British SUV manufacturer Land Rover is recalling nearly 3,500 of its Evoque and Discovery Sport models to fix faulty connections in the transmission's wiring harness.
In some 2015 Disco Sport and 2014 and 2015 Evoque models, improperly crimped wires in the harness could prompt the transmission to shift into neutral without warning. The resulting loss of drive would present an obvious hazard, particularly in heavy traffic.
This is the same problem for which Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recalled more than 35,000 vehicles in July; those Jeep, Chrysler and Ram models use the same nine-speed transmission, built by German manufacturer ZF, responsible for this Land Rover recall. When that FCA recall was announced, the company hadn't yet come up with a fix, but Land Rover is instructing its service departments to update the transmission control software so that it will initiate a "limp home" mode when the problem is detected.
Our next question is why there's no mention of actually fixing the faulty wiring that is the source of the problem. Limp home mode allows the vehicle to be driven, but usually locks the transmission in one forward gear and limits vehicle speed; it also presents its own hazard, because if the gearbox goes into limp mode at highway speeds, the sudden downshift is certain to startle the driver and can compromise vehicle handling in slippery conditions. We've reached out to Land Rover Canada on that point, and we'll update this if we learn anything more.
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