Thread: D4 high-beam alignment

As a consequence of my and other owners' complaints, JLRA has supplied the vehicle compliance dept with documentation that shows the lights have been certified to conform the European standards (UN ECE 98) and therefore acceptable to the ADR standards, so JLRA are likely to be confident that nothing needs to be done about the lights. Only if a state registration authority (eg NSW RTA) or a large motoring organisation leans on the Fed Dept of Infrastructure and Transport might the topic be re-opened which could then lead to JLRA having to correct the lights. The Dept of Infrastructure and Transport would not answer my questions as to what JLRA provided or relied upon for their approval, saying only that they has sighted the confidential documentation that showed that the lights had been certified. From my questioning, I formed the opinion that test data was not supplied, only the certification statement. I considered that the Dept of Infrastructure and Transport person didn't want to be bothered with having to test lights. The NRMA was unable to help as they have not had anyone who could persue this since they split with their insurance business.

What a marathon read fellas!

So I am waiting for my brand new MY11 D4 SE to arrive next month, and the salesperson has so far said on the 3 occassions I asked him, that is does indeed have the Bi-Zenons fitted, where I had been led to believe they now had to be optioned, even on the SE.

The question is would you still recommend the Bi-zenons despite all your issues, or would you be happy with the Halogens. I had told the salesperson repeatedly that Bi-zenons were a MUST in the deal, so need to know whether to push the issue.

Outasight

My 3 week old D4 SE has the Bi-Zenons and it was (and is) my understanding that they are one of the standard fitments on the SE, along with the folding mirrors, big brakes and the 3.0 litre engine package.

The WA dealer also upgrades all the SE's he imports to 7 seats and leather. I don't know if the other dealers in the other states do this. I wasn't fussy about the 7 seats (although they weill be useful) but the leather seats are great.

The SE is a great car! I originally ordered the 2.7 and woke up in the night with a blinding relaisation that I would always regret not getting the 3.0 if I went ahead with the 2.7. I phoned the dealer at 8:00 the next morning!

To minimise any bias ( I already have a 98 D1) I compared a Pajero Exceed with the SE on the same day. It was like comparing chalk and cheese.

You will love the SE.

Cheers

Al

Thanks Al,

It's strange what everyone gets led to believe ...

Discovery 4 SE models are 7 seats & leather as standard & always were for the D4.

The TDV6(2.7) is 5 seats & cloth as standard, but more are ordered with the 7 seat/leather option than not. Some private sellers on Car Sales even believe they have SE models due to the 7 seat/leather option!

Bi-zenons WERE standard for the D4 SE models when they were first released, but I had heard that for MY11 they had made them an option only for some weird reason. The Land Rover website also currently supports this theory if you look at the SE and it's options on there.

Regards,

Les.

Agree with you Les. We ordered our D4 SE last year and it had the bi-xenons as standard but were then told that ours was to be an MY11 and the bi-xenons had to be optioned.

Originally Posted by outasight

The question is would you still recommend the Bi-zenons despite all your issues, or would you be happy with the Halogens.

The bi-xenons have a high beam whereas the halogens low beam is only low beam. However the halogen's high beam if properly aimed would produce better normal high-beam light if converted to HID than the bi-xenon's halogen fill-in lights that produce a wide narrow band.

The bi-xenon low beam is better in rain than my D2a +50 halogen globes. I also had HIDs in the D2a's high beam which I thought gave good light until I fitted a set of old Narva 4x4 off-roader driving lights converted to HID. But I've just re-fitted those driving lights to the D4 because the possum lights are still too high in the straight-ahead position.

I suspect I'd save my money 2nd time around if the bi-xenons' fault can't be shown to have been corrected.

Originally Posted by outasight

The question is would you still recommend the Bi-zenons despite all your issues, or would you be happy with the Halogens.

Even with the possum spotting issue I'm glad I optioned the bi-xenons as they are still superior to previous vehicles I've had.

Thanks Wirraway,

I'm inclined to lean that way too. Can't wait for this discussion with the dealer!!! Appears more & more the salesman doesn't know some basics ...