Hi all, long time forum lurker and finally made the jump into my first LR product. Loving the vehicle so far! Only have 750 miles but so far we’ve been issue free, I’ll take it! Main options:

Eiger Grey Satin Paint - did not have to wax the car, taking that as a plus
Vintage Tan with Windsor and 14 way seats
Air Suspension and 22” Wheels - originally did not want black but gave in due to inventory. They’re growing on me!
Convenience
Cold Climate
Adaptive Cruise - coming from Volvo, Porsche and BMW … pleased with how smooth this operates

If I could tap into the advice column from experienced LR owners, does turning on access height for the air suspension accelerate wear and tear on it?

Really happy with the vehicle! Thanks for any points on the above.

 

Nice looking truck.

I see this another way. Not turning it on will accelerate wear and tear on my wife. She's short and delicate and I like her so it's on.

I don't really ​​​think it's going to cause much wear the way the system is designed. The worst thing people do is wait too long to fix even a small air leak. Those will happen no matter how you set it. Waiting turns a smaller problem into a compressor problem.

 

I love that color combination (Eiger with black wheels). We originally wanted the Black+Black combo, but ended up buying one from the dealer's stock in Eiger Grey with gloss black rims back in May of '21. We couldn't be happier.

I agree with @allegedly -- my wife is 5'2", and she wouldn't love this car nearly as much without the auto access height.

I come from an LR3, so I've had air suspension in my life for the past 11 years. You can't beat the ride quality, and the ability to raise and lower the vehicle at will. In 170,000 miles on the LR3, I've replaced most of the air struts once (all due to leaks). The original compressor is still going strong. After all of that experience, for me, air suspension on the Defender was a must.

Now, if I were more of a committed/serious offroad type, I might feel differently, since it would really suck to get stranded in the middle of nowhere because of an air strut leak. Or I might just carry a spare air strut

 

Thank you both! Agree the air suspension is a must … for ride quality and spousal assistance!

Racerpeter good to hear of your experience with the LR3. I’m inclined to turn on the access height option and not worry about the wear and tear.

 

My 2023 130 is the 1st we’ve had with air suspension. What indicators of a leak should I watch for? Lopsided? Hard hits? Will the computer tell me? Thanks!

 

When the car is on, it's harder to notice on air suspension leak because the compressor will continuously refill it. The dead giveaway would be if you park it for a day or two and notice one corner is lower than all the others.

For a few leaks I've noticed a hissing sound when I put my ear next to the wheel well, but I haven't always been able to hear the leak.

The dealer may have a way to test for leaks, but I can't comment one way or the other on that.

Watching out for low corners after being parked overnight (or longer) is the best way to tell IMO.

 

Thanks!