really hoping to take delivery of my l663 in the coming week or two, and wondered if there was anything neat to learn before going in! this will be my fifth land rover, so i'm not new to the brand, or it's idiosyncrasies. specific to the truck, what do you wish someone had told you when you first got it?

 

Congrats. I'd say a couple things

1) Get mudflaps (or barring that the side steps) because on a 110 there will be rock chips in less than 10K miles all over your rear doors (can google this), the front tire kicks up grit which then acts like an abrasive all over the rear doors. Very disappointing -- but this happens on Porsche's / other high performance cars -- many of which have small areas of paint protection film from the factory in this area. I've actually just put mudflaps on mine this past weekend after noticing it on my 110. So maybe do that from new and avoid the nicks/abrasions. (Btw I'm talking about hundreds if not thousands of little nicks on each side ... not just a few). I wish I'd known this. Here's a pic of mine immediately post installation.



2) Your Defender will tell you to do the first oil change service at 20,000 miles ish and 2 years. Do it at 1 year and 10,000 miles.

+ ENJOY - that's really all I've got.

 

I wish I hadn't driven around with almost 50psi for the first few months. Air it down to light load, the ride will be so much plusher. After that just annoyances come to mind unfortunately. Great vehicle overall, really special but some of the quality control makes me shake my head. A-pillar flap, seat clickings, now both seats click, sputtered and stalled last week out of the blue when my son's phone was plug in to charge. If you've owned five LRs then you're probably expecting some of this. Me coming from Audi it doesn't sit so well. Don't get me wrong I loved my time with it and I will still consider JLR vehicles in the future but I'll be ok when I have to trade it later this year. It's like babysitting, fun for a while but then the time eventually comes when momma comes home, then you go your own way with no regrets.

 

Somebody made a thread three months or so ago on here about a scritch scritching sound coming from the doors. Somebody else recommended lubing all of the door seals, there are three major ones around the door from top to bottom. I first did it with the Honda shin Etsu grease. That helped probably 75% but there was still sound. And somebody else recommended a different type of door lube made specifically for keeping your seals wet. I bought that and used it and 100% of the sound has been gone for three months now. So satisfying. Sorry, I wish I knew the thread address.

 

Guy walks into a bar and says hey, I'm really excited, I'm finally getting a new Defender and everyone in the bar who already owns one says, "some sh*ts gonna break..."

We can do better. You're going to love this truck and it really is incredible to drive. It disables watching here but these are really worth a few minutes!



Also, you get data streaming so you can listen to Spotify, etc. without a phone data connection. Don't start on XM, their compression is dreadful and you'll think it's the truck. It's not. The audio system really opens up on other sources.

 

Don't pay over MSRP so it doesn't become standard for all things.

 

Hey Skeptical - I agree with nashvegas on the mud flaps, but here is a tip, it you are planning to add side steps, then do the mud flaps and side steps at the same time - I didn't! My mud flaps went on first which requires the side cladding to be removed, then when you install side steps, you get to remover the side cladding AND the front mud flaps! I also agree with the lower tire pressure!

One more thing - I have had my 2022 for about 9 months and I now have about 6-7 paint chips in the front of my truck from the gravel on the roads here in AZ - damn-it!. I can kick my self for being a cheap *** and not having PPF applied to the front on my Defender - I'm planning to have the chips repaired and get PPF applied soon!

Those are my tips. I have the NewDefenterParts.com color matched tire cover and side steps - love them both! I also sucked up and purchased the factory rubber mats front/rear/cargo and like them very much. Good luck with your new Defender!
DG

 

Use Brake Hold because it's great but it's hell when the brakes are cold and you're trying to inch forward or backward in a garage or a tight parking spot..

When you find yourself in a situation like that, pull the parking brake release while your foot's on the brake pedal and that releases brake hold without having to use gas to do it.

 

Are rock chips on the back side of the truck the same issue with the 90? Do people here recommend mud flaps for the 90 also?

 

+1 on the rubber mats and liner. Ordered mine at Land Rover Darien along with mid flaps and saved around $100 from sticker on all of it.