I've owned mine now for nearly a week and I've just been fiddling with the front and rear dashcams that were installed by the (presumably) original owner and left unused since by the subsequent two owners. I think I now have worked out how to access the footage and configure the front one and re-discover the lead that connects the rear cam to the front. It may be a two-camera system again now.

When I looked at the contents of the microSD card I discovered footage of the drives I have done since fiddling with it and then there’s nothing been now and 2017. And guess what? The last recording before mine is of my Range Rover with the bonnet up… and an AA van in the rear cam… and occasional views of a -issed off owner wandering between the two.

Oddly, the service history doesn’t mention any of this, so hopefully it was something just minor but show-stopping and clearly very irritating – irritating enough to sell up and move on.

You could always ring the AA and ask…. They might tell you what the call out was for if it was the same reg etc. 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 wouldn't worry about something >5 years ago . I doubt many RR owners won't have AA/RAC staring in their dashcam footage if they go back this far.... 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I have to admire your confidence with that statement. And the fact it's correct.

If there was a mechanical issue that caused a breakdown 5 years ago it's pretty safe to assume it's been fixed by now. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

JayGee wrote:

I wouldn't worry about something >5 years ago . I doubt many RR owners won't have AA/RAC staring in their dashcam footage if they go back this far....

Don't worry about a break down five years ago. I have heard people talk about a model of the FFRR that never breaks down, first problem is that it appears to be called the L322 'Unicorn limited edition' next problem is that despite various stories and rumours, no one has ever seen one in real life

Welcome to the full fat world.

The same goes for any ageing 4x4, not just Range Rovers. This includes the Cayenne, X5, XC90 (which don't seem to have stood the test of time as well), ML etc.

4x4s are typically extremely complicated, with all of the various off road hardware, and 3-4x as many ECUs and cabling than a normal hatchback, linking the various hardware and the toys together.

It's not just a Range Rover thing. An owner of any of these type vehicles has to expect a high cost of maintenance, simply because there's so much more to go wrong. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

Look at the mileage in the mot history….how many miles has it covered per year in the last 5 years? 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

Merchy wrote:

Don't worry about a break down five years ago. I have heard people talk about a model of the FFRR that never breaks down, first problem is that it appears to be called the L322 'Unicorn limited edition' next problem is that despite various stories and rumours, no one has ever seen one in real life

Bearing in mind that I’ve just had to buy a new battery and alternator within the first nine days of ownership, I have now worked out how to access the existing recordings properly using the Blackvue viewer app. This old footage has been most enlightening, particularly the audio. It’s the conversation between the then-owner and the AA guy. Owner is berating this car for the fact that every time he leaves it in his garage for two weeks, it’s stone dead when he tries to use it… and the AA guy is connecting an external supply to the battery to enable it to start and come back to life.

Leaving aside Mr AA’s comment that you “can’t fit an auxiliary battery in parallel because you’ll get 24v” (someone needs to have a word with him), this insight into the past is something I’ve found rather reassuring. It may well explain why the alternator abruptly died (it was regularly having to bring a discharged battery back to life) and why the battery I lifted out last week was only about three years old (it’s been left to fully discharge on a regular basis).

Now I own it, it’s unlikely to go more that five days unused. Hopefully that’s frequent enough.

That is good to know, as peace of mind is a priceless commodity