights etc and otherwise try to keep it rolling in drive if the coast is clear!

Interesting points here, my commute home often has rather sticky traffic, sounds like I should use N a little more often - would make sense to I guess. You can certainly feel the car pulling if sitting for prolonged periods in D, cant be doing it many favours long term.

If you sit in D in traffic and get shunted from behind then that is a lot of force going through your transmission.
Same as using P without the hand brake. One shunt and the pawl will be history.

Quote:

But beware that this new design, with automatic neutral engaging and new type of oil (AW 1, unlike the JWS3309 used on the old design), needs changing the oil every 48000 km (30000 miles)