Land Rover Range Rover P38 (1994 - 2002) - Automatic in the mountains?

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Fri 6 Nov 2009 15:14
Automatic in the mountains? - confuseddave
Hi,

I work as a ski instructor in the winter. I've driven in the mountains a lot but I've never taken a car of my own to the mountains for the whole winter.

I was thinking of buying my brother-in-law's Range Rover. 1998, low mileage, 4.0 petrol. It's been well-maintained, so it seems like a good buy. However, somebody has put me off the idea as the car is an automatic.

He worked as a taxi driver for 20 years, and knows a fair bit about driving (well a lot more than me!!!), and said he wouldn't even consider an automatic in the mountains, as he says they are dangerous. I recall being able to have control of the gears whilst driving up steep sections is superb (would i feel so confident with an automatic?), but why dangerous?

Should I be concerned?

Edited by confuseddave on 06/11/2009 at 15:15

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Fri 6 Nov 2009 15:34
Automatic in the mountains? - Alby Back
Going uphill or on the flat it won't make a great deal of difference. Going downhill on snow or ice it would be good practice to "lock" it in a low gear. It can actually work in your favour as a sort of primitive hill descent control. Dangerous....no....different....yes.
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Fri 6 Nov 2009 16:35
Automatic in the mountains? - motorprop
as far as I know , recent Range Rovers don't have a transfer box to select ' low ' or ' lock ' etc, and they offer permanent 4wd only - hence I won't ever consider one . So braking downhill in such a heavy car will only be borne by the brakes - risk of fading / cooking

Edited by motorprop on 06/11/2009 at 16:36

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Fri 6 Nov 2009 20:19
Automatic in the mountains? - R75
Just an oldie who dosen't know any better - ask when the last time he actually drove an auto was?

That age of RR will just have a normal torque converter auto box (i would think anyway), they have D (drive) for normal driving, they may have D3 on the gear selector, which will give you all the gears up to 3rd but will not go above 3rd gear, it will also have 1 and 2. 1 is 1st gear only, it wont go above this gear, and 2 is 2nd gear only, so will start off in 2nd and will not change up or down to any other gear.

So with the above there is plenty of control on slippery surfaces, just as much as for a manual. As for brake fade, to be honest I can't ever remember suffering from this either in cars or in 44 ton of artic, maybe driving style plays a big part in this, but if you are likely to suffer from brake fade in the mountains then i would suspect your driving style would mean you are more likely to throw it off a cliff long before this would become an issue on a modern vehicle!!!

If you know the car and are happy with the price then go for it, RR's are excellent in slippery, difficult conditions!
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Fri 6 Nov 2009 23:05
Automatic in the mountains? - gordonbennet
As far as i'm aware all Range Rovers have high/low range boxes and the very latest are no different.
On the right tyres there's very little a Rangie can't tackle auto or manual once low range is elected.

My only concern would be the reliability of the vehicle, but if it's a good un and at the right price have no concerns about it's ability.
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Fri 6 Nov 2009 23:11
Automatic in the mountains? - bathtub tom
I did a car trial last Sunday. It hammered down!

The auto VW Golf put us all to shame.

The driver said it was simple, you pulled away with minimum throttle, just used enough to keep it rolling and gave it a little more when it seemed like it might come to a stop.

There weren't any downhill sections.
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Sat 7 Nov 2009 07:48
Automatic in the mountains? - Dave N
When running an old Land Rover product, the choice of gearbox is the least of your worries fella.
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Sun 28 Nov 2010 01:06
Automatic in the mountains? - transylvaniantraveller
Dont do it! I've driven autos for 20 years, no probs. I even took my ARDS RAC race licence in a 6 litre DB7 at Goodwood, where most people take their test in a manual.

Its not the gbox, its the brand. One thing is very sure about Landrover. It will definately let you down, no exceptions. 100% sure thing. I drive a p38 2.5 auto, year 2001 & right at the top of the transfagarasan highway (see topgear in Romania, the mountain section), the selector spring failed & I had to coast 26km, yes, 26km down to the bottom because the tow truck could not take the weight of my car. 6 months later, the car went into limphome mode (10/2009) & from that day to this (11/2010) the car has only had 3rd gear. Its been to 13 garages here in Romania & no one has a clue what the fault is. I changed the box, no difference. Its some kind of overheat signal coming into the ECU.

I agree wiht the positive comments. Looks lovely, but honestly, is getting stuck is a point you care about, never buy a LR. I worked at Gaydon (Aston, shared with LR) & many friends worked there. They would tell you the same. Utter rubbish, 2nd only to Rover, which changed names 10 times between 1970 & its long overdue death 30 years later. Check breakdown occurrences if you don't believe me. LR's are strictly for show, & only when you have a 2nd car close at hand. In your case, very very close if up the mountains. For cold emergencies, keep a box of matches & a gallon of fuel, & a good insurance policy that covers fire & theft as you may need to claim when you have no other use for the car.
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Sun 28 Nov 2010 10:31
Automatic in the mountains? - TheOilBurner
I worked at Gaydon (Aston, shared with LR) & many friends worked there. They would tell you the same. Utter rubbish,.

I'm sorry but that is grossly unfair. Yes LR have had perhaps more than their fair share of reliability problems, but utter rubbish? No. I happen to know a couple of people who work at Gaydon and I assure you, they are not nearly as negative as you are towards LR...

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Sun 28 Nov 2010 11:34
Automatic in the mountains? - Vitesse6

Remember the Top Gear Episode driving across the Andes? The Range Rover was the only one that survived!

A statistical sample of one dodgy vehicle is no basis for condemning the entire range.

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Sun 28 Nov 2010 14:45
Automatic in the mountains? - Westpig

I've just done a Land Rover off road driving day. All their products are auto (except the Defender). I actually drove the new Discovery, although there were Range Rovers and RR Sports on it as well. I queried the auto and the instructor advised me they make a better job of it off road, so they have them intentionally.

As i'm half heartedly thinking of buying one of their range, I asked about reliability..and apart from one that someone monstered through water too fast, they've not had any issues at all.. and all these vehicles do every day of their lives is proper off road stuff.

I realise these ones there were much more modern, but as long as you've got low box and can lock gears, then an auto older RR shouldn't be any real difference from a manual one.

When you research LR reliability, it seems to me that if you get a good one you're laughing, a bad one and you're not. I've always wondered though how much maintenance and being sensible comes into it.

A good mate's had Freelanders for years, right from when they first made them, now on his 4th or 5th. They are supposed to be 'awful' if you listen to some people, yet apart from some injectors on his previous one (sorted under warranty) they've never been a problem and living on a farm he does use them in anger, inc towing.

Edited by Westpig on 28/11/2010 at 14:45

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Sun 28 Nov 2010 15:06
Automatic in the mountains? - injection doc

"I've always wondered though how much maintenance and being sensible comes into it."

West Pig is spot on! in fact I use to work in a landrover dealership and many were very very good considering the abuse they had

Yes there were some that quality was questionable that applies to many makes of vehicles and are only as good as the people who assemble them, may be with an attitude like transylvaniantraveller he/or his friends shouldn't of been allowed to work there! was this what caused the drop in quality

as for his selector failing, well its nearly ten years old and obviously no one in his area is very competent in reparing if they still can't find out whats wrong! there again is a mix for disaster when little knowledge if more dangerous than none.

I Have an Auto landrover and the box is fine and has neen and is so perfect for long descents in the Alps even towing it keeps total control

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Sun 28 Nov 2010 15:49
Automatic in the mountains? - Collos25

Which country are these mountains in because if its Switzerland then you have to fit winter tyres which would probably cost more than the cars worth.

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Sun 28 Nov 2010 15:52
Automatic in the mountains? - Collos25

Which country are these mountains in because if its Switzerland then you have to fit winter tyres which would probably cost more than the cars worth.

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