Hello, hoping for a little bit of advice.

I'm experiencing kick down issues on my 2008 FL2 TD4.

When I put my foot down sometimes it doesn't kick down, other times it will kick down a gear and then very slowly accelerate.

Also found that if I put my foot right down and then press a little harder, there is a click, like a press of a switch, and it kicks down to a very low gear, revs a lot, and then goes back up through the gears, but still not like it should...it never feels like it's accelerating properly.

The switch appears to be a bit sticky i.e. i can put my foot right down, and then press a little bit harder, there's anaudible click and the pedal moves down a touch more. It's a definite click, as opposed to it being a soft push (hope that makes sense).

Not sure what the switch is, but assume it's something to do with either monitoring the pedal position (but the switch isn't touching the pedal at all times, rather the pedal only touches it when fully depressed, maybe it's broken), or something to do with fuel, or something to do with kicking the gears down when panicking to move quickly and the pedal is fully depressed!

Any advice greatly received. Hoping to sort it myself before admitting defeat and taking it to a garage.

Cheers,

Andy

I'm no authority on the subject, but my first thought is to ask if the transmission has ever been serviced?
Despite JLR saying they are "maintenance free" its common knowledge they do need servicing.
If it hasn't been done to your knowledge then I would suggest a full transmission service such as a complete fluid drain, flush and change with a new filter.
I think the filter comes complete with the housing, and the fluid is quite pricey but definitely worth doing. It should be well within the capabilities of a decent independent LR centre.
Budget about £350 but you may find it cheaper. Hope you get it sorted okay.
Also, itll be well worth having the Haldex unit serviced at the same time, but it depends on your budget of course. Derek Hill
2009 FL2 HSE TD4 Auto

As far as I can see there is no separate 'Kick-Down' switch, just an electronic Pedal Position Sensor.

https://www.freel2.com/gallery/albums/user...203119.pdf 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?)

I bought 10 litres of the correct spec Mannol atf oil for less than £40 on Ebay. Just changed mine today myself. Apart from a small issue with a split o ring it was easy I'll update the autobox oil change thread later with a few pics.


 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)

Just an idea.....................................is there a bit of carpet or rubber mat preventing full travel of the pedal?

early FR2 autos there was a software update for auto-boxes for kick-down and hanging onto gear changes for too long.
gearbox service would be great benefit. Ideally find a garage that has an auto-box service machine.
It will most likely cost 3-400 ish, equipment is expensive and uses a lot of oil but they are very good. they pulse flush which makes a huge difference.
The auto-box also learns how you drive so if your erratic it will get confused.
Diesel is all about torque not rev's. You shouldn't have to rev it over 3000 in reality
I had a couple, both Auto and manual and very rarely go over 25/2600 rpm.
The ECM learn values will learn to deliver all the torque you need down low. for me even towing an 8 mtr twin axle van never need to go over 2600rpm.
By revving the nuts of a diesel engine you are just stressing moving components unnecessarily.
out of interest are you using supermarket diesel or a premium brand, for me it makes a noticeable difference and i stick to BP. Pay more but also get more MPG. Mine average over the last 7000 miles is 38.5 currently.
I also use TSO 100 mil per tank added to the fuel, good quality low ash semi FC or FD spec, even the TSO brands make a huge difference, some much more noticeable than others.
A key board warrior will be a long in a moment to say total twaddle but having been involved in oil and fuel research I learnt a lot behind the scenes. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

Appreciate the replies. Was thinking about the last time I had it service and thought it wasn't that long ago, but checked and it was 70,000 miles ago!

Will book it in to get new fluid and filter, and see how it goes.

What is most irritating, is that I went out in it yesterday and there were no problems at all. Grrrr...

Still not worked out what the switch at the bottom of the accelerator pedal is though, and why it's sticky.

Thanks again

oldgeezer wrote:

early FR2 autos there was a software update for auto-boxes for kick-down and hanging onto gear changes for too long.
gearbox service would be great benefit. Ideally find a garage that has an auto-box service machine.
It will most likely cost 3-400 ish, equipment is expensive and uses a lot of oil but they are very good. they pulse flush which makes a huge difference.
The auto-box also learns how you drive so if your erratic it will get confused.
Diesel is all about torque not rev's. You shouldn't have to rev it over 3000 in reality
I had a couple, both Auto and manual and very rarely go over 25/2600 rpm.
The ECM learn values will learn to deliver all the torque you need down low. for me even towing an 8 mtr twin axle van never need to go over 2600rpm.
By revving the nuts of a diesel engine you are just stressing moving components unnecessarily.
out of interest are you using supermarket diesel or a premium brand, for me it makes a noticeable difference and i stick to BP. Pay more but also get more MPG. Mine average over the last 7000 miles is 38.5 currently.
I also use TSO 100 mil per tank added to the fuel, good quality low ash semi FC or FD spec, even the TSO brands make a huge difference, some much more noticeable than others.
A key board warrior will be a long in a moment to say total twaddle but having been involved in oil and fuel research I learnt a lot behind the scenes.

the switch feel at the end of the pedal can trigger the Kickdown.
Some throttle pedals have whats called a WOT switch " wide open Throttle" setting to switch of any ancillaries such as AC and a smart charge alternator will back of its charge rate as the ECU knows the throttle position is telling the engine the driver is demanding full power.
Some vehicles the WOT setting can be from 75% throttle position onwards. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

Ahhh...thanks so much for this...this makes so much sense. Really appreciate your help.

Wide Open Throttle is a mode selected by the Transmission Control Module, as far as I can see it is not directly the position of the accelerator.

Quote from Repair Manual-

DRIVING MODES
A number of different driving modes are available. Some can be selected by the driver and some are automatically initiated by the TCM to adapt to different driving conditions.
Normal
Sport
Manual 'CommandShift™'
Cooling
Hill Descent Control (HDC)
Cruise
Limp home
Coast
Fast off recognition
Uphill and Trailer
Downhill
Wide Throttle
Terrain Response
Reverse lock-out

Wide Throttle
Wide open throttle mode operates for part throttle upshifts and kick-down upshifts. It provides consistent wide open throttle upshift performance under all driving conditions. The full engine speed range is used in all driving modes; normal, sport, hill modes and Commandshift. Compensation is used for delays (hydraulic and electronic) in gear change request to gear change start to provide smooth changes and correct shift point correction.  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?)

sorry that only what you read.
knowledge is far greater.
WOT isn't just for auto trans, as i already stated its for smart charge control as well and is also connected to the AC and its a signal that the ECU uses. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

I was questioning the notion that the FL2 had a physical 'Kick Down' Switch. As you say 'Wide Open Throttle' is a mode signalled by the electronics and helps control other functions like Battery Charging and Air-conditioning in later models of the FL2.

As for the original poster's problem I would think that if no error codes are present, then a good service/clean of the autobox should solve the problem. 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?)