Range Rover Sport SDV6 Engine Hesitation

[Peter R]

Hi, My 2012 RRS with SDV6 engine has recently shown signs of significant hesitation when the accelerator is pressed to get the car up and going from an almost dead stop. I had it happen the other weekend and instead of the car quickly getting up and away it moved slowly across a road into the path of oncoming traffic which under normal circumstances would have been a long way away.
Something similiar happened when towing my caravan when the vehicle transmission would not kick down but remained stubbornly in a high gear even though the lever was in Drive. I had to stop the car, turn off the engine and restart to clear the problem.
Can anyone relate to this and know of any fixes? The vehicle is under warranty and I will take it the local LR dealer but wanted to see if this issue was at all widespread. Thanks Peter

[BobD]

My guess would be the brake light switch. This is hard to diagnose because there isn't any error code so suggest it to them to help them out. you will also get similar symptoms if you have your left foot sitting lightly on the brake so make sure that you are not doing that!

Bob

[101RRS]

Peter - unfortunately this an issue with all these vehicles - my 2.7 RRS does it also and has been reported since the the D3/RRS first came out.

Some people say it is turbo lag (less likely on your 3.0) but I think it is the gearbox ECU getting caught out not knowing what it wants to do as I have found that the car only gets going once it has changed down. When coasting to a stoip I have noticed that the gearbox may only change down to 3rd and is not an issue if you actually come to a stop but if things change like at a roundabout, the lights change or there is a break in traffic when crossing and you apply the go pedal the gearbox hesitates and momentarily does nothing - in reality is maybe a second but feels like eternity at the time and it is only when it decides a lower gear is requires does it go.

How do you fix it - ensure you have the latest software updates on the gearbox, drive like the issue is going to happen and approach these situations with a bit of throttle on (the issue mainly comes up when you have a bit of reducing speed but foot off the throttle), drive the car like you sti=ole it to get the gearbox trained to provide better response.

These are not ideal answers but the issue has been reported for a long time - doing a search both here and on the Disco3 UK site will show threads on this topic from time to time.

Garry

[Prokiwi]

I had this problem till I had a superchips ECU reprogramme, problem goes away, throttle response is instant and the new found fun factor is awesome...
plus im a litre per 100kms better off....

Recommend doing an ECU upgrade, !!

[Graeme]

For the 3.0 it could be a sticky secondary turbo inlet isolation valve.

[Epic pooh]

As Gary says, a degree of hesitation in certain circumstances seems common - my D3 V8 has had the issue at times, I put it down to the gearbox in my case and after some faffing about, the issue is much less with the most current software and clearing TCM ECU adaptive learning (or hard reset) has also helped. I am very aware of when it is likely to happen and am a little more decisive with the throttle (occasionally to the detriment of passenger comfort and fuel economy !) in circumstances where it might be an issue. It's particularly annoying for me as my other cars are both manual (and respond instantly) ... takes a moment to 'recalibrate' when changing vehicles !

[CaverD3]

Got an Ewok diesel loaner the other day and the delay was downright dangerous, I wouldn't touch one.