Looking at buying a very clean 05 LR3 SE but owner said that occasionally the truck jumps into "snow mode". Any advice on this or what is going on? Its high mileage, priced right for my taste but I am nervous about this one item. Appreciate anyone that may have had this issue before and what its about. Thanks!

 

....been on this forum over a decade and I've not heard of that one!

I'd guess it's the (Terrain Response) rotary **** or related wiring, but key word is "guess" in that sentence.

 

Two ways of looking at this: initially, I'd have said walk on by. Unless you can get the fault codes read you don't want to be buying a vehicle with unknown known issues. For example, if you have little experience of these, suspension issues can drive you insane. I have never heard either of a vehicle 'jumping into snow mode' - agree it sounds like HDC fault and wonder if the seller means restricted performance. You'd wise to factor in the cost of buying an IID tool as your very first expense if you don't have one. I don't know what they cost in the US but probably around $500.

Another way of looking at this is that if the vehicle is really clean, it could be that the owner is very honest and this is an intermittent issue you can live with as you get to know the car. It's better to buy knowing all the faults than buy blind and this might be the only fault.

If you think the seller is completely genuine, and the price is right, it could be worth a punt. I'd strongly recommend getting the fault codes read first, however. Maybe someone near you has an IID tool or similar.

Alternatively, you could wait and buy from a forum member assuming they come up here from time to time.

 

Nobody said "HDC" anything from what I saw.

 

Apologies. Mind elsewhere.

It could of course be any number of things but I was attempting to agree with your initial comment.

 

I see.

I don't see this as being a big problem if the price is right, as long as the vehicle can easily be put back into normal mode.

....now jumping into "Rock Crawl" on the other hand.