Hello fellow forum readers.
First post here so please excuse any lack of information or clarity. Bought my first full fat (2005) a few weeks ago from a very nice and helpful fellow forum member. There has been a HDC fault raised, not discovered the cause, change battery as a precaution but error still exists so looking for an opportunity to connect to a fault diagnostic tool. It initially started intermittently between a few days but now remain constant - could be a loose connection???
I digress. As it was the main purpose of purchasing this vehicle, would it be advisable to tow with this error. I intend to tow a horse trailer, circa 2.5 tonnes, but worried as the vehicle is stuck in the low mode on the suspension. Would I be putting the vehicle on any extra stress.
Thanks in advance for any support and advice.
Regards
Dr Ash

That sounds like 2 issues. Whilst I’d want to know what was causing the HDC fault, it wouldn’t stop me towing.

That said, the air suspension stuck at access height or similar would stop me towing.

Do you have an orange light at the side of the knob that controls the suspension height?

Sounds like you need to get the faults read and take it from there.

Others may have more info.

 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

When I start the vehicle, both the mid and high orange lights are on. The bottom and lock button lights are off. Eventually, all lights go out.
Attempted to take a look under the vehicles for any loose connections. Complete failure, too low for my fat head to get under whilst in its current low position

If it's an emergency and you aren't going far, I guess you'd be ok to tow with the car stuck in low position. The problem is the trailer won't sit right as the towbar will be lower than usual.

If you keep below 30mph should be ok - the real problem (and risk) is that the car drops to the bump stops and then just driving is bad enough - towing would be very dangerous and not very pleasant for any livestock on board.

That's a good point. Sounds to me it's not worth the risk for both the vehicle and the horse. There is going to be one disappointed little girl that her dad can't take the horse to the beach this weekend. Thanks for all the advice.

I think you are being sensibly cautious.

She might be disappointed at not taking the horse to the seaside, but she'd be a lot more disappointed if something went wrong and the horse was crippled.

After you changed the battery did you take it out for a run? ______________________________
Simon
______________________________

Range Rover Classic 3.5 efi - Gone
Range Rover Classic 3.9 efi - Gone
Range Rover Classic 4.2 LSE - Sadly gone
Land Rover 110 3.5 - Gone
Range Rover P38a 4.0 SE - Pleased it's gone
Range Rover P38a 2.5 DHSE - Just sold
Range Rover L322 4.4 v8 Petrol - Current

DrAsh, have you tried attaching the horsebox and seeing what the suspension setting says? Worth a try IMO

UK Marine wrote:

After you changed the battery did you take it out for a run?

Did you turn the steering lock to lock after the battery change ?

Similar issue resolved here ;

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic42636.html 4.4 AdBlu Tractor Stolen
4.2 SC - sold

Tried the steering wheel reset, no luck. Tried the removal of the brake light fuse and drive around, no luck. Looks like I'll be taking it into a garage to connect to a fault diagnostic machine next week. Hopefully it's just as simple as a sensor.

You are wise to get it checked. My experience with warning lights like that was that a sensor had gone. Drive shaft corrosion can lead to swelling and the enlarged shaft then grinds the nearby ABS sensor, that would be a more expensive variant, as the shaft then needs to be replaced to avoid grinding the new sensor.

When you say the suspension is stuck in the "lower" position, do you mean access mode or the 'normal' lower setting i.e. as opposed to the higher off road setting? When the towing electrics are engaged the car is meant to lock in the normal setting, so you can't lower to access mode or raise to off road mode. There might be a case for checking the towing electrics as well as the switches etc in the cabin. Only Range Rovers since 1988

Good point raised here. When I mean the lower position, I can't definitively say which position as not yet clued up in the world of Range Rover as I ought to be yet, and all the orange indicator lights are out. However, once the HTC fault is alarmed when I start the engine, it is followed by a notice the "suspension lowered". I am taking an assumption that this is in the access mode but drives normal. i am now asking myself if it is in fact in normal mode, would the vehicle still drive normally if it was in the access mode?
Not had a chance to fully look into this yet, proving difficult to get a look in as the wife is still enjoying driving it and I'm be been travelling for work.
I'll try and get some pictures for the next post.

If you use the search function on the bar at the top of the page and look for a thread "L322 Ride height" you should find a table showing the standard ride heights for the different wheel sizes at the various settings. Using that for comparison you should be able to measure your own car and establish where it is stuck. Only Range Rovers since 1988

Checked the night using the guide, it's definitely at access mode height. Had a look underneath and was convinced I found the smoking gun. But now not so sure, I think what I found was a broken brake pad wear detection sensor? Any thoughts? 2005 Range Rover TD6
2003 BMW 5 series E60