A couple of serious issues have befallen the 2009 Land Rover Discovery 3 Tow Car! 

Thanks for watching sorry it's not the usual caliber of video but it's important for you to know what's going on behind the scenes! The limp home mode hasn't come back on yet thankfully and the handbrake I will look at next week. Apologies for the screen going smaller halfway through too that seems to of been an editing error! Busy week! Mondeo video coming next week!

I've got a brilliant idea; using a ratcheting lever in between the seats, connected to the brakes in the back (or front if you're a Citroen guy) by a cable, and, lo, a handbrake is born, operated by human, not computer, and operates when needed, not when a motor decided to do something... :P

I'd think twice before buying a new defender or anything from JLR.

Wow only DAILY FAULTS 🤔, you got a good one lol 😂, my old one had faults by the HOUR and only place it ever drove me was to DESPAIR ☹️.

So, you have a faulty Land Rover, and you're going to get a newer one for £400 a month Is that part of your new standup routine? I haven't laughed as much in ages. Great video as always 👍

“LR Time” is the channel to watch for your Discovery 3/4 problems.

All I associate with modern land rovers and range rovers are rich mothers in ankle length puffer jackets... Oh and tailgating. I hate the sight of every one of them and why does it need to be so complicated that it weighs 3 tonnes!? I look forward to the mondeo episode at least 😂

That bloody Allegro (Van den Plas, sorry) is more reliable! Sorry for your woes Ben, you're not alone with these. They are fault riddled to buggery, unfortunately.

If you like Landies get a bloody good series. They will be running for your grandchildren to enjoy. Excellent channel.

What a nightmare, had similar issues with my E46. The back plates were rotten & the shoe retaining pins pulled through causing the shoes to jam inside the drum! Also had a Passat with electric handbrake & it regularly failed. Hope you get it fixed. Great video as always Ben 👍

Hi Paul here from Australia,just finished watching the series on the panhard,that was fantastic,awesome videos,you made wheeler dealers look like amateurs,everything is real with you not made up with a big crew,keep up the fantastic work,you’ve got hooked,well done sir

Hi Ben, I had a Q7 that did exactly what you had, it was the turbo actuator, I used to switch of on just as you said lol, eventually I had to send it away to get fixed, sold that piece of crap not long after, shit heap cost me a fortune

Having had a disco 3 for 10+ years and had three handbrake assemblies, very used to the “screaming cat” sound. In their wisdom the closed unit has plastic gears for a car that is over 3 tonnes. You can manually release the handbrake by lifting the cover next to the handbrake paddle and there is a manual override cable. Easy to do. To be honest, never used the handbrake after the third unit as knew it would fail again.

I have never heard anyone use the words "new Defender" and "reliable" in the same sentence, well at least not without also using the prefix "un".

Suggest you watch LR Time for someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Hi Ben. You know what? You could do videos of your Land Rover experience and still be as entertaining as your normal stuff. Almost wet myself when the noisy handbrake actuator remained, after almost a week of playing with it! That’s roughly the point at which I’d be contemplating a gallon of petrol as the next solution, but you deadpanned it. You really should consider a standup routine. You’d be very good at it. Yes, I thought it might have been a step to ensure the handbrake is “OFF”, before building it up, but you didn’t mention it, so I suspect the actuator has the cables fully pulled and you’ve built up the brake mechanism to clear the drums in that condition. I think the Turkey noise is the motor chattering against the end stop. But I have never (and would never) worked on one of those, so I’m just talking out of my arse. Don’t rely on me. I love how they keep all the stuff that ever used to go wrong with hand brake mechanisms and add loads more stuff that’s even more likely to go wrong, and call it an upgrade! Never understood what was wrong with the ratcheting lever, myself, but they keep fiddling with it, trying to find less reliable ways of doing it. Mercedes brolly handle, anybody? Keep it up and just video whatever is going on. I doubt many of us are here to learn mechanics from you… Cheers

Its a 10+ year old Land Rover, they are held together by hope alone.

Can anyone explain to me why modern cars have electrically operated hand brakes. It seems to me to be a solution without a problem.

Loved the video 😂. Car manufacturers like to change the heads on their bolts 🔩 to stop the home mechanic doing weekend repairs. So by changing the heads the car has to go to a main dealer for service and repairs, knowing that the DIY er won't have the correct sockets.

Nissan Navara 5 year warranty. Job done mate

Make sure you get an insurance quote *before* you buy another Land Rover it Discovery. If you live around the London area there is a chance that you will not get insurance at *any* price as insurers are now refusing to insure them due to significant theft problems. Plenty of videos on RU-vid about it.

My friend has recently bought a new Defender. There was an irritating noise in the cabin so it went back under warranty. 140 JLR labour hours later they discovered a bolt loose in the engine bay. It replaced a 2012 Discovery that would go into limp mode when pushing on up hills. Like you he bought it as a tow car which it performed admirably but there was was just too much reliability annoyance.

Rippppppp OUT!! That electronic handbrake and fit an honest old fashioned linkage handbrake!!🙏🙏🇬🇧🇬🇧

Never before have we heard such disappear in your voice all thanks to a handbrake! Appreciate the content either way!

Not even the guys at R&D at JLR had these as wheels of choice i can tell you. These were built to discourage anyone other than franchised dealers even attempting a repair, mainly by parts designed to fail just after warranty and the need of special tools and software only supplied to their dealers.. Great Video

If there was a lot of heat transfer in those rear wheels then the electricity generated into the subframe could interfere with the sensitivity of the electronics in different areas, I noticed the earthing strap underneath the gearbox looked a bit crusty, great video, take care, Gareth

I think your "romantic overseas adventure" should be in the Panhard.. It's the most reliable vehicle you own that is affordable for a long run. (gas masks optional)

My long day just got better!!! excited for another Tasty video!

Hi Ben, I discovered your channel around a fortnight ago and have been in catch-up mode since then. Great content mate, highly entertaining 👍 My first car back in 1972 was an Austin A40 Farina of 1964 vintage. Bloody loved it. Keep on doing what you do and I hope to bump into you maybe at a show in the future 🤘

Egr valves the bane of every mechanics life

Just seen the backing plates. Unbelievable. Better on my untouched Riley RM.

Don’t do it the new ones are worse than the one you have🤦‍♂️👍✌️

And again a great video Ben,with good content, hope you get it sorted

I was watching a Tuber yesterday,reviewing the comments on a JLR Facebook ad..Four hundred comments,mostly negative.

It sounds like the electronic calliper motors are mullered! My mate has a 2006 Audi A8 that had warning light for handbrake on dash and electronic motors took ages to actuate but alls well afer fitting refurbed callipers.

No this is video from you as you say behind scenes, it's just as important as all the other videos . I like the disco shape and the idea of owning one but you are proving to me that I could potentially be a bad idea , at least thats not your only vehicle though . I guess if you did keep it for a long time the day could well arrive when it need body of chassis 🫨. Not sure why but when you broke your screw driver and said is everything I own broken It made me roar with laughter . Hope it stops playing up for a while at least .

I Wish You a Merry Christmas🎅 and a Happy New Year🎆 2024! 👍👍👍👍 from Sweden 🇸🇪

Oh, another thing, lest I forget. If the limp home mode returns and you can’t get a code reader to point you, consider the egr valve. Those get stuck partially open, similarly to the turbo actuator, when the engine is at operating temperature, but exercising them by doing an off/on cycle can often free them, temporarily. Might be another place to use plus gas, perhaps?

A mate of mine has his own Land Rover repair business. He says these things are the biggest heaps of junk in the road. Everything about them, engines (snap crank shafts), air suspension, electrics, brakes etc.. diesel V6 engines run on boost almost all the time which causes limp mode issues. I towed a huge Hobby caravan to Greece twice using my 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L and it never missed a beat. Simple and robust. Avoid any Land/Range Rover built after 1995.

Be interesting to see if you can actually get a new Defender for £300 a month, friend has just got a 110, it's £1000+vat a month, that's with a 10k deposit and it goes back after 3 years..... Ouch. We've just fitted mudflaps and sidesteps as the dealer wanted £1600. I appreciate that they've sold a lot of them and they are popular, but don't be fooled into thinking that they're anything like the light truck that the old Defender was. I'd work through the Discovery, hey it's more content anyway!. 👍

Another brilliant video Ben, i really enjoy your content. I wonder if the issue with your Discovery going into limp mode is the variable vanes in the turbo getting stuck, this then causes an over boost issue putting the vehicle into limp mode. My Dads discovery 4 was having the same issues. I got him to put some turbo cleaner in the fuel tank, solved the issues and was fine for the next few years. Those things are money pits though…. Keep up the great videos.

I had something similar Ben. Make sure you bleed the system thoroughly, you'll have boiled the brake fluid with the heat. Hope you get sorted bud, love your work

Land Rovers have always been unreliable, but there was a time when they were easy and inexpensive to fix. For decades now, they've been expensive, over complicated, and overated junk.

Good morning Ben. Another Fab video my Friend. I really enjoyed your detailed narration about the Land Rover Discovery 3, and it's braking system. Could be a common fault on this type of Land Rover model. What has happened to the days gone by, when you just pressed in the button on the handbrake and pulled it up a little. Now, it is all Electronic and Solonoid Technology. This is a Major money pit. The best thing just sell it and go and get that Land Rover Defender, with the 3 years warranty. It will be much cheaper, a reliable vehicle and newer. I really enjoyed your Superb video Ben. Tasty Classics does get Better and Better each time. Thank you very much Ben for sharing your video. Big Respect to you Ben. ☺☺☺☺💯💯💯👍👍👍👍🚙🚙🚙🏆🏆🏆🏆

I used to have a Jaguar x type that kept going into limp mode, especially when towing a caravan !!!! I cleaned the dpf valve and, it cured it.

I'm so sorry you're having so many problems with this Landrover Ben, I had a Renault that went into limp mode, not the best thing to happen in traffic always having to pull over and stop and start, I'm sure you'll sort everything out with your skills!! and as you know I still love Renaults haha, you're the best keep going ❤

Make sure that the hand break cable is properly attached to the flux capacitor.

I know you said in your last video the only other vehicle you'd consider would be a Toureg but surely the obvious one to get would be a Landcruiser? Big heavy tow car like the Land Rover but ten times more reliable. No brainer getting one of those buddy. Love the channel by the way, I find you really funny!

Youll need to open the hand brake module to release the cables. When the adjustment is out the motor winds up too much and locks up. Iv repaired a few of these by opening the module and freeing off the cables

wow we nearly bought a car simular to that one and lots of them seem to have issues so way stayed away from them but wow ive never seen rear brake shoes do that before

There are 137 Disco 3s and 614 Disco 4s breaking on eBay alone, I don't think I've ever seen so many of a single model at once. 😂😂

15:25 Planned obsolescence. For giggles try backing up fast and hitting the brakes.

Honestly the noise you are hearing sounds like the EPB module which is very common on discovery 3 it's a shame because they are beautiful cars

Ben, please i beg of you. Please don't get a new one. Save yourself alot of pain. Two members of my family have Range Rovers. One is 2 months old, but it's been back with the dealer loads. The other one, at best is bollocks. You know all this, really, Ben. Thanks for the channel mate.

Two of my best mates are both auto elctricians. Both have 35 years experience.They refuse to work on them now. Landrover sends there customers to them!Lol

Land rovers are getting stolen in seconds, it seems JLR don`t care and the insurance companies are going crazy with prices. I wouldn`t touch a JLR product with a ten foot pole atm!

Great video, I love the way you let's us come along for the ride 👌

Check your pipework to the turbo as a split pipe will make your vehicle going to limp home

I had a Fiat 500X which came with an electric handbrake. I didn't have a problem with it, but I did with Canbus. Lots of software issues which the dealer could not resolve, but local independent did. For example Sat Nav, and Phone stopped working, and going into Limp Mode. The problem is the manufacturers need to do software updates.

They say 98% of them that were manufactured, are still on the road, the other 2% actually made it to a garage...... ( joke, joke, alright ).

Ben about 34 mins mark I thought oh yes you destroyed the shoes but you have not replace the stripped plastic gears in the boxy thing above the spare wheel, Now as a mechanic for 30years and had 5 Landys can I send you my D3 to have the handbrake fixed after I had to angle grind through the handbrake cable to release it one time (nope the emergency pull did not work) The fix to yours is a Plastic gear set and then a calibration with the scan tool.

well I wasn't expecting a novelty sound from that handbrake! What a pain.

Hey Ben another great video from the bearded wonder 🤣👍 once you sort the cable there is an actual bed in procedure for the handbrake shoes mate. Too long to explain on text but I’m sure you Will find it online .. basically by using a procedure it lets you drive and apply the park brake on and off to a stop while driving etc . I had to do it on my disco 4 after new discs. Good luck mate

Hi Ben watching your video on your discovery hand brake issues. It sound like to me that the gears in the actuator on top of the rear chassis that drive the cables are knackered which is why it won’t latch and is coming up as operation failed. Also a lot of us who own newer Land Rover discovery and range rovers all have the gapIID tool which is pretty much the must have diagnostic tool when owning and working on these vehicles.

I’m unsure of where your based but I felt quite sorry for you and would have liked to help you out with some practical hands on assistance sorting the brakes, as far as the limp mode without warning goes, it sounds like a MAF issue, I’ve experienced similar symptoms on other vehicles, worth a look , all the best bud, enjoying your vids 👍👍👍👍

I’d sort the proper landy, perseverance wins. These do colossal miles and you wouldn’t be dropping 4k a year (plus initial deposit) renting a car that is probably worse built than what you already have

Entertaining as ever. As to buying a new one, if it is a 'business tool' that you need, reliability is key so go ahead and order one.

Just remove the shoes, fit the discs back on and drive it! Use park/gears to hold it and worry about it when you have time or trade the bloody thing in!

Another great vid. Top bloke.

Needs new backing plates, yours rusted out, big time. When they are replaced, will probably find the cause of handbrake fault.😊

I love them. They are epic however I would never buy one with money. Had them in work and we went through gearboxes and engines like cheese being put in toast

Garh! Was the old axiom goes, Land Rovers, making mechanics out of owners since 1948! Seriously though, you could always think of a Disco 4, much more reliable and a good upgrade

Lmaso…. The hand brake is a comic 😂

Electronic parking brake module is knackered

Check the handbrake cables are free.

Common issue, tend to last ten years ish. No biggy. There was new defender in fire on hard shoulder today lol

Great entertainment as always !!!! Sure does test your sanity that Land Rover. Keep them videos coming !! 👍

I'm not sure a new defender is going to be any better. It took an American RU-vid channel 3 attempts before they got one that worked. The first car lasted about 160 miles and Landover couldn't fix it.

O2 sensors common cause for engine management light on many vehicles due to heat cycles and weather exposure .

300 quid a month for a defender is crazy good id just go for one. They are amazing vehicle's. My uncle has had a discovery 4 for almost 8 years now and they have had no problems using it on the farm daily.

Touareg for towing, awesome vehicles!

Watch ignition advantages video Way back the cog in the handbrake actuator fails he shows how to fix.

I want my handbrake to make that noise it’s brilliant 😊

Merry Christmas ben

Have you considered a dual cab ute instead? Something Japanese perhaps?

A couple orderd a range rover last year £100,000 went to collect it 2 weeks ago the insurance is £38,000 fully comp they have walked away ,geoff buys cars did a vlog on it .

From personal experience, modern-day landrovers are not owner serviceable at all. Even the dealers seem baffled at times !

You need to readjust the handbrake cables in the box underneath

When you are 2 people in a car and you cross a disco. Oh nice a Land Rover Discovery, I love the way it look. The other one goes yea but they are so unreliable aren't they.

Landrovers always have bags of codes in the system its normal, usually theyre voltage related due to low battery, the noise is the handbrake module under the rear of the vehicle, dont listen to what people say about lifting the body as you really dont need to, but fiddly but its doable ! You need a decent diag to read landrovers like delphi and this era suffer from woeful turbo faults and the turbo is also a twat to change but its doable, believe it or not the range rover L322 TDv8 is an epic vehicle and extremely reliable, ask jeremy Clarkson, theyre his all time favourite!!

Excellent video mate

This is precisely why I bought a Landcruiser instead. If Landrover ever sort their reliability I’ll have one but until then…..

17:31 Try the maf sensor. My e46 cruise control doesnt work if i disconnect the maf. I think strangerover are the same

Can’t believe you mentioned the Romantic Getaway, my wife’s now moaning saying we need to go away 🙈

Personally Ben I'd stay well away from new LandRovers. I've had a series 1 Discovery and an earlyish RangeRover and they never missed a beat. This new stuff is just tat. If you want to go the reliable/economical route I'd say Hilux all day long. Great video as always mate 👍

Turbo actuator arm sticks all the time bloody pain needed to remove turbo and fit after market arm kit

You'll need the sale of the VP to pay for those brakes lol

can it be converted to a regular handbrake (i have seen this done) not on landys but other vehicles

They are a pain those disco's, i wouldn't know what to say get as a tow vehicle nowadays, probably better off with a landcruiser,wouldn't bother with a new defender at all,no one seems to rate them for reliability. Or maybe put a cummins in your f250 and just use that,would certainly be more reliable.

Why dont you consider getting an older model land rover or early v8 range rover , something proven reliable and maintainable with carburetors your more than capable of doing any work and it would make for a great series of videos with a big fan base that will watch