2011 Range Rover Launch Film – Land Rover USA

 

They have quite a few other videos up as well, posted by rangeroverusa.  The channel itself only shows 4 videos but they do have 28 videos currently.  It can be difficult to find them all.  For some reason, they only list 3 or 4 of their 28 videos on their actual channel.  So you have to go in a round about way to see them all.  Not sure if this is an oversight or the way they want it?

2010-10-10T22:09:28-04:00October 10, 2010|

2011 Range Rover with Rotary Gear Selector–Emergency towing may not be that easy…

2011rr-RotaryDriveSelector

Hopefully an owner won’t have to get their new Range Rover TDV8 towed but if they do, be sure the person towing knows what they’re doing.  I first found out about this when the 2011 rotary selector was revealed.  I started looking up how the Jaguar system worked and found references to the “Emergency Park Release(EPR)” – then further searching showed how this worked on both the Jaguar XJ & XF explaining how to get the vehicle out of Park and into Neutral, until you reset it.

Here are the reasons for the EPR:

•Shift-by-Wire is now incorporated into the automatic transmission
•In the event of vehicle failure a mechanical means of selecting Neutral is now required, the EPR provides this functionality
•Failures that could result in the use of EPR:
•Transmission / Engine failure
•Electrical failure
•Recovery of vehicle -by towing
•When the EPR hand lever is operated the park pawl within the transmission will be released and will not be allowed to re-engage until the hand lever is released from its latched position.
•WHEN EPR LEVER IS PULLED VEHICLE WILL BE IN NEUTRAL AND WILL BE ABLE TO FREE WHEEL.

On the Jaguars. the EPR is located within the center console, on both the XJ & XF, you need to remove some small trim to get to it, but it’s not very hard to do.  Once that trim is removed, it’s just a matter of turning a lever.  Here’s how it’s done on an XJ:

jag-xj-epr

And here’s the XF with the trim removed – the red arrow on the left side is pointing to the EPRJaguarDriveSelector[1]

 

So anyway, I was waiting to see how Land Rover was going to handle it with the new setup – would they modify the center cubby or maybe something under the cup holders that could just pop out?

So finally the 2011 Owner’s Manual is released and it has all the instructions for using the new gear selector.  First thing I noticed are a few warnings throughout the manual but nothing on the EPR beyond this:

If your transmission is controlled with a rotary drive selector, the recovery agent
MUST activate the Emergency Park Release before towing commences.

NEUTRAL
Disconnects drive to the wheels. Use the parking brake while N is selected.
Do not use for vehicle recovery purposes.

Do not use rotary gear selector position P for vehicle recovery purposes. If your vehicle
requires recovery by towing, the recovery must be undertaken by qualified personnel. They
must activate the Emergency Park Release before towing commences. This procedure is
explained in a separate publication for service personnel.

So it gets more interesting, it appears you aren’t supposed to do this to your own vehicle.  And I guess they assume you’d be towed by Land Rover Roadside, and they should know what to do.

But I didn’t stop there, I went over to TOPIx, the Land Rover tech site and started looking around.  I found the document there and the process surprised me, and there they call it: “Emergency Park Position Release Lever”.  Now it’s possible there is a different way to do this, but from everything I’m reading you actually have to remove most of the center console trim that surrounds the transmission selector(Floor Console Upper Panel) – here you can see it with that trim removed and the EPR in blue:

rr-epr

So it does appear that you really do need qualified personnel doing this, that know how to remove the side wood trim then the floor console upper panel, possibly even a trim piece from the HVAC controls area & parking brake lever, all in at least 8 screws, before finally getting to the EPR.  Info is sparse on this, so it’s possible I’m getting something wrong, so please correct me if you’re in the know and let’s just hope no one needs to be towed!

Updated with new L322 information, 9/21/2012

Emergency Park Release System 4.4L diesel vehicles only:

The Range Rover Drive Selector is now incorporated with the automatic transmission.

  • In the event of a vehicle transmission failure a mechanical means of selecting neutral is now available, an Emergency Park      Release (EPR) provides this functionality
  • In an emergency, the EPR hand lever can be operated to release the park pawl within the transmission. The park pawl will not be allowed to re-engage until the hand lever is locked down in the closed position.
  • Actuation of the EPR requires the operator to be seated in the drivers’ seat with the foot brake applied.  Turn the locking device 90 degrees anti-clockwise and lift using the pull strap.

Check that the EPR lever locking device is in the correct locked position:

  • Remove the cup holders and the EPR lever cover by lifting upwards.

  • Make sure the EPR lever locking device is in the locked position as shown.

 

2012-09-21T17:07:38-04:00October 4, 2010|

2011MY Range Rover Product and Pricing Summary

Summary of product changes for the 2011MY Range Rover (standard features for all models):
• New Exterior Paint:
   Fuji White [replaces Alaska White]
   Baltic Blue [dark blue; replaces Buckingham Blue]
• The iPod lead has been deleted from all models as standard equipment; the iPod lead is now only available through Accessories
• The Tow Bar Receiver has been deleted from all models as standard equipment; the Tow Bar Receiver is now only available through Accessories

HSE and Supercharged model changes:
• Electronically Variable Locking Rear Differential deleted from Supercharged as standard
   equipment (after September 2010), however this feature will be available as an option
• Adaptive Front Lighting (AFS) deleted from HSE w/LUX and Supercharged as standard
  equipment
• Automatic High Beam Assist (AHBA) deleted from HSE w/LUX and Supercharged as standard equipment
• Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) deleted from HSE w/LUX and Supercharged as standard equipment
• Vision Assist Package (VAP) introduced across all trim levels as an option and includes: 
   • Adaptive Front Lighting (AFS)
   • Automatic High Beam Assist (AHBA)
   • Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
   • Surround Camera System

Autobiography model changes:
• New standard features include:
   • 1200-watt harman/kardon LOGIC7 AM/FM 6-disc CD changer with 19 speakers
   • Unique Autobiography 20" Sparkle Silver alloy wheel – Style 17
   • Rear Seat Recline including 4-way lumbar support and heated and cooled rear seats
• Vision Assist Package (VAP) including:
   • Adaptive Front Lighting (AFS)
   • Automatic High Beam Assist (AHBA)
   • Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
   • Surround Camera System

2010-08-15T16:05:00-04:00August 15, 2010|

Forget about the previous posts & exposition

It’s all but official now, the NAS market(USA) will not be seeing the Rotary Transmission Selector nor will we be seeing the Touch screen Rear Screen Entertainment(RSE) controller for 2011.

They are saying that the Rotary Selector was designed for use with the 8-speed transmission found in the new TDV8 models.  And I’m assuming we won’t see the Paddle-Shift either.  The thing I don’t get with this decision is that the US spec Range Rovers use the ZF 6HP28 transmission.  That’s the same transmission used in the Jaguar XF – the first vehicle to use the Rotary Selector system in the Jaguar/Land Rover family.  So there’s obvious compatibility at the system level and on top of that, they went to the trouble to engineer & implement the rotary selector but then not utilize it across the range.  This feels to me like they still have a surplus of BMW-era shift levers and want to run down the supply.

There was no specific reason given for the RSE Touch screen to not be sold here – my guess is that it’s just too cool, therefore the US doesn’t get it.

So instead of this:

2011RRRSEListen

We’re still stuck with this (btw – there are more buttons on the back):

Land Rover Rear Seat Entertainment Remote Control

 

Prior to Land Rover un-officially confirming this – there were signs that we weren’t going to see it.  A great ibis1 post from the RangeRovers.net web board of the official 2011 Range Rover Product & Pricing Summary, did not mention the shift paddles, rotary selector or touch screen controller for the RSE.  The official Land Rover US Media site had no specific text or pictures of the 2011 Range Rover beyond one single exterior shot and the basic press release.

I know we’re getting to the end of the line for the L322 MKIII Range Rover – and in the past these last year or so models have gotten some big changes, more bells & whistles as standard (see the ‘95 Classic, 2001 HSE 4.6), so I had though we were going to see this here.

2010-07-31T19:18:49-04:00July 31, 2010|

CNET UK tells us slightly more of the RSE Touch Screen

So we discovered and posted what I believe were the first pics online of the new Rear Seat Entertainment Touch Screen Controller yesterday – the real press who already knew about it are now starting to post.  Here’s CNET UK’s take on it with some new small bits of info

CNET UK (http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/cars/range-rover-2011-review-49306144/#):1233

A bespoke touch-sensitive remote control unit has been developed specifically for the Range Rover. The 64mm (2.5-inch) display, which uses resistive touch technology, allows you to choose video and audio sources independently for each display. It’s extremely clever, but we won’t go as far as to say it’s perfect. It doesn’t show you artist, playlist or video information and its graphical user interface takes some getting used to. We’re not complaining though — it beats the hell out of standard rear-seat remotes, so well done Land Rover.

2010-07-22T01:35:40-04:00July 22, 2010|
Go to Top