Hello everyone I’ve just bought a 2004 Range Rover td6 that goes into trans fail safe when you reach about 55mph my plan is to fix this myself and assuming the obvious that it’s the box but I’m wondering what else is worth a try before removing the box or how can I be certain it is the box thank you

How long have you owned and could the problem have been hidden from you when you bought it?
If you've got access to diagnostics also to help gather more info before moving on from there. These early l322's as you know are prone to gearbox failure.
Dropping the gearbox sump and checking for metal sparkles would help you make an Informed decision.

thanks for the reply only had it a few weeks I bought it like this the fault wasn’t hidden. for the diagnostic is there a good diagnostic machine I can buy or is it best to take it to a garage?

These are very particular about diagnostics, we've got some bods on here that have specific diag for there earlier models. Hopefully someone can give you that info.

Landy12345 said:

thanks for the reply only had it a few weeks I bought it like this the fault wasn’t hidden. for the diagnostic is there a good diagnostic machine I can buy or is it best to take it to a garage?

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It will cost you a fortune if you take it to a garage every time it needs diagnostics which is likely to be often. Diagnostic kit is essential with a Range Rover.

Which kit would be best?

Foxwell are good, we have the NT 530 which is fairly comprehensive but needs a while to understand. THe trans warning issue is common, it can be caused by many things from the simple to the catastrophic! Sometimes it can be just a digital glitch....next up would be the solenoid which is prone...finally as suggested drop the sump and see if anything is sparkling in it! FIRST as Datatek always says do a thorough diagnostics check. Our used to periodically go into trans safe mode....using the Foxwell we cleared the codes and now it goes 'tranny' once a month or so...I could change the solenoid but will wait until we do the old girl's next full service. In the short term, try driving a little while in low ratio, you will notice you can easily exceed the rpm which used to trigger the trans mode, then go back to 'normal'. After that try driving a while in sport mode, again you can see that it is easily possible to go past the failure default which shows you are dealing with an electrical issue rather than the box itself, and finally IF the trans error only comes up once in a while, just pull in when it is safe to do so, turn the engine off, wait a couple of minutes and off you go! Of course I don't know the state of the box in your rr but it will be the dreaded GM 5 speed most likely and they are pigs to work on and best left alone apart from doing a gearbox fluid change every 50-80,000 miles.....I should know we have exactly the same box! Hope this helps

A laptop and Bmw inpa will speak to your range rover, and you'll need pa soft scanner 1.4.0 for abs,

Thanks for the replies I’ve just ordered the foxwell nt530 will be arriving in a couple of days I’ll let you know what comes up and I will go through your list and see how it drives in low and sport mode

How many miles has it done?
They are renowned for needing a rebuild from around 80k

It’s on 120000

little update
Took it out for a quick drive today transfail safe turned on as soon as I picked up the speed
But turned it off and back on then had a go in low ratio which worked fine same again in sport mode then manual mode had a go in every gear and it worked perfectly I put it back in normal mode and trans fail didn’t come back on probably haven’t drove it enough to confirm if the problems solved

If the gearbox was knackered would it slip out of certain gears in manual mode?

It could possibly be a torque converter lock-up clutch issue as this follows a different map depending on the range, manual/sports mode, etc. Best wait for the fault codes and then take it from there, I think.

Phil

It is good that it is working in low ratio and in sport mode, hopefully at worst you will need to replace the solenoid (can be found on e-spray for around £50) Once you receive your Foxwell you should be able to clear the error code and be fine...for a while, but the failsafe mode may return once or twice again, after that you may should be fine. Would suggest changing the solenoid first if the problem persisits, then go for the potentially more expensive other solutions. DO NOT take it to a 'main agent' who will more than likely fleece you, many of them have conveniently forgotten how to work on 2004 3.0's or have little or no working knowledge of the older models.