D3 "F" Gear Code Meaning

[wyperfield]

On the weekend, I was driving down from Threadbo - it was a bit slippery from some snow so I wasn't going particularly fast and was in high range command control 3rd to 4th, using the engine/gearbox to slow the momentum downhill.
Then 3 warning lights came on - I think the handbrake failure, a suspension fault and the anti-rollover one, all at once. As well, the auto gear changed from d to F.
It seemed to have a mind of its own. I could no longer change up or down gears, even when back in auto.
When I got to the bottom of the hill, I stopped, turned the ignition off until the error messages disappeared, and it was back to normal. There is nothing about this in the manual.
So, does anyone know what the story with it is?

[Blknight.aus]

its landrover speak, short hand for...

"Frell you buddy, you're on your own."

means you scared it. Something had a flash of lucas, got the yotz scared out of it, did the herring sandwich loop and didnt want to talk to any of the other bits.

[clubagreenie]

If its a message then it'd be "F'd if I'll be letting you do that to this car"

[discotwinturbo]

This happened on my brothers ML merc. He could only use about two gears and reverse, and also happened on slippery down hill drives in NZ. He was told it was the transmission going into limp mode. Gear selector showed F instead of D. He thought it meant he was "#$&@ed" as it did not happen at a good time...and it happened twice.

Wonder of the ML also has a ZF gearbox ?

Brett....

[Disco4SE]

I would imagine that it would be logged as a fault in the vehicles ECU and that a Landrover dealer should be able to read that fault??
Might pay you to get a cheap fault reader. I recently bought an OBDII reader from ebay for about $24.00, and downloaded the Torque app from the Android market.

Cheers, Craig

[Ean Austral]

You have registered a Fault and the car has gone into LIMP mode. The car locks in gear and wont rev above about 2000rpm, the suspension drops and you loose HDC and a few other things.

You may find the car will reset itself ( with a fault logged in the EMS ) and you back to normal once you have restarted the car. You need to get a fault code reader to tell you what the fault is, and if you get a reader that can clear the faults, such as Faultmate, or Hawkeye you can clear it out of the ECU.

HTH

Cheers Ean

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Any idea why Ean?
to much variation between wheel speeds?
auto over heat?(in snow?!?)
over speed?

does the D3 have a snow setting?

[Ean Austral]

Any idea why Ean?
to much variation between wheel speeds?
auto over heat?(in snow?!?)
over speed?

does the D3 have a snow setting?

Computer controlled cars...Do I need to say any more pedro... :p

That same fault registered on mine as an EGR fault, and have heard of it doing the same with several other problems as well, so it really needs to be put on a code reader.. Not sure if the wheels are connected to some sort of fault senser. Could be G/box oil temp, but only guessing.

If its a car fitted with Terrain Response then Yes it has a Snow setting.

Cheers Ean

[wyperfield]

You have registered a Fault and the car has gone into LIMP mode. The car locks in gear and wont rev above about 2000rpm, the suspension drops and you loose HDC and a few other things.

You may find the car will reset itself ( with a fault logged in the EMS ) and you back to normal once you have restarted the car. You need to get a fault code reader to tell you what the fault is, and if you get a reader that can clear the faults, such as Faultmate, or Hawkeye you can clear it out of the ECU.

HTH

Cheers Ean
Yes Ean, it did all reset after restarting the car. I'm not sure that it's actually a fault. It may be some sort of safety override, wanting to slow the vehicle down and prevent it from rolling or sliding. I was not using any terrain response as the conditions were wet and a bit slipperyt, but still ok for any standard vehicle. Anyway, it goes in for a service at the LR dealer in 2 weeks so they can check it out then, thanks

[jonesy63]

I've had the "F" message a few times on my D3 - all immediately after long, hot rock crawls. No messages were ever logged - I suspect it was just the ATF getting too hot.

I also had the "F" message on my D4 - but that was accompanied by just about every message under the sun - caused by the brake switch failing.

[Graeme]

F is for a fault that is not overheating (shows H) or canbus error (shows E).

From the workshop manual....
Default (Limp Home) Mode

If a transmission fault is detected by the TCM, the TCM adopts a limp home mode strategy. 'TRANS. FAILSAFE' is displayed in the message centre and, if the fault has an effect on engine emissions, the MIL will also be illuminated.

In default mode, P, R and N functions operate normally (if the fault allows these selections) and the TCM locks the transmission in 3rd or 5th gear to allow the driver to take the vehicle to the nearest dealer. The torque converter lock-up clutch is disabled and reverse lock-out will not function.

If the vehicle is stopped and subsequently restarted in the default mode condition, the TCM operates normally until the fault which caused the condition is detected again.

When limp home mode is active, the gear position indicator will show one of the following letters which defines the fault type:

'F' - transmission is operating in limp home mode
'H' - transmission has reached overheat threshold temperature and transmission is operating in limp home mode
'E' - CAN bus is off and transmission is operating in limp home mode.

[jonesy63]

The point I omitted to add in my previous post - was that in my case, there was no accompanying "limp home" mode with the "F" message. Turned it off, waited a few minutes and turned on - no further problems for the trip and no messages logged.

If not overheating, there must be something else the auto doesn't like. Maybe it doesn't like prolonged climbs/descents at high temps? Whatever the cause, it only happened on long, hot, rock crawls in 1st - like Merricumbene Fire Trail in Deua NP.

[wyperfield]

Had the D3 serviced today and the "F" was the result of a fault code P085-00 in TCM. The fault was caused by a poor connection at the gearbox TCM, which was fixed under warranty by LR service. No explanation as to why this would happen at 76,000klms.
Anyway, now its all good.

[NavyDiver]

Had the D3 serviced today and the "F" was the result of a fault code P085-00 in TCM. The fault was caused by a poor connection at the gearbox TCM, which was fixed under warranty by LR service. No explanation as to why this would happen at 76,000klms.
Anyway, now its all good.

Looking in my owners manual about a fuse and blow me down if F mode jumped up and was explained. :D

Check out yours in the trasmission section.