Hi, I have a couple of strange issues with my 2006 plate 2.7 v6 Diesel HSE sport in the United Kingdom.

The first is the Sat Nav screen. It started a few months ago when I got in the car early in the morning and the touch screen wouldn't work (it was stuck on the safety warning screen thing). After 10 mins of driving it started to work absolutely fine. This is now the case every single morning......unless I rub my finger all over the screen for 10 seconds or so at which point it will work but the touch screen is very inaccurate until the 10 mins has passed and it works fine again.

I spoke to my local LR dealer about it and they said it is likely to be a capacitor issue where it is being charged during starting the car and is slowly discharging itself to the point where after 10 mins it works fine. They said that by rubbing the screen I'm partly discharging it.

......as far as a replacement goes they said I should just put up with it as the cost of replacing the screen will be thousands of pounds

Has anyone ever heard of this problem?

The second problem is unfortunately going to be just as expensive to fix....

I noticed a strange intermittent hesitation (almost a shuddering of power) a couple of weeks ago when accelerating hard or when pulling up a hill. I took it to the dealer who initially told me it was because my tyres needed replacing (they were on their last legs) so I replaced them and it seemed fine for a couple of days until it started happening again. I took it in again and they called me a couple of hours later to suggest I sat down before they told me the bad news......

They said the shuddering under power was caused by play in the road wheels. They said I need to replace both the front lower control arms at a cost of £378 each! and then have the wheels aligned at a further cost of £120 - So that's £876 for starters..... they said if that doesn't cure it we need to look at the rear. In the rear they said there was a little play in the top rear hub bushes. Replacement would be £384 each. They said the rear track bar at a cost of £102 also needs replacing due to a bit of play.

All in all the suspension problem is likely to cost almost £2,000 and they haven't said that it's 100% the cause.

Any thoughts before I start parting with silly amounts of money?

Cheers
Grant

The shuddering is more likely to be the torque convertor vibrating under load. We see alot of these on D3 and RRS. Usually on vehicles with 100k plus but I have seen it on some as low as 40k. Are you local to Leeds so I could road test it with you?
Brian
Green Oval

Hi Brian, thanks for your reply.

I wish I did live nearer to Leeds as I have a feeling the local dealer is a robbers dog.... I'm in Carlisle mate, if I was a bit nearer I'd have a drive down there to see what you thought. You could be onto something though. I called a LR specialist this morning who I have used before. They are about an hours drive away but have quoted half the price to replace the parts the dealer said needed doing. They gave me a price but said they would like to see the car before ordering anything as they said the particular dealer had a habit of saying things needed replacing when they don't.

I will mention the torque convertor to them when I drop it off next weekend. This might sound daft but how will they know if the unit is vibrating?

Cheers
Grant

Experience mainly! The way I had it described to me was the fins inside the convertor that push the oil round to build up pressure wear away and the thinner they get means they distort when under load. This causes the vibration as they flex. The guy I would recommend for the repair is Martin Lowe of Barnsley 01226 283196 ( He has his own recovery truck ). Once you have had it confirmed or denied I would get it touch with them and he can talk to you in more detail. Tell him that Brian from Green Oval has given you his number. Really nice honest guy, I use him for all the time.
Thanks
Brian
Green Oval

Thanks for the info Brian. It's going into the workshop next Saturday so I'll get them to check it out. I've had a look on the web and the TC is an expensive piece of kit. If it needs one I'll give the bloke you recommended a call to see what he says. Fingers crossed its something cheap

When he did mine on my D3 he fitted a telfon (like) coated torque convertor. Drives sweet as a nut now. They do a quality job but I won't comment on prices as it's not my business!
Good luck
Brian
Green Oval

It is possible to do a DIY test on a torque convertor.

With the engine running and the car in Drive press really hard on the brakes with left foot while increase the revs with right foot.

The engine should reach a stall speed (varies for engine but usually arounf 2,000rpm).

If the torque convertor is knackered you might reproduce your 'rattle' and/or the engine revs will continue to rise.

Do not do this test with cars or anything in front of car for obvious reasons. You must keep the brakes on hard and do not hold the engine in stall for more than 10/20 seconds, just long enough to see if the convertor can hold the engine in stall. Doing this test for too long can raise the gearbox oil temperature quickly.

Be careful.