Trio, I had a few minutes to spare while waiting for my daughter's music class to finish and I think I figured it out. To maneuver in reverse (or forward, seems to work the same) with the driver's door open, first disable Rear Traffic Braking. Don't ask me why, but it works for me. When you select Reverse, open the door and press on the gas pedal, it might ask you to re-select the Reverse gear (after warning you the door is open) to make sure you really mean it, but it will then allow you to back up. If you come to a stop and then resume backing up, you won't have to deal with the automatically set park brake anymore. Same if you select Drive instead of Reverse. Try it out to confirm, please? Rear Traffic Braking is under Settings > Vehicle > Driver Assistance > Collision Avoidance.

 

Nice !! Thank you, umbertob.

I will try it as soon as I get a chance to next drive it.

 

Thanks, @umbertob !! Definitely going to try it out.

 

Thanks umbertob!!

 

I tried to find the rear traffic braking toggle but none exists.

in fact, the settings menu is much different entirely. I suspect this is a result of me not buying any of the optional electronic gadgets.

and maybe the year 2020 has a different setup?

 

PowerfulUK/Simon has a GREAT aid to the menu tree. He created an XLS on the flow here: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?eve...Fusp%3Dsharing

And a video, here:
The doc is in the comments if that first link doesn't work. Hopefully it helps to locate it on the menu for you.

 

And I confirm his excel sheet you shared (thank you) is my settings set up.

I did not see any emergency rear braking on his, either.

 

I agree. An $80,000+ suv marketed heavily as one of the most capable off-roaders available, and they prevent you from executing very common, traditional off-road maneuvers like spotting your tire with the door open. Also, they prevent you from choosing the 6-cylinder engine AND proper 18” wheels. And even worse, if you pick up a used Defender that came with 22” wheels, you can’t even modify the rotors (cost effectively) to eventually put on 18” wheels. But you can order a 110 with Terrain Response 2, rear locker, and a built in air compressor, but it is neutered with 22” wheels.

 

@longtrip68 When it comes to the new Defender, you're better off listening to folks who actually own/drive one. Stillruns does not own, has little to zero first hand information on the vehicle, and seemingly not a fan. You can reverse with the door open.

Just reselect reverse after the first warning and return to park. A slight inconvenience at any price.

There are a few features that seem to provide folks great hassles with simple workarounds built into the vehicle. i do share your views on LR's insane rim offering.

 

A woman in the USA (although it could have happened anywhere) got out of her Range Rover and it drove over her, killing her. Not straightaway, she got up afterwards but was fatally injured.

lt looked like she wanted to get her things out of the back before parking the vehicle.

l assume she had the vehicle in "Reverse" but with "Auto Hold" and made a mistake not selecting the park brake.

The "Auto Hold" released itself after a short time. As the door was open it knocked the woman to the floor and then the front wheel went over her.

So l imagine there was a lawsuit and the vehicles are now designed to prevent this from happening.