Discovery 4 shaking at high speed - fixed

Hello everyone. I'm new here - but I wanted to share this. Have a 60 plate Disco 4 which I love and is in great condition. About 6 months ago, found that on the motorway once I got up to 70 mph there was a very noticeable shaking - not from any particular spot - just the whole front of the car. Had to slow down to under 50 for the shaking to stop. Getting back up to cruising speed shaking kicked in again. Did the usual cheap stuff of balancing tyres, rotating tyres etc. No joy. Replaced main prop - was likely due on next service anyway and also front wheel bearings which were getting tired. No joy. Finally had a clue when service garage noticed passenger side bonnet latch was not secure. Did a couple of test drives on the motorway with the bonnet duct taped down all the way round - no shakes ! Garage removed and cleaned up / greased all of the bonnet latch hardware and problem solved ! Did a 80 mile test drive today and no shakes. Happy haven't spent a huge amount going after the cause - but want to share this in case others have the same thing. The shaking was severe when it happened. I would not have guessed it was the bonnet.

Lucky the bu gger didn't fly up!
Was passenger, as a kid, in a Series 1 once when the bonnet flew up, one of the catches had given way.
Weren't going too fast (evidently, in a Series 1), and were on an A road where we could stop. But the idea of doing it at 80 mph is not funny.
So, even though I haven't go a D4, well done for telling us all!!!
Cheers.

You're right - that would have been a 'mare ! What I was amazed at was how violent the shaking was. It felt like the car was shaking itself to bits ! The initial thought was it was going to be wheels / tyres etc. or something more sinister i.e. expensive. However, my gut feeling was that the speed at which it happened did vary and it felt like it was more "aerodynamic" in nature than anything to do with propulsion. I did actually take out the bonnet baffle at one point to see what effect that had (none) but was somewhat on the right trail. I suppose the bonnet is a big hunk of metal and once it got loose and was "flapping" there's a lot of energy being shifted into the car body - especially if it was resonating. The strange this was it wasn't something that was obvious from sitting in the driving position ???

Other common cause of the shakes is the handbrake needs a service, or rear calpers on their way to seizing solid.

Hi all!
I did experience the same shaking problems in my D4 at various speeds. At the beginning, when it occured, it was at speed on the highway, and a strong braking did solve the problem. Thereafter, I realized that braking was not necessary, only reducing speed did solve, or sometimes it disappeared spontaneously! I went to my LR dealer, but unfortunately, it did not occur during our test drive, and the only thing that was done was the wheels re-equilibration... Which did not solve anything! After reading your post, I went back to the bonnet : it was a bit loose at the passenger side!!! Cleaned, lubricated, refitted taking care to avoid free play... Solved!

Thanks!

Best regards.
Luc

I had the same issue as well! Checked and the bonnet was a bit loose. Adjusted everything so it clamps down nice and tight and that seems to have solved it! Many thanks

Countryfolk28 said:

I had the same issue as well! Checked and the bonnet was a bit loose. Adjusted everything so it clamps down nice and tight and that seems to have solved it! Many thanks

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Hello everyone, brand new here, first time LR owner (discounting a short time in Nepal).

I seem to have exactly the same problem but would be grateful if someone could tell me how to adjust the bonnet to make sure it latches tightly? I’ve screwed in the rubber plugs on the bonnet but am unsure how I can adjust the latches? They don’t seem to have much play.

My thanks in advance.