I bought a 2003 Discovery with 130k miles today. Drove great when I test drove it. Paid for it and drove it home. About 20 miles on my drive the transmission stopped working. Rev it makes no difference it's like it is in neutral. When I tried changing gears and tried changing transfer box from neutral to low to high the M and S lights started flashing and the D light on the shifter started flashing.

If you leave the car off for a minute the transmission WILL engage and work for maybe 15 feet and then stop working. Then you leave the car off for a couple minutes and go again. That's how I got the car home.

Any ideas of what it might be? It didn't come with any service records.

 

There are four things that it could be.

Low battery voltage.
Bad XYZ switch.
Bad transmission computer.
Bad transmission.

That being said this is all assuming that you have checked the fluid level.

So, I'd start by pulling the codes to see if any are thrown, then I'd check the battery connections and use a multimeter to check alternator voltage. It could be a bad battery or alternator. If all that looks good, You start reading up on the XYZ switch, which is a pretty common problem on these trucks. I'd also probly swap the fluid just to rule it out.

This site has the workshop manual (also called the RAVE) - Land Rover Manuals

Post questions here. We'll help as much as we can.

Be aware that if you take this to a transmission shop they will sell you a transmission. That's all they are good for; every transmission shop I have dealt with has been slightly less scrupulous than the average used car salesman. You are better off with an indy Land Rover tech than a tranny shop. You're probly better off setting it on fire than going to a transmission shop.

EDIT: sitting here thinking about it, I'd check the alternator first. The whole "works for a few minutes" thing sounds like it's running on the battery to me.

 

So before I bought the car I realized someone had pulled the check engine light bulb. I tried to put my OBDII scanner on it but I couldn't find the plug and I gave up. I used a coin to open that panel under the steering column, looked, but could not find it.

So right now I don't know if the check engine light flashes. I will have another look under the panel. How would I check fluid level? I have not been able to find a dipstick.

 

OBD port is on the driver side under the panel you opened, right side.

No need to open the panel. The port is black and the panel is black so it's hard to see.

 

No dipstick.
You will need to search the forum for instructions on how to check and fill your transmission.

 

Check the RAVE for the fluid procedure, but it is kind of involved. These trucks are easy to work on, but there's one or two idiodic things about them, and the lack of a transmission dipstick is one of them.

The procedure to check the fluid seems like kind of a pain in the ***, but in practice it's not too bad. Just do it when cold and before you crank the engine, crawl under and get your game plan together.

You want to make sure there's enough, but also check the smell and color. If it smells burnt or looks dark red it's time to change fluid/filter.

Like I said, I'd start by checking the battery and alternator. They semi-regularly cause the problem you are having.

 

you have got to have 13.5 volts or better

 

First off, Welcome to the Land Rover world. I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience so soon. It looks like other members have already started you off searching in the right direction.

I would check the battery first thing. Since it drove fine form the first 20min you test drove it, it makes me think that the guy had the truck on a battery charger overnight or right before you got there to charge the battery. On the way home that old battery may have started to drain or not get charged either due to a bad battery or bad alternator. Both the battery and the alternator can be checked for free at autozone if you can make it up there. If you can't then you can take them just the battery and they can at least test that. You could always hook the battery up to a charger over night and see if drive any better.

The other possible cause I would think would be the XYZ switch. The A/C drians right onto the XYZ switch and if it is cracked the water can get inside a cause problems.

The check engine light removed is a big red flag. Prepare yourself for the worse.

Update us on the battery status and we will go from there.

 

On a 2003 the CEL is an LED, and part of a larger cluster of LEDs that are serviced as a component, I seriously doubt it was "removed."

 

Thank you for such a response guys, I really appreciate everyone taking the time out to help me!

Okay guys so one thing I've noticed the M and S lights don't actually flash when the transmission stops working. It did that once ow twice not since then. I changed the battery with a known good one that was charged up and nothing happened.

ANOTHER thing I've noticed. When the car is in D the dash doesn't show D and the light doesn't light up on the shifter. You kinda have to play with it to get it in a sweet spot for that to happen and that's the only way it will shift from low to high range.

Should I check tranny fluid next? I can't drive it to autozone for the alternator but I will take the battery I took out to autozone to have them charge it and then check the status on it.

BTW I let it sit for a day and then I started it today. It actually ran for a few minutes whereas before it would run for a few seconds (the transmission, the engine always stays running).