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Home > Faults & Fixes (L663) > 25MY Defender Gearbox Engagement Delay

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Sockeye

Member Since: 15 Feb 2023
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 10

Correct.

Engaged autohold does indeed help the problem, but not everyone want to use it and convert their driving style.

Last edited by Sockeye on 21st Apr 2025 5:13am. Edited 1 time in total

20th Apr 2025 9:30pm

discobean

Member Since: 06 Jan 2025
Location: Sydney
Posts: 12

lightning wrote:
What happens if you activate the "hold" function by either double pressing the brake pedal or pressing it harder after you stop?

On mine this activates "hold" even when "auto hold" is turned off.

Then the vehicle won't move backwards or forwards until power is actually sent to the wheels whereupon it disengages.

So no rolling backwards.

Correct auto hold stops it from rolling back.. however if you keep your foot on the brake with auto hold on the car will jerk forward uncomfortably with a delay when you accelerate because the gearbox still goes into neutral.

21st Apr 2025 1:18am

essentian

Member Since: 02 Apr 2025
Location: East Mids
Posts: 29

The more troubling symptom for me is the significant delay this introduces between getting on the throttle and the car moving forward, especially at busy junctions and roundabouts. For me this is a significant safety issue and I'll be looking to reject the car if they can't resolve it.

22nd Apr 2025 9:54am

discobean

Member Since: 06 Jan 2025
Location: Sydney
Posts: 12

I'm surprised powerfuluk or some journalist has not reported this yet, would make a great story

22nd Apr 2025 10:26am

billy2shots

Member Since: 23 Oct 2024
Location: England
Posts: 43

lightning wrote:
What happens if you activate the "hold" function by either double pressing the brake pedal or pressing it harder after you stop?

On mine this activates "hold" even when "auto hold" is turned off.

Then the vehicle won't move backwards or forwards until power is actually sent to the wheels whereupon it disengages.

So no rolling backwards.

When I took my car in to JLR and took a mech out , this is exactly what he did and advised I do. He was surprised everyone doesn't drive in this manner.

It's a work around and only masking the real issue but at least it gives the box a few seconds to kick in before rolling back/forward

23rd Apr 2025 7:51am

Flinders

Member Since: 17 Feb 2024
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 81

This wouldn’t work on mine that I rejected. I picked this tip up from one of the forums for velar’s that were suffering the same fault. MY25.5 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Maximus
MY25 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Boris - REJECTED

MY18 Discovery 5 3.0ltr TD6 HSE Lux - Derek

23rd Apr 2025 9:52am

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3094

Yes the "hold" feature is definitely a work around.

l wonder how the fault crept in to production. l assume it's software related in the transmission.

Mine never had this fault but there was a delay between pressing the gas pedal and anything happening, then the vehicle would surge forward suddenly.
l had this with my Ford van (TDCi diesel) and as with my van, the issue gradually disappeared over the first few thousand miles of use.

However
l still find that the Defender is smoother and nicer to drive in "ECO" mode.

23rd Apr 2025 1:31pm

Flinders

Member Since: 17 Feb 2024
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 81

They reprogrammed the gearbox software for every gear individually which did help the rough gear changes and the surging forwarding and sudden stops but it didn’t stop the rolling back.

I was told the gearbox learns overtime how you drive and changes to your driving style. There did used to be a gearbox reset I had on my Audi but not sure if they have that on Land Rovers?

My replacement D350 is great and performs as I expect for a LR thankfully! MY25.5 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Maximus
MY25 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Boris - REJECTED

MY18 Discovery 5 3.0ltr TD6 HSE Lux - Derek

23rd Apr 2025 3:27pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3094

lt's possible to do a "gearbox parameters reset" but it's not generally recommended.

23rd Apr 2025 4:51pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3094

"My replacement D350 is great and performs as I expect for a LR thankfully! "

That's good news. Hopefully it means LR have addressed the problem on new ones.

23rd Apr 2025 4:53pm

essentian

Member Since: 02 Apr 2025
Location: East Mids
Posts: 29

Out of interest how can you determine if a car is 25 or 25.5MY, or even build date?

24th Apr 2025 9:12pm

Flinders

Member Since: 17 Feb 2024
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 81

My D350 collected 7th Sept 2024 was MY25 and my D350 collected 28th March is a MY25.5. Not sure when the dates were the change up to MY25.5? MY25.5 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Maximus
MY25 Defender 90 D350 X Dynamic HSE - Boris - REJECTED

MY18 Discovery 5 3.0ltr TD6 HSE Lux - Derek

24th Apr 2025 9:17pm

MICKOD

Member Since: 25 Apr 2025
Location: Dublin
Posts: 2

I'm also having the exact same issue with my 2025 Defender D300 here in Ireland which has been at the dealer for 8 weeks now. They have just come back to tell me this is normal for all new Diesel defenders and disco's, not sure why they needed 8 weeks to find this out as they originally agreed there was a problem.

Not only is it going in to neutral at every stop it also makes a loud noise every time it goes back into first gear. So in traffic every time you pull away this noise comes on as it engages in to first, does everyone else have this noise? Here is a video of the noise when you release the brake: https://youtube.com/shorts/lh48Yky4zQY?feature=share

I'm going to go and try to test drive some other similar models to see if they all have this issue or maybe someone here already has?

25th Apr 2025 6:01pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3094

lt sounds like they've deleted the automatic three second "hold" on releasing the brake when stationary and in "D".

Does it work if you double tap the brake pedal or press it down harder once stationary? "HOLD" should appear and l know it's a workaround but maybe that's what they expect people to do now.

Obviously you can turn on "AUTO HOLD" on the menu to avoid having to double press the brake pedal. Does that stop your Defender rolling back when doing a hill start?

25th Apr 2025 9:05pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3094

"Not only is it going in to neutral at every stop it also makes a loud noise every time it goes back into first gear. "

You mean the "thump" noise on your video? So you're saying that you come to a stop and leave it in "D" and the transmission disengages?

What happens if you turn off the stop/start. Does it make any difference?

Last edited by lightning on 26th Apr 2025 4:15pm. Edited 1 time in total

25th Apr 2025 9:11pm

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