Was towing around 3 tonnes last week with the ff. When going uphill the engine seemed to rev a lot more than it needed to. between 3 and 4000rpm. When pressing the accelerator a bit it just increased the revs without accelerating unless you pressed it a good bit more then it would go. never towed with an auto before so dont know if this is normal. Once on the motorway just above 50mph it was fine. It would accelerate more like a manual would without all the excessive revs. i have done the same trip a few times in my old 200tdi landy before with similar weight and the engine seemed a lot more relaxed hence why i am asking. There are no funny noises, shudders or anything else coming from the gearbox and it performs as i would expect when not towing. Is this normal auto behaviour or should i start saving for a replacement box ? '04 td6 se
'63 land rover s2 200tdi
'04 mk indy kitcar bike engine

Had similar issue with mine while towing a 1700 kg caravan, took to dealers who blamed the 22" wheels. I had gearbox flush, pump and filter replaced and fresh oil done at an Indi and it's not done it since. Parts were £285 and much cheeper than a gearbox  TDV8 Vogue SE 2009.
TDV8 Sport. Gone. Loved it but it didn't love me!
Other toys in the cupboard.......

Firstly :

if you still flying on genuine box its highly probable you may need one soon

secondly gear monitoring system throws a fault when gear slip is detected ( trans fail safe)

check oil condition it can tell a lot

Sounds like kickdown. You've pressed it enough to make it drop down a gear but not enough to give it some welly.

I've found with mine that when towing 3.5 tons and there's a hill, just take some time and let it get up there at 20000-2500 rpm. Any faster and you're not going much faster, just burning fuel and making lots of noise!

Quote:

Had similar issue with mine while towing a 1700 kg caravan, took to dealers who blamed the 22" wheels. I had gearbox flush, pump and filter replaced and fresh oil done at an Indi and it's not done it since. Parts were £285 and much cheeper than a gearbox Thumbs Up

Unfortunately ZF box have different issues than GM (aka crap) author is using

Didn't press the accelerator enough to get the click for kickdown. Felt more like a lot of clutch slip on a manual. Tried easing off on the accelerator to reduce the revs but would just slow down so had to keep it revving. Tried manually selecting the gears but was just the same. There were no error messages on the dash either. The gearbox was changed just before i got it about 2 years ago. Will try changing the oil and filter and see if it makes any difference. As i said, i've never towed with an auto before so it may be normal. It just seemed like it was revving more than it needed to. '04 td6 se
'63 land rover s2 200tdi
'04 mk indy kitcar bike engine

sure it did
td6 is relatively week engine (sorry guys)
so with additional 3t it did struggle a lot

just check oil before you change it ?
(it will give you some info about box condition)

wats39 wrote:

Didn't press the accelerator enough to get the click for kickdown. Felt more like a lot of clutch slip on a manual. Tried easing off on the accelerator to reduce the revs but would just slow down so had to keep it revving. Tried manually selecting the gears but was just the same. There were no error messages on the dash either. The gearbox was changed just before i got it about 2 years ago. Will try changing the oil and filter and see if it makes any difference. As i said, i've never towed with an auto before so it may be normal. It just seemed like it was revving more than it needed to.

You dont get a "click" when you kickdown in a FF sir

If you are driving below 50 mph the gearbox will not lock up the clutches and you will get an elastic feeling to the gearbox. Over 50 mph and the gearbox luc engages and you get a more direct drive from engine to wheels, until that sort of speed the clutches are basically slipping as you accellerate. Fairly normal behaviour, but as has been said if you are on your orignal box it would not be the wisest idea to subject it to massive punnishment not so bad on a replacement though

Used to do pretty much the same in my e39 530d when towing the carvan. It does it to some extent in the tdv8 and has in all the autos i have towed with. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

Thats what i was hoping to hear northernmonkeyjones
Will still do an oil and filter change and inspect the old oil though when i get the time.
Craig, you do get a click on the accelerator. The owners manual says under the heading 'kick-down' in the auto gearbox section, 'to provide rapid acceleration for overtaking, push tha accelerator pedal to the full extent of its travel, this is known as kick-down, a click will be felt through the pedal.'
Didn't you read your owners manual?  '04 td6 se
'63 land rover s2 200tdi
'04 mk indy kitcar bike engine

Go and get a remap done, approx 50 bhp and 100 ib ft torque gain........

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

I'm more than happy with the performance of the td6. It was more that the gearbox made the engine work harder on the hills than it needed to in the lower gears. Once on the motorway at 60mph it was fine. Pulled up the hills no problem with 3t behind it.  '04 td6 se
'63 land rover s2 200tdi
'04 mk indy kitcar bike engine

Cool. The gearbox does seem to take a while to lock up. It's not really the engine that let's the side down.

There is an Eco tune available for the gearbox that makes it lock up earlier. Have a search foe Eco tune. Think that should get it.

Other than that, seems pretty normal operation, though I've never towed with mine. 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Already read about the ecotune gearbox remap.
Sounds good but not heard any opinions about what its like towing. Another option i've read about is a tc lock up switch that a lot of american 4x4s use when towing. From what i understand, its just a switch that powers the tc solenoid in the gearbox. Might be a worthwhile mod if it could be fitted to a ffrr. '04 td6 se
'63 land rover s2 200tdi
'04 mk indy kitcar bike engine