I owned a 2009 BMW 335D before, so I am familiar with key FOB cars, but this is my first Land Rover, a 2012 LR2 3.2 I picked up a couple of months ago with about 54k miles.

Well, since it now has about 58k miles on it, I started my first oil change yesterday. So I was sitting in it running the engine for 4 minutes (to liquefy the oil) and it was a nice day in California, so I opened the front windows.

The plan was to let the oil drain into the pan over night (I suck it out the dipstick tube) because I have noticed it seems to take a while before I can properly read the oil level on the dipstick (which can be pretty hard with new clean oil).

So I extract as much oil as I can and change the filter, leaving it sitting over night. I take the dog out for a late pee around 23:00 and I notice I forgot to close the front windows.

I get the key FOB, hit unlock, open the door and tried to actuate the windows -- nothing. I sit in the drivers seat, close the door, try again -- nothing. I put the key FOB into the ignition and the radio comes on, but still no response from the windows. Next step is to start the engine, right? Well, I caught myself before that and realized there was no oil in it. So now I decided to complete my oil change and close the f#$&ing windows..... Once I started the car, I was able to close the windows.

I guess I could have tried to start the car without the engine by not placing my foot on the brake but, with no oil in the engine, that is getting a little too close to engine destruction for my comfort.

It is just weird behavior to me. In my old 2009 335D, once I hit the unlock button, all the accessories like the windows started working.

 

No. Next step assumes you have read the owner's manual to understand that the windows will not actuate just because you put the fob into the slot. You have to press and hold the start button WITHOUT touching the brake pedal to start all the electrics (same as turning a regular ignition key to ACC), and then you can actuate the windows without having to start the engine. Press the button again to turn everything off, take out the FOB and you're done.

RTFM, dude. This ain't no BMW.

 

Yes. No doubt, I am sure Land Rover warns users of poor design decisions in the manual. Personally, I would prefer better design decisions and a shorter manual.

I really don't want to go near the "Start/Stop" button with no oil in the engine. I don't even want to be forced to put the FOB in the ignition (BMW allows full use of electric windows after you press the unlock button). The closer I come to starting the car, the easier it is to make a mistake.

Sure, it's not a BMW, but that and good manual writing is not an excuse for bad design -- when I put the FOB in, the radio started working, but not the windows. Why is that? It seems like there may be situations where opening or closing the windows, maybe you are taking a nap and you wake up and are being attacked by a wild animal outside your door, where opening or closing the windows is a bit more important than cranking your tunes.

 

So sell it. <shrug> It is what it is. You won't get the same 4x4 performance with that RWD, though. If you wake up with that wild animal growling at you from outside the car, you'll want to get away faster than you can roll up your windows.

 

The LR2 is a battery hawg..............If you press the start/stop for 2 seconds without touching the brake it powers up all of the many ECU modules without firing the engine. My advice? Don't leave the windows down when doing the oil change overnight in future. You should also read the manual.............twice !

 

When changing the oil on any of my cars, I start by placing a pre-made card on my dash that says "DO NOT START - NEEDS OIL". This saves me or anyone else from making a tragic mistake. I saw this simple tip on a Youtube video.

 

LOL! That's what we used to do in the Marines when working on our aircraft. "Do not fly, engines in maintenance shop!"