D4 flat battery......again.

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Originally Posted by discowhite

is this a case of the older modles having a different battery maybe? i know mine is a varta branded one, what are the ones going flat?
l

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My D4 2.7 has the Varta 90Ah battery installed. We had a 4 day camping trip where the car was opened many times each day and night but I just made sure the interior lights were set to off. I was a little worried given that there had been reports of flat batteries and I know my Prado loving mates we were with would have mocked me if she did go flat but she started fine each day with no problems.

Have to add a picture. I just love looking at the D4

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3...0404165336.jpg

I also did the test of leaving the keys in the car for 3 days when I got home and again she started fine.

Wasn't one of the early firmware updates fix the battery problems?

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Originally Posted by brad72

My D4 2.7 has the Varta 90Ah battery installed. We had a 4 day camping trip where the car was opened many times each day and night but I just made sure the interior lights were set to off.

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Similar story: 9 days camping with 4WDing/touring most days but not all. Vehicle parked windows down & tailgate up during the day & parking in shade. Everything closed up at night & locked.
55Ah aux battery under bonnet running an 80L Waeco.
Frequent openning of doors which 'restarted' the dash electrics.
Key stored away from the vehicle.

Never had a problem re flat battery.
But was very concerned how the dash electrics woke-up when the doors openned. It would be great if this function was limited to only the driver's door being openned.

Just met a bloke with an early 3ltr D4 with no second battery.. Said he had towed a 2.5 ton caravan round Aus with it. He ran a fridge in the car and one in the caravan. They were on only when the car was awake. Told me that he had flat battery trouble crossing the nullabor..Finally got to Perth and made a major complaint with the local LR dealer and then to LR. The dealer finally downloaded new software which stopped the car staying awake (after door opening etc ) for the original 20mins and changed it to 3 or 5 mins I think. No probs from then on. So it must be that early D4s stayed awake for much longer. He said it is a fantastic car for such a trip.
What was a worry is that he wanted to fit a second battery but LR said it would void his warranty!

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Originally Posted by discojools

The dealer finally downloaded new software which stopped the car staying awake (after door opening etc ) for the original 20mins and changed it to 3 or 5 mins I think. No probs from then on. So it must be that early D4s stayed awake for much longer.

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I was sure mine originally stayed awake for much longer than the 3 minutes or so that it does now. It had a s/w update early last year.

What was a worry is that he wanted to fit a second battery but LR said it would void his warranty!


I copped the same talk when I indicated I wanted to fit 17" rims, and a larger profile tyre. They talk the talk to scare off anything non std, or non LR. The other manufacturers are the same. Just protecting their patch. The way modern second battery systems are wired in, I think LR would have difficulty proving the fitment was detrimental to OE systems.

Interested to read others comments/thoughts.

Hi Admiral,
I think that you are right.

Verify this with Tim (Drivesafe on this forum), but IIRC the Traxide system has been identified as suitable for D3s/D4s/RRSs. I know that I fitted this to mine while still in warranty and had no hiccoughs at the dealers.

Best Wishes,
Peter

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Originally Posted by ADMIRAL

What was a worry is that he wanted to fit a second battery but LR said it would void his warranty!

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Hi ADMIRAL, the problem is with the individual dealerships not LR itself.

As Bushwanderer and many others have found, depending on the dealership, they have had no threats of warranty voiding and I actually supply direct to a number of dealerships who fit the accessories in-house for their customers.

Like others on this forum, I have had dealers state on two occassions for different vehicles, that modifications I made to a vehicle have voided warranty, or the part of the warranty such as that covering engine/drive train etc. The dealer would state that they would need to inform the factory that warranty is breeched, such that it would be recorded electronically & therefore visible to all dealers/factory warranty service providers.

Those modifications related to things like M/T tyres, dual batteries, bar work, shocks, springs, brake rotors, etc.

On each of those two occassions I replied that if the dealer thought if necessary to take such a stand, then confirm that with me by written confirmation that warranty was now voided, and I would subsequently guarentee that I would have no further servicing or new/second hand vehicle purchase through that dealership. Further I would inform everyone who would listen, at every opportunity when vehicles were discussed, what the dealer had done, and generally bad mouth them!

So far, warranty has been honoured.

I play fair. I'll accept when something I have done has caused a problem, & I'll wear the consequences & costs. But don't try to rip me off with generic blanket excuses to cover a potential future liability that you should be responsible for.

Two things to note from my experiences to date.
(1) I believe that this attitude/scam of wriggling out of warranty sits on the shoulders of an individual rather than the dealers policy. Maybe they got up on the wrong side of the bed that day...
(2) So far no L/R dealer has done this too me. But I'm early into my L/R love affair...

There is a corporate 'stance' from LRA that relates to modifications and vehicles. Dealers are obliged to note all mods (as said above) on a register. Many dealers will ignore this requirement if they too feel that the mod has nothing to do with the fault being reported. Sometimes they don't. LRA will target certain dealers more than others depending on that dealer's level of warranty claims.

Cheers,

Gordon