Ownership Diary - LR Discovery 5 R-Dynamic HSE

Thanks chaps. Nearly 1k miles done already(!). So far averaging 30mpg +/- 1.5mpg, depending upon the skew of short or long drives during that period. On anything over 15miles, I will easily get 34mpg+.

I'm very much hoping the windscreen fix is an easy/longterm one. I've read horror stories of people needing their windscreens refitted/replaced several times during their ownership. The fact it was just one bead of water and the rest of the vehicle is dry is comforting.

In terms of insurance, yes it seems to be a big issue - primarily around the bigger cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham etc) where the cars are virtually uninsurable. I did a lot of research on this prior to buying. Firstly JLR are well aware of the issue and it's hugely damaging to them. They have rolled out a patch which has been tested and I understand it's been successful and will be rolled out further. I think it's the usual thing of perfect storm and pendulum swinging far too far in one direction (hyped also by the media) and within 6-12months things will have calmed again.

For me, it was of course a bit of a worry given I was buying in to the problem at the same time as it was all becoming "a thing". However, I think based upon my postcode, all is currently well. For comparison - I was quoted £600 for the X1 (up from £280 the previous year), the Volvo XC90 was £980, the Audi Q7 was £1,200 and I paid £1,500 for the Disco. It's uncomfortably high - I haven't paid around the £1k mark for car insurance since I was 27 driving a Honda S2000! However, the car is insured in my Wife's name as she is still earning NCB (3yrs so far) since she only arrived in the country 4yrs ago (Irish/German national). I'm sure if I hadn't got my 15yrs+ NCB locked up on the camper, I'd have managed to get that down.

The vehicle has the JLR Tracker on it and subscribed for the next couple of years. Of course, if insurance is an issue next year, I'll look at getting a Ghost immobiliser fitted also.

It is of course a bit of a worry, but we see cyclicality in everything and I'm sure it will swing back into the realms of normality over the next 12-18months.

One thing I forgot to mention was the fact I discovered a huge bolt smack bang in the middle of the front nearside tyre tread! It certainly explains why this tyre has been losing air once a week or so. Unfortunately the fronts have more treat on them than the rears so I'm hoping that it can be repaired given where it is. However, it is is a good 5mm thread on the bolt. Watch this space - these tyres are not cheap.

 

First big bill….new nsf tyre due to the bolt penetrating a section of tread which has an acoustic dampener on the inside of the tyre (evidently fitted to a lot of modern motors to aid refinement but first ive experienced of it).

Annoyingly, it it had been a few inches higher or lower, it wouldn’t have penetrated the foam and therefore been repairable.

So one new tyre = £345.60 fitted

No more punctures please…..

 

I think there's an argument for replacing the tyres with a used set of smaller wheels when the time comes.

I'm looking on eBay and seeing even the 21" rims, together with tyres, coming in well-sub £1k for a full set of decent condition, with lots of tread. Seems (again), everyone apart from me wants the big rims and smaller ones (even just 1" smaller) are unloved.

 

My Fatty's service intervals are all over the place. I'd get a service done at the main dealer with the usual message of 16k miles until the next one only to find that for every mile I travelled it would cost me about three in service time. In other words, drive 100 miles, car would take 300 off until the next service. Properly annoying.

What I discovered on another forum is that the oil is getting diluted, a well known thing, and that many owners complained that it didn't seem to matter what and how many miles were being driven, the service interval just went out the window. Last oil service at a main dealer cost me £300. Do that more than twice a year along with a main service and things can get spendy. Bear in mind that I last changed my oil at 41975 miles and the car said I had 16050 miles until the next one. 3376 miles later and I've got a warning that the next oil service is due within 1400 miles.

So now I change my own oil between main services, oil is around £85 inc post from Opie Oils and I have a gadget to suck the oil out which cost me around £130. Bit of an outlay to begin with but I'll save at least £450 a year by doing it myself. Easy to check what service is required, just turn on ignition without starting the car and scroll to Veh Info and select Next Service, all details should be there. Resetting it is a doddle and worth a youtube/google search for the Discovery as it might different to mine.

 

There’s a whole thread of nerdiness dedicated to the topic of regeneration on the FFRR forum but in essence it all relates to failed regens. Many have gadgets that tell them when they’re happening and ensure they complete a cycle to avoid the dilution.

 

I’ll take a look at the regen stuff. So far I’ve noticed a few but it’s been by virtue of the poor fuel economy.

Currently in Ireland, having come over last Friday (29th), staying with family in N County Dublin and using the car very regularly here locally as well as longer trips to the airport and seeing friends on W side of Dublin.

Car continues to impress. We got here from Cambridge on just under half a tank of diesel. We averaged 35.5mpg on the 350+mile trip over. And have regularly seen 37-40mpg on trips to Dublin. We got out after just a one stop trip to Holyhead as fresh as daisies after 4.5hrs in the saddle. So comfortable!



Trip hasn’t been without issues:

- at Holyhead the dock staff questioned me over a dodgy looking bumper (this was security looking for explosives). Interestingly I’d never noticed the fact the nearside front appears to have taken an impact at some point and bumper is not properly fitted. Thankfully, looking back at the photos from collection, it was the same so I can prove it’s nothing to do with me;


- the starter button intermittently fails to engage.
I thought it was just me imagining it but my wife mentioned the same today. Sometimes it takes two, even three presses to start or turn ignition on or off;
- the heater control for the drivers side: you pull it to adjust the fan speed. When pulling it, the face of the dial comes away!

So all these things have been noted to Rockar JLR from whom I bought it. I’m speaking with them Monday to book it in since the roof bars to be retrofitted and new replacement trim for the centre console is now in stock and ready to go on.

Amazingly, in spite of all of these niggles/quality issues, we are so in love with the car. All of my wife’s friends and family love it since seeing it over here, my Brother in Law is now seriously considering a new Rangey Sport after poking around ours yesterday and the ride, drive and comfort are supreme. It’s rapidly getting even further under our skin.

As a side note - we’re now 2,100miles into ownership. Average fuel economy over that time is 30.1mpg. Can’t knock that for a 2,300kg vehicle.

 

So it was only a matter of time before the true JLR ownership proposition kicked in.

Just before we went away for half-term break, I noticed a bead of water creeping down the inside of the windscreen in front of the driver. This seemed to worsen on acceleration (presume there's chassis flex which is opening up a gap in sealant). Made a mental note to get on to JLR upon return from holidays.

We came back on a cold evening on Saturday to find the inside of the Disco completely full of condensation in the front. I had a quick poke around and the drivers side footwell is pretty damp. I presume that water is ingressing from the windscreen, behind the binnacle and down into the footwell. I've put some dehumifidying bags in there for the moment but will get on to the dealer later today to get it booked in.

Then came a new set of tyres a fortnight ago. I had one replaced due to a puncture, but was trying to eeek out the remaining ones. Unfortunately, a few twitchy moments on the way to school in damp/cold mornings made me realise that wasn't going to happen. That and the fact that the tread was down to the wear blocks didn't help either.

It seems quite difficult to get these tyres in and I was limited to ATS Euromaster in Saffron Walden. They did a grand job but relieved me of £1,270 in the process....for three tyres!

Otherwise, we're doing very well us and the car. 4k miles up already! Slightly skewed by a trip to Dublin at Christmas and now also all the additional school runs for my daughter now she is living with us fulltime (extra 120 per week). We also had family over from Ireland pre-half term and the car was put to good use as a 7-seater and proved invaluable for shipping everyone around the various local and further afield trips.

Only 6wks to go now until it's fully utilised with new baby on board as a family of 5 - need to get the issues fixed very soon indeed!