Land Rover Discovery 4 (2009-2016) Questions & Answers

These cars are highly unreliable. Mine has been back many times and it was 2017 with 0 km.

take off the battery leads, hold them together 10 secs, this resets the ecu, worth a try

Hi Stu can’t thank you enough I tried almost everything with no joy . Took your advice and it worked thank you . Happy New year

so happy for you Gary

Hi Stu thanks for reply unfortunately it happened again so I took it to 4x4 specialist and I’ve been told it needs updating going in for diagnostic test and updating ecu 6th Jan see how it goes thanks buddy take care

Get a compatible Android Auto & Apple Carplay head unit installed for under $1,000 all inclusive. Then install Sygic navigation on your phone and be independent of mobile networks and Wifi because the whole of Australia is downloaded to your phone in 5 minutes and is updated every month or two.

Run Away as fast as you can if you have half a brain.

stay away from the 3l d4 and d5,because you need to remove the whole body to remove the turbos, the 2.7 is ok but it too is hard to work on, changing oils is easy, but timing belts are a major, i think the change is every 100000km they drive, ride well,I towed 4000kg 1000km with mine, LR lost their way when they went v6, methinks they have gone to inline engines now

Hi Aru, i recently purchased a Discovery 4,SDV6,Twin turbo 3.0. It is an amazing car very comfortable and powerful.The only major problem i faced recently was turbos failure & i had to replace them for about 5000usd both.

Did you find out how to do it

yes easy, take off the heat shields weld two welding rods together lengthwise, put a hook one end, you can just poke it thru to hook on the actuator arm, free the arm and no more trouble

keep it the 3.0l models are a nightmare, remove body to change turbos

Hi Paul, no not this particular problem, our was a fault with the starter key . Our car would start at all. It would lock and unlock itself for no apparent reason. They totally stripped our car and had to test everything single wire in the car. After many weeks they found the problem, but couldn’t order the part as it wasn’t on their parts list. So instead of calling England to order part they took it out of another new disco. Can’t really understand their logic, but 9 weeks later we have our car back and thankfully it hasn’t missed a beat,YET. Maybe a call to fair trading or consumer protection. Good luck

Hi Johnny, As an avid Land Rover owner for as many years as I can count. You don't mention if this is petrol or diesel, if it's diesel I would suggest you may have a good deal, but would suggest getting the air suspension checked over and the auto gearbox by Land Rover.

If you are buying it through a Land Rover dealer, they should be able to sell you an extended warranty, which in my opinion could be worthwhile option as it generally covers all of the mechanical parts except of course brake linings, tyres and fan belts etc.

Also worth checking is when the cam-belt was replaced as it needs replacing at around 200,000km. Don't buy it if it hasn't been replaced, or get it done ASAP.

Good luck with your purchase, it sounds like it should be a good buy.

Cheers Harry.

Keep walking and looking !. Most modern cars will have a mechanical life of 250,000 to 400,000km’s. 250km’s for the small parts like an air-con compressor $2000 or alternator $1500 etc etc and the 400km’s for the engine @ $15k approximately depending on the model - but who would spend that much on parts or an engine rebuild when the car is 75% through its disposable life span.

Good luck

Hi, when travelling on flat highways I usually leave it in Drive. But Sport is really effective on hills both up and down. Sport holds the gears for s longer time. Seems to be the same economy also. As you know there is plenty of power whatever mode.

Around town and on hilly roads sport mode would be best as it holds gears longer. When on open roads that are reasonably flat, auto is fine. Choice is yours really and there's no wrong or right as the discovery is a clever car and will work it out anyway.

My enquiries seem to suggest, Sport mode where strain is likely in the transmission, dawdling around town, slow moving, in steep country etc, the rest of the time D seems to work fine

Many thanks for your replies. I was told by another discovery driver if I use auto I will heat the oil up and blow the transmission up. He said he had heard of a few that it had happened too. Maybe I will take that with a pinch of salt. I ended up talking to another man who had owned a range rover and discovery and used auto and sports as you all described with no issues.

Rovertechs Kevin told me today - when towing use Sport as it pumps fluid to the gearbox at a higher pressure - science eh!

We have a discovery 4 a 3.5 van more revs in sport mode

Select the state you are going to before the address. Map and words available. Bach arrow.

Greg is correct,select the state first. GPS in Landrover is below standard. I've found it slow & often inaccurate I now use a Garmin as my primary GPS

Go to extras and select on road at the menu

HI Mate', My Boat is only around 1250kg. so I just have the standard issue 7pin towing attachment which works fine. but i think if you were towing say over 1600kg you probably should have the extra and adjustable brake controller fitted.

Cheers Terry

Yes, it sounds like the Brake Pads need to be replaced, you need to do this sooner than later. You may also need to replace the Brake Rotors if they haven't been replaced before or if the Brake Pads have caused damage to the Rotors, Cheers, Don :)

Don't know 'cant see the engine ! same as that 2 wheel deathtrap you have there ! The oil leaking Land Rovers are a thing of the past.

If you are asking how much oil the engine needs, I cannot answer this without knowing the answer to several questions. 1. Which engine is fitted to your discovery? there is a choice of four. 2. Are you doing an oil change? if so are you changing the oil flter? 3. do you even mean the engine? there is oil in the main gearbox, the transfer gearbox & both the front & rear diffs. Have you tried the Land Rover forum? this is a good place to find answers tor any questions you may have about your vehicle.

Hi, I believe the Disc 4 has bigger brake drums. whether that makes any difference I don't know, however, I changed pads on my Disc 3 at a similar mileage.

Hope this helps.

Ian, the D4 3.0 litre has larger diameter disc rotors but the pads appear to be no bigger than usual. (I was surprised when I saw the small size of the pads). This provides greater braking power due to better heat dissipation but will still have similar wear characteristics.

Prior to this vehicle I had a 2010 Disco 4 2.7 litre and from memory the service reports (at 30.000km when I traded it in) on brake pad wear indicated I'd get 150k out of the pads. (The setup-up I guess is the same as a D3).

Frankly, I've already commenced to compile a pros and cons LR4 vs Land cruiser 200 but I won't go into it here. If any members are interested I will expand.

Haven't had any problems with brake pad wear front or rear, and I'm up to 69K kms. I do a mix of town driving and country roads, and I try to brake as little as possible. I bought mine in 2010 so maybe the pads are a different brand in yours? If the dealer is saying 30,000 he may be referring to some city folk who are in peak traffic a fair bit, and ahem, may have rather heavy feet . . .

The answer is simple I change my own pads and so far I've done 70,000 and after checking last week they are about 70% worn. Don't take it to Land Rover but find an independent service guy who knows what they are about or do it yourself as it's one off the easier jobs you can do on a car. Most Land Rover clubs have websites and links to recommended service people. Happy motoring.

Update: I'm now up to 85,000kms and my brake pads are just getting close to tripping the sensors. This is a five year old car, pretty good wear really. If the sensors haven't been tripped, then you shouldn't need to replace them yet. You can also feel around the rim of the brakes, if a little lip is starting to raise up, then it's a sign they are gettting to the point of replacement.

JaguarBob. I am interested in your LR4 vs Landcruiser 200 information.

We are planning to upgrade our 2006 Disco 3 within the next 6 months, and I am torn, but it is so hard getting good, realistic, comparison information.

Update at 124,000 km. Rear disc pads required replacement again so it seems 60,000 km is normal for the rear. Front pads at 3mm so replaced also - first time so a very good run but why the front last twice as long as the rear is a question mark.

Just about to write a comprehensive review of the D4 with potential used car buyers in mind.