Auto Box Wont stay in Gear

Good morning all.
Apologies in advance if this has been done to death in the past .
Can I beg some advice from those with better knowledge please.

I own a 2008 Range Rover vogue Auto V8 Diesel
I have owned it since it was 2 years old and adore the vehicle with no expense spared during its life however over a period of the last 2 months I have had a weird issue begun and develloped ..

The auto box runs fine (or so it seems) however more and more I have to actually physically hold the Auto box gear shift manually into place or it seems in my laymans terms to pop out of gear, so constantly driving holding the gear shift.

All changes no issue as long as i hold the shift.. so no aparent gearbox damage.
Auto box gear shift seems tight and congested and not moving as freely as it once did, it used to click into place like a dream now there is no click or in fact any engagement recognition ..all sort of dull now.

This has developed now to the point where i am at lights etc constantly wiggling the gear shift to get it to engage ...seems about to fail or not engage at all ..

I had a local chap (ex REME Mech) suggest that its not a huge issue and is possibly a change of transfer fluid / Gearbox juice and a clean up of some cables / rods or something??? he says its all gone dry and dirty and needs some TLC...seems too easy that as it is a Rangey after all ...
seems too easy as it is a range rover after all..to be that simple would be a first lol..

can anyone give an old Veteran some easy to follow advice or tips please .

Thankfull to you all in adance.

Could it be that your XYZ switch is playing up and confusing the box?
The XYZ switch decode tells the box what it ought to be doing. The fact that a physical hand on the lever connected to the XYZ switch keeps it "sweet" makes me suspicious.

On a 2008 it'll be a ZF 6HP26 - which are prone for the cable attachment on the side of the transmission to seize and cause the symptoms listed.
Confirm it's siezed, if it is, don't waste time trying to clean it up as most of the time it's the plastic bush in the arm that has gripped the metal sleeve due to corrosion on both sides of it.
There used to be a repair kit available but it seems you need the indiviual parts
TYG000050 x 1
TYF000060 x 1pk
TZT500040 x 1
UCD500030 x 1
WYH000040 x 1

DanClarke said:

Could it be that your XYZ switch is playing up and confusing the box?
The XYZ switch decode tells the box what it ought to be doing. The fact that a physical hand on the lever connected to the XYZ switch keeps it "sweet" makes me suspicious.

Click to expand...

Morning Dan,
I have exactly the same issue as the car has only done 2 k last year it’s suffering lack of use. Is this XYZ Switch under the centre console or under the car?
Cheers Tricky

Graculus said:

On a 2008 it'll be a ZF 6HP26 - which are prone for the cable attachment on the side of the transmission to seize and cause the symptoms listed.
Confirm it's siezed, if it is, don't waste time trying to clean it up as most of the time it's the plastic bush in the arm that has gripped the metal sleeve due to corrosion on both sides of it.
There used to be a repair kit available but it seems you need the indiviual parts
TYG000050 x 1
TYF000060 x 1pk
TZT500040 x 1
UCD500030 x 1
WYH000040 x 1

Click to expand...

Morning Graculus,
As my comments to Dan, lack of use is causing some issues. I suspect the centre console will need to be lifted to reach the lever end of said cable along with crawling underneath to sort the transmission attachment. Any guidance or easy tips would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Tricky

The XYZ switch is on the side of the box, and has a bellcrank on it with an adjustable cable leading away. It is this linkage AND the condition/position of the XYZ switch internal contacts that inform the BOX ECU what state it should be in.
Mine had a reluctance to go into drive from "P" quite often. Adjustment of the mechanism and its free travel fixed all my issues.
Others have issues with dodgy wiper-switch contacts inside the XYZ switch itself.
https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/range-rover-p38-xyz-transmission-switch-attachment.259186/

DanClarke said:

The XYZ switch is on the side of the box, and has a bellcrank on it with an adjustable cable leading away. It is this linkage AND the condition/position of the XYZ switch internal contacts that inform the BOX ECU what state it should be in.
Mine had a reluctance to go into drive from "P" quite often. Adjustment of the mechanism and its free travel fixed all my issues.
Others have issues with dodgy wiper-switch contacts inside the XYZ switch itself.
https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/range-rover-p38-xyz-transmission-switch-attachment.259186/

Click to expand...

Thanks Dan, looks like I’m going to be busy tomorrow.
Cheers