I have a 96 Land Rover Discovery. The other day I started it up and when I got on the freeway the rpms go up but it won't go into the last gear. you can hear the engine want to click in but it wont and it ends up downshifting. Anyone know what it could be? I checked the spark plugs and the wires and theyre good. Also had my fuel filter replaced about 4 months ago. Tranny fluid is fine also. Please get back to me ASAP thx!

 

Any codes? The first thing to check would be the tranny fluid but, you said its good so ......

 

Not sure about the D1s but on the D2, the transmission won't shift into overdrive until the coolant temperature comes up to normal. First thing to do is stop by Autozone and have the OBD codes read to see if anything shows up.

If the system thinks the coolant temperature is not sufficient to engage overdrive, then there are several possible causes in 2 categories: Either it's a sensor problem or the coolant actually isn't coming up to temperature. If it's a sensor problem, then the fault codes would probably indicate this. If the coolant isn't coming up to temperature, then the thermostat could be stuck open.

Or...it could be something else entirely. In any case, get the codes read and stop back to let us know what they are.

Dave

 

Sounds stupid, but...are you SURE you are in "D" and not "3"? The shifter linkage can stretch over time and even though it says "D" it is actually in "3".
So next time on the highway and it doesnt shift nudge the shifter towards "N" and see if it up-shifts to fourth gear.

 

Very true spike, sometimes if I pull the shifter to fast it will say R but actaully be in N. All I have to do it put it back in park and pull it slower. Works everytime. But that may not even be your problem, but it does happen.