Freelander 1 2.5 v6 Auto gearbox issues

hey guys

Hoping someone can help me out here. I recently purchased a 2005 Freelander 2.5 v6 Automatic. I

I soon found out it had a issue. When being driven at around 30-40mph the gearbox seems to miss a gear and drop down causing the car to jump like someone hit into the back. The yellow light comes on showing a downhill Landrover with a ! Mark. The vehicle still drives when it is like this however there is some problem. Can someone shed some light on this and help me to where I need to start looking to get this issue resolved. Many thanks in abvance

That is the Hill Decent warning light - it means that if you plug in a compatible diagnostic code reader it will give you a reason why the light is lit.

As I say, you'll need compatible kit - a cheap OBDII dongle will probably only talk to the engine ECU - not the Teves ABS ECU installed in the Freelander. When I need the codes read I take the car along to my local indie Land Rover workshop and they plug their kit in for a few $s.

This does sound like a strange fault and in this instance it may not tell you an exact reason - but it may point you in the right direction.

It may also be pointing in completely the wrong direction as the shock going through the car when this happens might conceivably be rattling a loose connection somewhere which is throwing the HDC fault.

If you plug a diag kit in, it may also find some other fault(s) that are causing it unrelated to the ABS - so check all the ECUs - ABS, engine and auto box (if the Jatco does diag).

These are my thoughts though and what I'd be doing if nobody can suggest anything else.

GrumpyGel said:

That is the Hill Decent warning light - it means that if you plug in a compatible diagnostic code reader it will give you a reason why the light is lit.

As I say, you'll need compatible kit - a cheap OBDII dongle will probably only talk to the engine ECU - not the Teves ABS ECU installed in the Freelander. When I need the codes read I take the car along to my local indie Land Rover workshop and they plug their kit in for a few $s.

This does sound like a strange fault and in this instance it may not tell you an exact reason - but it may point you in the right direction.

It may also be pointing in completely the wrong direction as the shock going through the car when this happens might conceivably be rattling a loose connection somewhere which is throwing the HDC fault.

If you plug a diag kit in, it may also find some other fault(s) that are causing it unrelated to the ABS - so check all the ECUs - ABS, engine and auto box (if the Jatco does diag).

These are my thoughts though and what I'd be doing if nobody can suggest anything else.

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Thanks for the feedback pal extremely appreciated

Check fuse 13 in the underbonnet fuse box

Or check hdc switch to see if faulty, chafed wiring around gearstick, seem to recall brake light switch can throw strange faults

freelance said:

Or check hdc switch to see if faulty, chafed wiring around gearstick, seem to recall brake light switch can throw strange faults

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If the HDC switch or wiring is faulty, the HDC just doesn't work. The switch circuit isn't monitored. The auto isn't subject to HDC switch wire breakage like the manual box is either.

The brake light switch can cause all sorts of odd faults though.

Mano786 said:

...When being driven at around 30-40mph the gearbox seems to miss a gear and drop down causing the car to jump like someone hit into the back...

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Can you explain the above in more detail?

Are you saying it misses a gear when it tries to change gear at 30-40mph (up or down). Or does it feel like it's falls/drops out of gear when cruising at these speeds, not necessarily when trying to change gear.

When it happens... Can you manually change gear by pushing the gear lever to the right (while still in D) and pushing forwards?

What gear are you in when the above happens?

Hello hippo. Hope all is well with you

I’m saying it drops out of gear at at around 30/40 mph and then catches at a lower gear. The yellow hill decent light comes on and stays on however the car drives and changes gears normal. I believe the gearbox goes into limp mode.

This is a intermittent problem, most of the time the vehicle drives without the fault and sometimes it can trigger the fault 2/3 times in a journey.

Yesterday I took the car to a automatic gearbox specialist who has been operating for 26 years. On the way there and on the 20 min test drive the fault did not trigger once even tho he drove the car at various speeds and soft and roiugh.

Then proceeded to stick the car on the diagnostic machine to retrieve the history of warning lights that have come on the car and work from there. The codes that came up were basically saying the gearbox has gone into mode a few times and the 4th gear is the issue. We done a major reset on all the codes so have been advised to drive for another 200 Miles and see if the light pops again and then bring it back into the transmission shop. Am I looking at a expensive fix?

If it goes into limp mode and defaults to 4th gear it will flash F then 4, reapeatidly on the dash. Did this happen? I noticed you didn't mention it before so I assumed it din't.

It doesn’t. The light comes on and on a couple of occasions the throttle sticks to around 1.5000 revs so the car is always pushing if that makes sense.

Also when this happens it feels like someone has hit in the back sort of thing.

Hippo said:

If it goes into limp mode and defaults to 4th gear it will flash F then 4, reapeatidly on the dash. Did this happen? I noticed you didn't mention it before so I assumed it din't.

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I wanted to ask your advice on a seat belt tensioner replacement. Is it a simple as replacing it and clearing the code or something more involved ?

Mano786 said:

I wanted to ask your advice on a seat belt tensioner replacement. Is it a simple as replacing it and clearing the code or something more involved ?

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Seat belt tensioner problems... Check the wiring under the seat for damage if it hasn't been activated in a crash.

Mano786 said:

It doesn’t. The light comes on and on a couple of occasions the throttle sticks to around 1.5000 revs so the car is always pushing if that makes sense.

Also when this happens it feels like someone has hit in the back sort of thing.

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So it feels as if it slams into gear as if someone has driven into it while stationary at 1mph?

It’s not a massive jerk but it’s like someone has driven into the back of u in very low speed

If the engine is idling at 1500 RPM, the selection of a gear is going to thump. The engine idle needs sorting, before condemning the gearbox.
The Idle Air Control Valve is normally the cause of incorrect idle speeds. This clogs up with dirt and sticks open. Cleaning it correctly will normally solve high idle issues.