Land Rover Discovery 3 (2004 - 2009) - Electronic gremlin equals major repair?

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Mon 11 May 2009 12:00
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - mike hannon
I didn't have a good reason to post this under 'technical' but I just wondered if Backroomers think this is par for the course these days?
My pal has a two-year-old Discovery 3 that has done about 15k miles and has never been abused. A little while ago he noticed that the dashboard gear display, if that's the best way to describe it, was 'lagging' a bit - ie it was registering a gear change (say in or out of reverse) slightly after it happened. When the Disco went in for service last week he mentioned this and was told by the engineer that the clutch was slipping - although my pal couldn't feel anything amiss - and the answer is a new clutch and possibly a flywheel. The engineer said he would photograph the flywheel if it was scored and ask LR to pay. Presumably the clutch is covered by the guarantee?
Can this be right? My pal is an excellent driver who probably covers 50,000 miles a year (not with the Disco) running his business. How can a clutch and flywheel fail in 15k on a vehicle that - you might think - is designed to tolerate abuse?
Or is it the case that modern motoring means a trick dashboard display that reveals the shortcomings of the real engineering?
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Mon 11 May 2009 14:10
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - craig-pd130

Is it a conventional manual gearbox? If so, I'd say it's more likely to be the "gear position" sensor is a little faulty. After 15K miles and 2 years it's very, very unlikely that any manufacturer would consider clutch failure as a warranty job, unless it was caused by DMF failure.

If the clutch is marginal in a manual then slip is easy to provoke / diagnose -- head uphill, floor it under load in 3rd gear. If it doesn't slip then, it's unlikely to in other conditions.

If it's an auto or semi-auto, then I've no idea :-/
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Mon 11 May 2009 15:19
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - Dwight Van Driver
Doesn't Landrover do a THREE year warranty?

dvd
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Mon 11 May 2009 15:33
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - Number_Cruncher
>>was told by the engineer

Mechanic, probably.

Technician, possibly.

Engineer - no chance!

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Mon 11 May 2009 15:50
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - mike hannon
Sorry NC, you are right of course. Wasn't thinking as i typed.
I thought it might just be a sensor. Too late now...
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Mon 11 May 2009 19:29
Electronic gremlin equals major repair? - gordonbennet
I am told Disco 3 have had one or two issue's with premature clutch wear.

Having driven them i can undertsand why, first gear is very high for a heavy vehicle like this, and needs some careful driving to start without clutch slip.
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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?