Just passed 163k miles on our 2021 Defender, P300 petrol. I know the diesels suffered from timing chain issues with earlier iterations of the ingenium engines, wondering if those have been largely resolved in more recent years? I think I am starting to hear a bit of a rattle upon cold start up, but it's hard to tell. I have been pretty religious about getting the oil changed every 7k miles to help keep this baby purring.

I would also think that if the tensioner piston was fully extended that you would get a check engine light to indicate that service would be needed, but maybe not?

 

I would think that replacing the timing chain every 100k miles would be the right thing to do. With 163k miles on yours, I would personally get it done asap.

 

Usually you'll definitely know if the chains are bad. You'll get a very noticeable rattle upon startup. The DI in these things are loud, and sometimes can be mistaken for chain rattle. Have you had any other symptoms such as rough idling, misfires, or any glitter in the oil? Usually bad timing chains will throw a code, but nit until it becomes more serious.