TDV6 vs V6

[brougham]

Hey all, looking at buying a 2007+ D3 SE with under 100kms on it as new company vehicle (getting rid of crappy Territory Ghia).

Mainly easy outer city driving, few holidays a year with light 4x4 work and towing either camper or runabout.

Leaning towards a TD mainly as prefer the economy and torque of the diesel, but just worried with all the 'my td died threads' whether buying a secondhand is a good idea especially since it'll be out of warranty.

Any comments on whether it's really an issue? If I'm looking at two exact same models with good service history and condition, which would be the better buy - petrol or diesel?

Cheers,
Nathan.

[jonesy63]

Hi Nathan,
Before I received delivery of my MY07 D3 SE TDV6, I was given a loaner SE V6. The fuel economy was woeful! I reckon it would be lucky to get 15L/100km in traffic - being very generous. Mind you, "city driving" in traffic depends a lot on which city we're talking about! For instance, Adelaide driving - where you can be out of the city and in country in a short period of time is nothing like the "stop-start hell" that is Sydney. (Sorry, country-raised boy, living in a city coming out in me!)

As far as I can tell, there have only been two valid causes for "my TDV6 died":
1) battery is dead - could happen to any car! The battery is the heart of any vehicle; or
2) high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) failure in MY07-MY09 - which I had in my D3, several times! Let me clarify, LR re-designed the HPFP several times. So I had a catastrophic failure on first design - flat bedded about 300km and off the road for many, many weeks. I later had another failure on same design - but was caught before it totally failed, so was still able to drive it to dealer for repair. The third failure was another catastrophic one - went into limp mode, unable to go above 20km/h on flat and unable to go up the slightest hill - so another flat bed trip to dealer. It was at this point that LR finally got the design (of the front bearing in the HPFP, which suffered from low lubrication), and it was replaced with the final - working version.

So bottom line is - if you're going for a MY07+ TDV6 - make sure it has had the recall work done! This was documented in: Land Rover

Economy and range of the TDV6 are great - you'll love it.

Also, I would highly recommend doing a service on the auto transmission, replacing the standard plastic sump with new metal sump from ZF (the OEM), along with new ZF LifeGuard 6 oil. At about 100,000km, the transmission will start to get to the end of the transmission fluid life - you could notice shuddering, rough gear changes, and so on. The latest mantra is to replace fluid at about 60-80,000km. (Don't listen to LR dealerships spouting rubbish about "sealed for life"!)

I traded my D3 in for a D4 in August last year. The D3 had 138,000km on odometer and ran like a clock.

Go for a test drive in a few - you'll be hooked!

Cheers,
Rob

[stig0000]

do your self a favor and get a tdv6,, stay well away from the pet v6,,

[brougham]

thanks for that.

re: economy - I used to have a Disco1 3.9L V8.
so... the D3 petrol economy is actually awesome in comparison!

My Ghia gets 12L/100 average, but absolutely goes out the window when towing camper/boat, so would prefer a diesel.

there's a few around under 80kms, (not a lot of choice in wa though, but happy to go over east to get a good one).

cheers.

[400HPONGAS]

'my td died threads' is that right! where are these threads ? Theres probably around 5000 TDV6 owners who have passed through these pages,how many have had TDV6 Deaths ? Take the bloody things for a drive and make up your own mind. woftam

[101RRS]

'my td died threads' is that right! where are these threads ?

Well one was put up today about a 2.7 with a melted piston and there are a couple of others over the past year but there have also been a few with the petrol V6 as well.

But the instances of major engine problems are very low - it really comes down to your needs and budget. The V6 is much cheaper to buy - but arguable more expensive to run because of its overall higher fuel costs. Everyone one wants a TDV6 so more expensive to buy but a bit cheaper to run. If towing I would go the TDV6.

Garry

[WhiteD3]

I had a 2007 V6 SE for 4 years and now have a D4 2.7, so I can speak with some experience.

v6:
Economy is terrible compare to the TDV6 with 16+ around town with a very light foot and 10+ on the hwy. I always ran it on 98. I know people who couldn't get under 20's in town. High 20's on sand. Range is not good with say 450 in town, 650 on the hwy, 300 on the beach.

Much cheaper to service and much cheaper to buy than the the TDV6.

TDV6:
After 18,000 km my combined average economy is 10, down to 8 on the hwy. Range is great compared to the V6.
Acceleration is woeful compare to the V6 but you get used to it.

They're both good engines and the price reflects both the technology and economy of each.

[~Rich~]

TDV6:

Acceleration is woeful compare to the V6 but you get used to it.

I really can't beleive that statement, I have driven both and in standard form the TDV6 is great except for some turbo lag off the mark. With a Remap the lag is gone and of all the cars & 4wd's I've owned the TDV6 is the most powerful and quickest accelerating vehicle I've had!
LOVE IT!

[Ivan]

Do yourself a favour. If it comes to Petrol get the V8. I have one and love it. It's going on gas next month so economy will not be a problem

Cheers

Ivan

[Glynhouse]

How do you find out if the recall on the pump mentioned by jonesy above has been done ?
I have all the paper work or at least the owners copy of the service records - which tells me absolutely nothing except that it was given an " A B or C " at a certain mileage. I do have the detailed sheet for the last service the 4 year or 100K service just done.

DD