Hi everyone.

Today I bought my first range rover l322 4.4 tdv8 2012. I've got a few questions and concerns about it and wondered if you guys could shed help.

My first concern is that when I put my foot down and get to 65mph and above, I start to get quite a bad vibration through the steering wheel. I'm going to get the wheels balanced tomorrow and see if that stops it from happening. If it doesn't, what would you guys suggest ?

Also I have found that the heated seat on the drivers side isn't working and wondered what could be the problem ?

I also found that the left side horn button isn't working but the right side is fine ?

My next question is about the automatic gearing. I've always driven manuals and I usually drive away nice and smooth In first gear before changing into 2nd,3rd, etc etc. I found that when driving this vehicle from a standstill its as though its holding onto the gears for a fair amount of time before changing. Is this normal or could there be a problem?

Your thoughts and advice on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks [/img]

1 - wheel balance, or buckle in wheel if they are low profile aftermarket alloys.

2 - fuse or the heating element under the leather has gone. ( i think you can get replacements )

3 - don’t know … should be fairly easy to take apart and clean / check / replace

4 - if its cold, it’ll hold onto gears to help warm up the fluid. If its still doing it after fully warm, then a gearbox oil change / flush can make a difference ( along with a reset of the gearbox ). Loads of information on here about this sort of stuff. V8 or else ...

Only_me wrote:

My first concern is that when I put my foot down and get to 65mph and above, I start to get quite a bad vibration through the steering wheel. I'm going to get the wheels balanced tomorrow and see if that stops it from happening. If it doesn't, what would you guys suggest ?

Thanks [/img]

Thanks for the info. The wheels are the standard 20" westminster alloys so im praying that correct wheel balancing will sort it today.

Also the seat warms up on the passenger side ok. Are they both not working off the same fuse ? And the lights on the dial are showing its working (or not in this case).

The gearbox was serviced at around 60k miles and it's now on 128k. How often does the gearbox need servicing?

Hi there and welcome to the FF Club.
Some info below to help you...
1. Probably just needs wheel balancing, as you hope, but could also be caused by worn suspension components, i.e. bushes, joints, etc.
EDIT: It may also benefit from a 4 Wheel Tracking being done on it, find yourself a good garage / tyre fitters who do the full job, i.e. Camber, Caster, Toe, etc., on all four corners.

2. Heated / cooled seats covered in detail in the following thread:
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic44946.html

There is a Search tab in the menu which is a FF owner's goldmine of info.

3. There's also all of the Service / Maintenance Manuals in the Wiki Section in the main header, again might probably just be a minor wiring / contact issue.

4. Get the gearbox oil and filter changed, or even go for a megaflush. That should help as old oil doesn't benefit the gearbox.

Hope the above helps

Welcome to the madhouse, good advice from the chaps on here.

Wheel balance or possibly untrue wheel
Heated seat, I had the same issue, changed the pettier unit (Advanced Factors site sponsor) for about £250, it’s a unit that sits behind the drivers back accessed from the rear of the seat……if that sounds feasible , ok job to do. Search on here, there’s loads of info.
No idea about the horn, contact spray?
Gearbox LR state “sealed for life” cobblers! Change the oil every 50-60k & it will prolong the life of the box. Just remember, if you just change the gearbox oil & filter, you’re only changing 40%-50% of the oil (torque converter holds a load) if you go for a mega flush (Ian Bodsy Bodsworth on here is best) that’ll change 90%-95% of the oil. Your choice my friend.

If there’s oil in it….change it!😁

Keep us informed cos we’re a nosey lot on here!😂 2012 Orkney Grey Westminster 4.4TDV8 with Ivory interior.........nice!
BMW R1200GS
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Just one Montesa now, 349 White Wonder
Austin A40 Farina MK2
1975 Morris Marina 1.8TC

I upshift manually most of the time to avoid unnecessary engine revs. IMO the auto programming doesn't make use of the engine's torque very well, especially when driven on light throttle.

Fox889 wrote:

Welcome to the madhouse, good advice from the chaps on here.

Wheel balance or possibly untrue wheel
Heated seat, I had the same issue, changed the pettier unit (Advanced Factors site sponsor) for about £250, it’s a unit that sits behind the drivers back accessed from the rear of the seat……if that sounds feasible , ok job to do. Search on here, there’s loads of info.
No idea about the horn, contact spray?
Gearbox LR state “sealed for life” cobblers! Change the oil every 50-60k & it will prolong the life of the box. Just remember, if you just change the gearbox oil & filter, you’re only changing 40%-50% of the oil (torque converter holds a load) if you go for a mega flush (Ian Bodsy Bodsworth on here is best) that’ll change 90%-95% of the oil. Your choice my friend.

If there’s oil in it….change it!😁

Keep us informed cos we’re a nosey lot on here!😂

Mine holds the revs too long going up hills but on the flat it's just about perfect. As I say to other first time buyers - get it to a LR indy specialist for a thorough inspection before you start throwing money and time at it. Although it's inevitable you will throw money and time at it as it's part of the ownership experience with an old L322 but you need to know what needs doing now and what can be left. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Gearbox oil flush and change recommended at about 80,000 miles.
Heated seats are on separate fuses, lights will still show even if heater element is broken, if you try the seat on cool and can hear the fan running then switch it to heat the fan normally knocks off after a few seconds of Peltier unit is broken, it is a fairly common fault and if you use the search facility you will find several threads on replacing it. The one unit in the back of the seat controls the back and squab.
Mine holds about 2,000 revs when cold, but I have a fairly steep climb after joining main road. Normally won’t go much above 1500 revs on a normal throttle, on kick down ie full throttle will go above 3000 revs, second turbo kicks in about 2,500 which is when you need to look for smoke! The gearboxes also learn your driving habits I find if I use the flappy paddles it holds the gears longer as if in sport mode. 2012 tdv8 Westminster arrived Jan 19 gone Dec 23

200 TDi discovery bobtail gone
RR classic v8 bobtail gone
300 tdi Discovery 3 dr gone

If it's wheel balancing you should be able to drive through it, does it fade away at 70-80? If not, and the wheels themselves are OK, you may be into bushes or lower arms which they seem to need more often than you'd imagine.

About the gearbox, is it better in S mode? 2017 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography in black
2018 D300 SE Velar in champagne
Spiffing wheel centre caps, L322 sill repair panels, etc

My steering wheel had started to vibrate a bit at about 60mph but after changing the front suspension arms all is smooth again.

Stuart- wrote:

If it's wheel balancing you should be able to drive through it, does it fade away at 70-80? If not, and the wheels themselves are OK, you may be into bushes or lower arms which they seem to need more often than you'd imagine.

About the gearbox, is it better in S mode?

The S on the rotary gear selector, as opposed to D.

 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

Nobody seems to have mentioned the tyres themselves.

Over the years I've had wheels/tyres that have balanced perfectly but found that a less than perfectly symmetrical tyre will cause issues.