New Defender News

[DieselRanger]

Just out of curiosity? Anyone ever work at a car dealership? Those new cars are bagged from the moment they are driven off the truck by everyone who test drives them.

Not buying the break in thing. I'm sure lots of people have taken their brand spankin new Rovers off road to play with their new toy and not broken it. I think TFL just got a lemon.

I agree with this issue not necessarily being break-in related - more like "infant mortality" and based on the fact that it doesn't seem many other reviewers / owners / posters are having *this exact problem,* one may chalk this up to typical first-model-year teething.

But unless they run these engines attached to the drivetrains on a stand under load for many hours, there's definitely still break-in required in any reciprocatingand/or rotating mechanical system. Not following break-in procedures may shorten the life of the engine but generally should not result in a hard break unless you seriously abuse them right off the showroom floor. I wonder if the Bond cars were broken in before they jumped them?

That's rhetorical. No, no they were not.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

Not buying the break in thing. I'm sure lots of people have taken their brand spankin new Rovers off road to play with their new toy and not broken it. I think TFL just got a lemon.

I think a break-in period is important on any engine and mechanical system, but I'm with you on this one. From what I've always understood, a break-in is more about the longevity of an engine -- i.e a properly broken-in engine will give 300k miles, whereas one that was thrashed might only give 225k -- not about avoiding catastrophic failure within the first few hundred miles. Most people don't bother reading their manual, let alone honouring the break-in period spec'd within, and it doesn't look like TFL did anything extreme that would have had them red-lining the engine or anything.

@Carson G's theory about the cylinders might still apply though -- that actually makes a lot of sense to me. But it's more likely that this is a manufacturing problem, not a user error/misuse case.

 

[roving1]

Wow. All this rationalizing about issues and whether break in was followed or operating at 10,000 feet did it. Modern cars are more than capable of operating at whatever parameters the engineers want for pretty much any reason. The notion that plodding around off road or zinging around the highway broke it are just sad and silly.

If the thing is made of glass and one needs to wait for the magic pixies to come live in the engine before operating it under x and y conditions then all of that can be accounted for in the engine management with ease.

None of the engineering or durability testing is done with with any other assumption then the customer is going to buy the vehicle and potentially do whatever the hell they want with it from the first mile/KM.

Without data logging the hell out of it and having the core responsible team pour over the data things like this are just as often phantom software/canbus BS issues and may not even be a real problem. But this is the stuff you are supposed to do in development and not with consumer beta testers.

Real mechanical problem or not TFL taking it off-roading in the mountains has zero to do with anything.

 

[Carson G]

Wow. All this rationalizing about issues and whether break in was followed or operating at 10,000 feet did it. Modern cars are more than capable of operating at whatever parameters the engineers want for pretty much any reason. The notion that plodding around off road or zinging around the highway broke it are just sad and silly.

If the thing is made of glass and one needs to wait for the magic pixies to come live in the engine before operating it under x and y conditions then all of that can be accounted for in the engine management with ease.

None of the engineering or durability testing is done with with any other assumption then the customer is going to buy the vehicle and potentially do whatever the hell they want with it from the first mile/KM.

Without data logging the hell out of it and having the core responsible team pour over the data things like this are just as often phantom software/canbus BS issues and may not even be a real problem. But this is the stuff you are supposed to do in development and not with consumer beta testers.

Real mechanical problem or not TFL taking it off-roading in the mountains has zero to do with anything.

I agree. However it’s stupid easy to rule out a potential mechanical issue. I’d be worried about the skills of the techs and engineers if they haven’t figured it out yet.

 

[Christian P.]

if the problem happens to be electrical or ignition related, the break-in period arguments are irrelevant. A coil or a computer module does not need a break-in period.

 

[Corgi_express]

For what it's worth, I don't think it's particularly likely that their mechanical issues were caused by ignoring the break-in procedure, but I do think it shows a level of irresponsibility on their part, and if there was something already wrong, I think it could have exacerbated it. It's also just pretty ridiculous to go wheeling on a car when you have only a hundred miles on it... maybe wait a bit to make sure nothing is wonky before you risk getting stranded on a trail?

Either way, it's disconcerting that the techs can't figure out what is wrong, and we are all left here randomly speculating and trying to guess based on basically no info beyond a couple of videos that take ten minutes to say "we still don't know anything".

Another note: the only other serious mechanical issues I have heard about in a New Defender resulted in JLR replacing the car sooner than 21 days later, so I hope JLR has offered to do a similar thing and just had TFL decline because it makes good content for their channel.

 

[Paddler Ed]

New Defender..... of sorts....

Bowler unveils road-legal 575hp V8 Defender

Rally chassis + licensed Defender styling + JLR supercharged V8 = Bowler back in business

www.pistonheads.com

 

[Camping4045]

Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Carson G]

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph...8-defender-is-just-the-start-for-bowler/43321

 

[spikemd]

Test drove an I6 yesterday. I would prefer the 4 banger as seems less complicated. Finding one with the electronic locking rear diff and/or offroad pack has been a challenge. Building one now, will take 5 months to get here, not that I am in a huge rush.

The Defender looks much better in person than pics. The green is darker and more impressive than any pics or the build website. Interior is spartan and purposeful, which I like, but has everything you need. Of course my wife prefers the luxury appointments of her range rover. You can get them but I don't plan to spend 90k for an X. Also, unless its ordered, seems that every one imported to the US has a sunroof. I don't want one as I will be having a rack on top and don't want to break the glass.

The P400 has plenty of power and was very quiet. They didn't have a P300 for me to test drive as a few just arrived off the boat. Will head back tomorrow or Friday.

 

[soflorovers]

I can't find any info on Td6 take rate but a statement on their US website that was updated 5 days ago according to Google states they expect a 15% take rate on any model released with the Td6 engine. Some markets will have a much higher take rate - most Discoveries I've seen parked (the badge is small) are Td6's, and I'd say half of the RRS's I've seen have Td6 engines here in Colorado.

I don't see many if any EcoDiesel Cherokees but see a fair number of EcoDiesel RAM 1500s. Haven't seen any F150 PowerStrokes (basically the same block as the Td6, different crank and turbo) but I don't really look for those.

Your last sentence is actually an interesting one. I see far more diesel RRS and RR than I do diesel F150's. So strange considering the F150 is the best selling vehicle in America.

 

[spikemd]

Any thoughts on LR expedition rack vs Front Runner Slimline rack? If I ordered a new truck, I was going to get the expedition pack, but hearing about the Front Runner makes me reconsider. Lots of accessories for the FR, but I do wish it extended farther and covered the whole roof. Rolling the costs into the purchase makes it easier, but the FR is more modular. I will putting a roof top tent and awning on mine.

 

[Todd780]

Your last sentence is actually an interesting one. I see far more diesel RRS and RR than I do diesel F150's. So strange considering the F150 is the best selling vehicle in America.

Don't see a lot of diesel F150's here. But, I do believe it's only available or was in Lariat and higher trims. That could affect the take rate?

 

[soflorovers]

Any thoughts on LR expedition rack vs Front Runner Slimline rack? If I ordered a new truck, I was going to get the expedition pack, but hearing about the Front Runner makes me reconsider. Lots of accessories for the FR, but I do wish it extended farther and covered the whole roof. Rolling the costs into the purchase makes it easier, but the FR is more modular. I will putting a roof top tent and awning on mine.

I'd order the vehicle without any options and do a quick Ebay/CL search. I'm sure there will be plenty of LR Expedition racks hitting the second hand market soon

 

[TexasTJ]

Say what you will about lift rods, but damn the 110 looks so good on oversize tires.