 | Home > Faults & Fixes (L663) > 25MY Defender Gearbox Engagement Delay |
 
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| discobean Member Since: 06 Jan 2025 Location: Sydney Posts: 4  
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I've had the exact same issue, new D350, in Australia. I've posted it on various Facebook groups and been ridiculed as if it was my problem.
I went to the dealer and showed them the issue, they acknowledged that something is not right, then after further investigation they said it was the same on all new D350 cars, and that it was normal. The car is undriveable and unsafe. It rolls back like driving a manual, but accelerating does not move it forward. I told the dealer I don't want the car back unless it is fixed. I also contacted Land Rover Australia and they are hopefully speaking to my dealer. My next step is to contact some independent journalists to investigate the issue, it is extremely unsafe. I noticed one way around the issue, is to quickly stab the brake to enable 'hold' mode. Which just applies the hydraulic brakes on your behalf - then when accelerating the issue does not happen. This suggests it is just a fix JLR can do. Thank goodness somebody else is having the same issue, I have been scouring the internet for weeks! |
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7th Jan 2025 6:16am |
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| Flinders Member Since: 17 Feb 2024 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 56 
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Discobean I’m so sorry you have the same issue and they are making out it’s you or saying all new D350s are the same.
If you have purchased via finance I would just start the rejection process. They tried various repairs but it didn’t work. The car was in the dealers more than I had it! MY25 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - REJECTED 
MY18 Discovery 5 3.0ltr TD6 HSE Lux - Derek |
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7th Jan 2025 6:53am |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2891 
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l wonder why this has happened. lt can't be a fault, it must be someone has changed it in the vehicle software.
l suppose if you have "auto hold" active it won't happen but why would Land Rover change the software in this way, it doesn't make any sense. l wonder if an over the air update could fix it, maybe if enough people complain to Land Rover they will do something about it. |
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7th Jan 2025 8:56am |
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| discobean Member Since: 06 Jan 2025 Location: Sydney Posts: 4
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With auto-hold I believe it still does the same thing, but doesn't roll back as it's holding, but it still goes into neutral 10 seconds after stopping, then goes back to drive 1 second or so after taking foot off the brake.
The hold feature I mentioned that doesn't have the issue is the when auto-hold is off, and a quick tap on the brake after stopping the car while in drive will enable it, so it's like a manual hold feature. Also two sounds from the transmission/gear lever can be heard when it transitions from Neutral to Drive. But there is no transmission noise when it goes from Drive to Neutral after stopping for 10 seconds. The car is at the dealer so I'm not able to do more testing. But this is what I noticed. I'd love to find everybody with the same issue so we can somehow raise a case with JLR and get this resolved. I loved my old Discovery 3, and after getting this I wish I never 'upgraded' |
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7th Jan 2025 9:26am |
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| graemesmith1960 Member Since: 03 Sep 2021 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 79 
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Having played with this for a while now the main observation I have is that the HOLD function is nowhere near as severe as my D300 was. With the D300 all you had to do was breath on the brake pedal and it would activate which made parking a challenge. A lot of people complained about that. The HOLD on the the D350 is much less active. The system won't activate after starting the car until exceeds a set mph. This makes getting out of a tight space much easier. Also when I stop the car it won't engage straight away like the D300 did, it waits to see if I really want to stay static and then engages. I much prefer this behaviour to that of the D300. I can see why people are complaining though. If that is actually the reason and not just my imagination then a software fix should be possible. Defender D350 X-Dynamic HSE 110 MY25 Carpathian Grey
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7th Jan 2025 9:31am |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2891
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lf only the vehicle was available with a six speed manual transmission and a proper handbrake lever. Sadly these items are now consigned to history.
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8th Jan 2025 6:12pm |
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| Crazymind Member Since: 11 Jun 2024 Location: Glasgow Posts: 176
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I was actually complaining today with my wife… engaging the Hold requires en effort… I would rather it to engage earlier and with a softer touch…
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8th Jan 2025 9:28pm |
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| Eric Caterpillar Member Since: 17 Jun 2024 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 52
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Have been reading this thread with a lot of interest as I have a MY25 D350.
Can't say I've experienced any issues with the gearbox like the ones described by the OP, however, the Defender's gearbox is not as smooth as the one I had in my previous Merc. E.g., the Defender sometimes feels clunky when pulling to a standstill and engaging the reverse gear to reverse into my driveway, sometimes it marginally rolls back when engaging the Driver, but none of these issues would make me think there's something wrong. I just put it down to the fact it's a 2.5 tonne diesel tractor. Perhaps I'll pay more attention next time when engaging gears. Hold function works as intended to me - only time I'm not 100% sure is when I reverse into a space and the parking sensors indicate I'm getting close to an obstacle, not sure if the Hold has engaged too early or if there's still more space to reverse in slowly (hope that makes sense?). |
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9th Jan 2025 8:48am |
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| edwardsylvester Member Since: 08 Jan 2025 Location: watford Posts: 1
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So glad to have found this thread, as people either don't notice the issue or think you are making it up.
We have bought two D350 cars through our business in Nov 2024 and both had this issue. The reason JLR is not aware of it is that a) the engine is relatively new, and b) many drivers see this as 'normal'. We can make it happen every time. From a standstill, foot off the brake and straight onto to the accelerator. Up to one second delay, during which time the revs go up, the car rolls back, and no gear is engaged. Very dangerous on hills, pulling out into traffic, turning in tight spaces, and when towing a trailer. JLR have done a PCM and gearbox update on my vehicle, as well as checking the gearbox oil. It's clearly a software issue of some kind - as far as I'm aware these are the same as the D300 engine but with different tuning? We are currently trying to reject both vehicles, but we didn't buy direct from JLR so it's more complicated. We have been into the local dealer several times and each time they say it's fixed, it's not. We have had to do multiple test drives with techs, head of service etc to show them the issue. The head of service has been driving one for two months and didn't notice that his car has the same issue. 
Once more of these cars hit the market, the problem will become well known, and no-one will be buying them. Unless they provide a fix and do recall, these cars will become untouchable. |
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9th Jan 2025 9:17am |
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| Crazymind Member Since: 11 Jun 2024 Location: Glasgow Posts: 176
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I wonder if it is because of the gearbox torque limit. Gearbox can take 700NM which is what the d300 delivers. The 350 I am more than sure it’s capable of 750nm, which is possible limited electronically to 700nm. Maybe this is causing the delay?
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9th Jan 2025 9:27am |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2891
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Why not just turn on the "Auto Hold" ?
My guess is that the service tech has it enabled on his, which would be why he didn't notice the issue. Perhaps that's what Land Rover want you to do, although l don't see the advantage of having no anti-rollback functionality at all. |
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9th Jan 2025 1:44pm |
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| graemesmith1960 Member Since: 03 Sep 2021 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 79
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Having got used to it I actually prefer the gearbox as it is set up over my previous D300. I love the Auto HOLD and always use it. On the previous car it was too active which made tight parking tricky but this one is less active and with a bit of finesse I can stop and manoeuvre without it engaging. If I really want it back on I just press the brake harder. Our other cars are manual so we are used to them rolling back on a hill unless you are proactive.
That's not an excuse though. An automatic should not do this and JLR should fix it. Just saying as someone who doesn't really like automatic gearboxes I don't mind this behaviour. A quick Google for 'Automatic rolling back on hills' brings up posts starting years ago and covering many different makes - JLR, BMW, Toyota etc., So it seems it's a fairly common industry problem which a lot of people don't notice as most automatics have a 2 second brake hold as default and it's not selectable as it is in the Defender. Defender D350 X-Dynamic HSE 110 MY25 Carpathian Grey |
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11th Jan 2025 9:24am |
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| Flinders Member Since: 17 Feb 2024 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 56
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The iGUIDE described Hill Start Assist should kick in when Auto Hold Assist is switched off. This wasn’t activating on mine and i didn’t get the 3 second hold.
I searched the internet and found right back to 2018 on the velar forum people were having the same issue. Unfortunately no one came back with resolutions or whether issues were fixed. It’s odd that some defenders don’t have the problem? I’ve ordered like for like replacement so I hope the next one isn’t the same! 
 Click image to enlarge MY25 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - REJECTED
MY18 Discovery 5 3.0ltr TD6 HSE Lux - Derek |
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11th Jan 2025 1:10pm |
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| discobean Member Since: 06 Jan 2025 Location: Sydney Posts: 4
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Just to clarify, this thread/issue has nothing to do with hill start assist or auto-hold. Please keep the thread on topic about the issue where the vehicle shifts to neutral when showing drive after stopping for approx. 10 seconds - then while car shifts into gear after taking the foot off the brake it lurches forward when accelerating from stop, whilst also rolling back if on a small hill while trying to accelerate
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12th Jan 2025 2:19pm |
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