Landrover Discovery 4 transmission question

[Orwell boy]

Recent recovery on local steep slipway and had a strange unexplained scenario
Reversd down with empty trailer
Did not select low box as tide fairly high on slip so not really nescesary
Put disco in park as always ,no handbrake
Got out vehicle and retrieved boat 5.3m 1000kg ish
Now strange ... i can usually move from park to drive without any need for brake as the transmission holds for a short while until you remove foot from brake to accelerator to drive up the slip ,sorry not sure what you call this feature but it is documented somewhere ,i think most 4x4 s have it in automatics

This function never held at all and just wondering if anybody else has expierienced similar ......to move forward i had to go into low box which then allowed to function as normal

Any ideas appreciated ,i have my last prepaid landrover service this week so not sure i want to mention it as i am sur i could attract some serious £££s

Any ideas please ? thanks

[Limecc]

Every automatic I ever owned had a safety interlock preventing reverse or drive from being selected from park position without the brake pedal first being depressed.

Secondly, I was told by a local gearbox specialist that a locking pin engages (via solenoid) when in Park to prevent the car rolling forwards or backwards. Extreme stress can snap/shear the pin and it won't hold position in Park until repaired. If I was on a slip I wouldn't rely on that pin and not engage the handbrake!

My wife's manual gearbox BMW has an automatic handbrake that prevents the car rolling backwards for a split second on a hill start. Maybe that's what your car has but it shouldn't be possible to move out of Park straight into drive without your foot on the brake pedal. Children or animals in a car (running engine, no driver) could cause an accident.

[smallribber]

It is the Bushing on the lever on the gear box I recon. Just remove half of the plastic tray underneath and spray some WD40. Did the trick on my D3 and I bet the linkage is the same as on the D4. watch the video below on how to change the lever. I found that I did not need to change the lever just a simple couple of squirts of WD and it is now fine. Took me about 5 Mins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VTAX3JNF9k&t=13s

[Pipster100]

Hi, I've also got a Disco 4, but never just rely on putting it in park only, always put the handbrake on too. When you say you usually move from park to drive without the brake I'm assuming you mean without the handbrake being on? If you mean the foot brake then there's a serious issue with your Disco. I have experienced whilst in high range that if I've got say a 3T trailer on the back the Disco will slowly creep backwards even in drive if I take my foot off the brake whilst on a slope but certainly wouldn't roll back as if in neutral. But it's a Disco.....embrace the bills and breakdowns you have coming....amazing vehicles but it will break down at times....trust me. If you wan't complete reliability buy something different....but I wouldn't change mine

[Pikey Dave]

On the Disco4 the “Hill Hold Assist” is provided by the parking brake, I.e. you put the parking brake on & it releases automatically when you put the gearbox into drive & move off. If you didn’t put the parking brake on to start with, it wouldn’t hold when you went into drive.
You shouldn’t be able to go from Park to Drive without having your foot on the brake.

You should never rely on “park” to hold the vehicle. As previously mentioned it’s just a pin that engages in the gear box. Always use the handbrake, in extreme circumstances have someone sat in the driver’s seat with their foot on the brake pedal. If you put it into park & then load up the vehicle all the weight is held on the locking pin & traps it. The solenoid isn’t powerful enough to disengage it then.

[Orwell boy]

Sorry folks ,what i wrote about from park to drive is rubbish sorry to mislead ,was just trying to show that it was the "hill hold" that was failing not the "park " position ,once you have selected drive it ussually alows me to move foot from brake pedal to accelerator while holding firm until forward motion ,......my way out was to go back to neutral and select low and then all happened as it should ,maybe i hadnt got the knob to drive !
To explain my no handbrake system this was based on my landrover offroad day that i recieved after buying my variuos landrovers ,
when i went i wasn,t that interested in off road driving however the one thing i wanted to solve was the implications of a poor handbrake on my steep home slipway (levington ) .......too this end i questioned the instructor re the ability of the park position on the gearbox ,he promptly took us to the hill climb demo ,,stopped half way up ,put the vehicle in park and we all got out on the slope (where we could barely stand up ) he said i would never need the handbrake ,and i accepted his knowledge and have never used the handbrake since ??,,,looks like poor info there then !

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

Sorry folks ,what i wrote about from park to drive is rubbish sorry to mislead ,was just trying to show that it was the "hill hold" that was failing not the "park " position ,once you have selected drive it ussually alows me to move foot from brake pedal to accelerator while holding firm until forward motion ,......my way out was to go back to neutral and select low and then all happened as it should ,maybe i hadnt got the knob to drive !

To explain my no handbrake system this was based on my landrover offroad day that i recieved after buying my variuos landrovers ,

when i went i wasn,t that interested in off road driving however the one thing i wanted to solve was the implications of a poor handbrake on my steep home slipway (levington ) .......too this end i questioned the instructor re the ability of the park position on the gearbox ,he promptly took us to the hill climb demo ,,stopped half way up ,put the vehicle in park and we all got out on the slope (where we could barely stand up ) he said i would never need the handbrake ,and i accepted his knowledge and have never used the handbrake since ??,,,looks like poor info there then !

I’m not 100% but IIRC some iterations of the Disco automatically applied the hand brake, when you put the auto box into park. So you may have been correct. It’s a while since we had one & we had many, but it rings a bell.

[ThundercatRob]

I don't think there is an auto hill hold, but without a trailer on, the gearbox will usually just about hold it stationary on a hill.

If you put the park brake on, you can just accelerate away and it will automatically release, which means you don't need to try to do a "hill start".

Why don't you use the parking brake? It will seize up if not regularly used, and put too much strain on the parking pawl.

[ThundercatRob]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I’m not 100% but IIRC some iterations of the Disco automatically applied the hand brake, when you put the auto box into park. So you may have been correct. It’s a while since we had one & we had many, but it rings a bell.

Yes, i think the manuals did it. It can be activated or turned off with diagnostics to any vehicle though i believe

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by ThundercatRob

Yes, i think the manuals did it. It can be activated or turned off with diagnostics to any vehicle though i believe

https://www.landrover.co.uk/Images/D...295-140465.pdf
Here is a page from the 2016 catalogue, the model i have is 8 speed auto box ,it is the feature at the last paragraph on page 17 , not sure its handbrake related or not ,but there is definitely no handbrake sounds, like when you use the electric handbrake .
I am sure its transmission related but hoped for a bit more info as to how it could work ,so i could look for the possibilities of why my issue had occured ,so far i am just thinking "senior moment" and did,nt select drive

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by ThundercatRob

I don't think there is an auto hill hold, but without a trailer on, the gearbox will usually just about hold it stationary on a hill.

If you put the park brake on, you can just accelerate away and it will automatically release, which means you don't need to try to do a "hill start".

Why don't you use the parking brake? It will seize up if not regularly used, and put too much strain on the parking pawl.

Interesting what you say re the parking brake ,just typical old duffers attitude (mine i mean )
my first cars in the 80,s were 10 /15 years old when i got them (just to bring back a little cred ,2 mini coopers and a 1300e ) Apprentice wages were low ,a new battery was a visit to the local sheep fence at night ,but handbrakes were always the cause of stress ,the flippy brackets inside the rear wheel arches on the minis were always seized and the cables were always stretched as you strived to pull the thing to the roof ,just to get it too hold ,never mind when you went for mot ,it was always a fail
so poor excuse i know but its set in forever ....simple ! handbrakes leave it alone or you fail your mot next time !!
Imagine my horror when introduced to my first electric handbrake in 2016 on a landrover ,it was never going to end well !!
The electric handbrake is fine on my disco but to drive off with it still on seems totally wrong and massive clunk as if its something you shouldnt really do but you can get away with it ,hence these are a few reasons ,none of them really matter ,just the old duffer attitude

[Pipster100]

I've clocked up over 100,000miles on my Disco (same 8 speed auto with the pop up dial gear selector), handbrake always used and never ever release it manually just drive off either forward or reverse. Never had a problem with it and its never had an MOT issue with the handbrake. It doesn't release with a clunk though....maybe get yours checked then start using it

[gtflash]

I think the handbrakes a prone to seizing if not used on LR4. In the market for one and there are several areas of concern ��

[Orwell boy]

OK ,thanks to all that have tried to help me in this matter ,and yes i may try the handbrake a little more often , i still need to find out if i will be sailing backwards fast with a broken park pin ,but at least i now understand the "hill park assist " function
On investigation the hill park assist works with the road brakes ,not the parking brake ,the reason i had no function i think was because the incline sensor was not on a severe enough slope to warrant innitiation of the function or the incline sensor is u/s (athough my slipway is very steep, last week it was at high tide and slope is very shallow at top compared to lower water which is probhably more normal for me ) so i am guessing i just was,nt in steep enough to need the hill assist hold............ alternately the other possibility is from my parking position i only had to reverse 50 metres and never drove in forward gear at all to get down the slipway. So the DSC may not have been activated and it states if DSC is not active then the hill hold wont work
thanks again to all ,hopefully it may help somebody else as well

[smallribber]

I love my Disco 2. Normal Pull up handbrake and Manual Put it in gear.

All this electronic so called improvement stuff is just one Pain in the bum I think

Keep it simple

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

OK ,thanks to all that have tried to help me in this matter ,and yes i may try the handbrake a little more often , i still need to find out if i will be sailing backwards fast with a broken park pin ,but at least i now understand the "hill park assist " function
On investigation the hill park assist works with the road brakes ,not the parking brake ,the reason i had no function i think was because the incline sensor was not on a severe enough slope to warrant innitiation of the function or the incline sensor is u/s (athough my slipway is very steep, last week it was at high tide and slope is very shallow at top compared to lower water which is probhably more normal for me ) so i am guessing i just was,nt in steep enough to need the hill assist hold............ alternately the other possibility is from my parking position i only had to reverse 50 metres and never drove in forward gear at all to get down the slipway. So the DSC may not have been activated and it states if DSC is not active then the hill hold wont work
thanks again to all ,hopefully it may help somebody else as well

Ok ,i have still beeen puzzled regarding slipway operation or the lack of hill hold assist but i may have a new twist which i cant actually believe howevver it seems to be true
Try to keep it short but my car has start stop which died a while ago and despite fitting new main battery and getting start stop going again it was short lived. After some research this week i discovered my disco 16 plate was fitted with a start stop 15 AH auxilary battery as a back up ,so i replaced this and start stop all good again
Made me think about the poss of engine switching off on a slope and then starting again ,holding and going instantly ,,, made me think very similar to sitting at the bottom of the slipway waiting for the hill hold assist going from park to drive , Well didnt go to slipway but went to the steepest hill in my town , guess what Hill hold assist all working again

Can this be true and how and why ??

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

Sorry folks ,what i wrote about from park to drive is rubbish sorry to mislead ,was just trying to show that it was the "hill hold" that was failing not the "park " position ,once you have selected drive it ussually alows me to move foot from brake pedal to accelerator while holding firm until forward motion ,......my way out was to go back to neutral and select low and then all happened as it should ,maybe i hadnt got the knob to drive !

To explain my no handbrake system this was based on my landrover offroad day that i recieved after buying my variuos landrovers ,

when i went i wasn,t that interested in off road driving however the one thing i wanted to solve was the implications of a poor handbrake on my steep home slipway (levington ) .......too this end i questioned the instructor re the ability of the park position on the gearbox ,he promptly took us to the hill climb demo ,,stopped half way up ,put the vehicle in park and we all got out on the slope (where we could barely stand up ) he said i would never need the handbrake ,and i accepted his knowledge and have never used the handbrake since ??,,,looks like poor info there then !

Ive owned many autos over almost 40 years and rarely use the park brake unless its a realy steep hill & I want a little extra reassurance. Also ran a repair garage for 30 years and never heard or seen an auto park lock fail. No one ever asks on any of the forums about how to repair one imho its another urban myth. Many 4x4s are noted for crap handbrakes. A landcruiser amazon is notorious for shit handbrakes & everyone knows how much towing they do never heard of a park lock failing


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[jonp]

This side of the pond (Oz) virtually everyone has auto 4x4's. Its a well known fact that the handbrake goes on first before the vehicle goes into park. As for the comment never seen an auto lock fail, well my current 2018 bt50 has failed, the Dmax before that failed and the Toyota land cruiser failed, all in the same way. The failure was I park on a steep drive and if anyone borrowed these vehicles who was more used to manual vehicles they would put them in park first rather than hand brake first. This would allow the vehicles to jamb on the locking pins and not free themselves when taken out of park, so not failing from slipping, failing by locking up. (Common issue)

Depending on what ramp Im using and which boat Im pulling I sometimes need to use low range, sometimes high but most of the time don't need to engage 4x4. If Ive engaged 4x4 either for sand or off-road work I sometimes need to engage reverse and just move back a touch before 4x4 will disengage

[GuyC]

The parking brake only seemed to be an ornament on my 80 and 100 Land Cruiser (although it can be made to work temporarily) and whilst the 200 one works, old habits die hard and I don't use it. I do however generally park on flat terrain.

I had a look at the manual and it does state that the parking brake should be applied before shifting from D to P - interesting and something I might have to start trying to do.

I'd only question jonp on his suggestion that everyone has auto 4x4's. Whilst I'd say that was true for the SUV 4x4's, most / all of the ute's e.g. 70 series are manual.

Happy New Year to you all.

Edit - not all owned at the same time.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by jonp

This side of the pond (Oz) virtually everyone has auto 4x4's. Its a well known fact that the handbrake goes on first before the vehicle goes into park. As for the comment never seen an auto lock fail, well my current 2018 bt50 has failed, the Dmax before that failed and the Toyota land cruiser failed, all in the same way. The failure was I park on a steep drive and if anyone borrowed these vehicles who was more used to manual vehicles they would put them in park first rather than hand brake first. This would allow the vehicles to jamb on the locking pins and not free themselves when taken out of park, so not failing from slipping, failing by locking up. (Common issue)



Depending on what ramp Im using and which boat Im pulling I sometimes need to use low range, sometimes high but most of the time don't need to engage 4x4. If Ive engaged 4x4 either for sand or off-road work I sometimes need to engage reverse and just move back a touch before 4x4 will disengage

If you've had that many failures theres something more going on than the odd time a different driver parks your car.

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