New Defender

AdBlue Issues – Diesel Models

The new Defender is fitted with an SCR system, SCR is a filtration system that uses Urea (AdBlue) as a catalyser to neutralize harmful Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions from the exhaust. SCR, like many emissions control technologies requires monitoring, if the system runs out of AdBlue, the car will not start until the system is topped up, but if overfilled, sensors can sometimes fail.

You may also notice you are needing to fill up with AdBlue more often. Increased consumption is sometimes linked to contamination or sensor failure. If you have noticed an uptick in your AdBlue consumption or any other unusual behavior from the SCR system, it is advised to get your vehicle booked in for diagnostics.

Diagnosing SCR System – £73.20 inc. VAT Per Hour

NOx Sensor Replacement – £610 inc. VAT

DPF Failure – Diesel Models

Diesel Defender L663 models are equipped with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). The DPF system catches all the soot emitted from the diesel combustion process and keeps it in a chamber until it can be burnt off during DPF regeneration. Regeneration occurs passively when the vehicle is run at high speeds for a sustained period (such as during a motorway journey) where the exhaust system will reach the required temperature to burn off all the soot.

If the vehicle isn’t used on long runs at motorway speeds semi-regularly, the DPF will fill up to the point that an active regeneration will need to take place, this is where extra fuel is injected into the engine to artificially raise temperatures and create the conditions required for a DPF regen. Some owners may not realise a regeneration is in process and will switch the vehicle off before the regeneration cycle is complete. If enough regeneration cycles fail, the DPF will block up causing the red DPF warning light to appear on the dash with the message “Exhaust Filter Full Visit Dealer”.

We have become very experienced with DPF issues at K Motors and have a 3 step approach for diagnosing faults. We can look for faults or force a DPF regeneration using our Autologic OBD systems or we can manually clean out the DPF and again attempt regeneration, hopefully clearing the fault. Unfortunately though, sometimes sensors can fail and these are not cheap to replace, the filter unit itself could also be beyond repair and due to the materials used in their construction, they are very expensive.

DPF Diagnostics – £73.20 inc. VAT Per Hour

Force DPF Regeneration – £110 inc. VAT

Manual DPF Clean & Regeneration – £300 inc. VAT

Replace Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) – P.O.A

To read more on DPF systems, please take a look at our article on DPF Maintenance.

Electrical Failures

The New Defender is loaded with kit and is quite the departure from the utilitarian nature of the original. Whilst it still keeps that same design philosophy and improves on the infamous off-road ability, it makes use of electrical sensors and systems to do all of this. This has made the New Defender a very complex vehicle that can suffer from various electrical failures. Commonly reported electrical faults on the Defender range from failed wireless charging pads up to failing rear lights due to a voltage spike or the vehicle completely cutting out.

Finding the source of electrical failures can either be a very simple or very complex task and there is no way to guarantee the length of time it will take to track a fault down and rectify it until it is found.

Investigate Electrical Faults – £73.20 inc. VAT Per Hour

Brake Discs and Pads

The New Defender is a very large, heavy vehicle with a lot of power, because of this, it is very heavy on brakes and can wear out a set of discs within 32,000 miles. It can wear out brake discs much faster than that too if brake pads are worn down enough to score the discs with their metal backing.

In order to avoid squealing due to poor bedding in of new pads, we recommend replacing both the brake pads and discs if there is a considerable lip on the discs. As mentioned above, scored discs will also require replacing for optimal performance.

Brake services could be performed by any garage or competent DIY’er once upon a time, but the New Defender requires the latest specialist diagnostic equipment to be able to retract the pistons so that pads can be replaced.

Replacement Pads – Front – Starting From £233 inc. VAT

Replacement Discs & Pads – Front – Starting From £635 inc. VAT

Replacement Pads – Rear – Starting From £273 inc. VAT

Replacement Discs & Pads – Rear – Starting From £561 inc. VAT

Door Lock Replacement

As with most JLR vehicles these days, the door latches on the New Defender are prone to failure. You might find that you can’t lock the vehicle or have activated the central locking but you are still able to open one of the doors. All parts of the latch mechanism are contained in a sealed unit now and will need to be replaced as one with the genuine Land Rover part.

Replace Door Latch Mechanism (Genuine LR) – P.O.A