Hi All - been reading the forum the last two weeks and i have purchased a 2019 Land Rover Discovery 5 HSE Luxury v6 diesel (I believe that is 254 horsepower).

Car has a clean carfax and just under 25,000 miles on it. Initially in my research I kept coming across people who said they preferred the diesel over the turbocharged v6 (340 horsepower) engine that takes regular gas. Additionally we would be using this car to take long road trips (which is not always but when we do this would be our bigger car that can allow us to do so).

my concern is I just spoke with a different Land Rover service person who told me that unofficially she would not recommend getting the diesel because I live down state in NY (on Long Island) and the stop and go traffic is going to cause a lot of carbon build up that is not covered by any extended warranty (even land rovers) and it’s going to lead to other very costly expenses and issues (catalytic converter etc).

She said you are going to have to “beat on the car” 30 minutes every week otherwise you will have these big issues.

my question to you all is: is this your experience ? Yes, I do live in a town (like everyone else) and yes sometimes it might be more convenient to grab this car to run to a local store or drive 15 min away on local streets (some stop and go) to visit family. I will be driving on the highway but when I do I won’t be driving like an animal just to beat on the car.

will I have serious problems even with maintenance? Please let me know if this can work out or if I am in a bad situation getting this car with the diesel engine.

thank you,
joeyz101

 

Don't. When you scroll through this Disco 5 discussion the Diesel represents a hugely disproportionate rate of problems compared to their production percentage in the USA. I am a loyal LR person. LR3 x 2, LR4 x 2, 2019 Disco 5 Diesel, 2021 Jaguar F Pace fully loaded and now a 2022 Disco 5 R Dynamic and a 2023 Disco 5 Metro. I understand the common issues with JLR products but only the disco Diesel caused me more grief than any other vehicle. Complete crankshaft failure at 41xxx miles and 2 months left on factory warranty. Bill for repair - covered by warranty - $18000.

 

It may be too late - as I mentioned I have already purchased, just have not picked it up. Has anyone on this forum written up a definitive guide on how to maintain the v6 diesel engine as found in the 2019 disco - I’ve been taking screen shots of advice that I’ve found from some folks but wasn’t sure if there is a particular discussion on the topic that is worth saving for reference.

I am not afraid to do certain preventative maintenance myself in addition to bringing the vechicle in for service according to whatever Land Rover might officially recommend. Is it true that Land Rover warranty does NOT cover carbon build up - and if that is the case is there any way for me to do anything (besides driving the car like the service person mentioned - she said “beat it up” once a week for at least 30 min). Can I change a filter more often or can I clean anything in particular or are these parts simply beyond reach and as a result I would need to be bringing the car in constantly to guard against carbon build up (and pay out of pocket to do so).

I found this preventative maintenance online but anything anyone can share is appreciated !

 

You’ll be fine. I have 110,000 miles on my 2017 TD6 HSE with regular routine maintenance. We take ours on weekend trips that range from 30 minutes to a few hours and have never had any issues. Oil Changes are incredibly easy, would recommend purchasing an oil vacuum to perform the changes. Also fuel filter changes every other oil change. I think the factory recommended oil change interval is like 16,000 miles or something, but everyone has recommended cutting that in half and changing oil more frequently. I’d recommend using RockAuto.com as they have genuine and aftermarket parts that fit the Discovery. Don’t let the negative folks on here scare you away. There are a lot of positive experiences with the TD6, most people come to the forums to ask for help with issues. The diesel is hands down the best vehicle my family has owned and we’ve been in a lot of LR platforms over the years, never a negative experience. Enjoy the vehicle, you are going to love it!

 

IMO you would be fine I got a 2019 same year as yours and it runs amazing. I drive about 70km daily (35 each way) and the def hasn't gave me any problems and the only maintenance I do is. the following : Oil change every 8k miles (12k km) fuel filter every 2nd oil change might be pricey but worth it and air filter other than that the rest is unrelated to the engine maintenance wise I got about 100k km on mine and it is worth it. I also tow pretty often and it tows amazingly and is pretty fuel efficient. The only thing that every td6 owner is concerned about is crankshaft failures but it doesn't happen all the time.

 

Thank you @mtaylo32 and @LR disco 5 !!

what oil do each of you use ? I was reading that 5w40 is better than 5w30 and 5w50 is even better. I also came across a guy who had his DEF removed and I believe his EGR disabled. Is that allowed in the US ? Not saying I’d go that route just curious.

Also do either of you do pump in DEF cleaner ? Or is that something you can’t / shouldn’t do on your own ?

Thanks again !

Joeyz101

 

My 2018 TD6 diesel is in the shop right now because of particulate filter issues - it is supposed to do a regeneration/clean cycle every so often and it has not done that recently, even with freeway driving to clear out the system - it gave me the red light a couple of days ago and went into restricted performance mode until it got a service. Had to abort that trip. Haven't heard yet whether they will cover repair under the 8yr/80000 mile emissions warranty. I won't be getting a diesel again (in California at least). I did go out and buy a 2000 F-350 7.3 which has just a little less in the way of emissions equipment :-)

 

I like my Td6. I use renewable fuel. I do quite a bit of driving especially at the weekends, so I'm assuming that I won't have and DPF issues. My local dealer told me exactly the same thing, even though he knew my Ranger Rover 5.0L V8 engine blew a plastic crossover pipe and torched the engine at 130K miles. So for me it was either a diesel Land Rover or a Toyota. I've had a few Land Rovers so I figured I give them one last chance and got a low miles 2018 HSE Td6. I've had it about a year and a half and it's been great so far.

 

No problems so far on my 2017 D5 Td6 (53K miles). I do my own oil/oil filter changes every 8K miles and I change the fuel filter every 16K miles (the factory fuel filter change interval was originally 16K miles but was later changed to 32K miles). Beginning with the 24K oil change, I've been adding the specified concentration of "Liqui-Moly Ceratec High-Tech Ceramic Wear Protection for Engines" with every other oil change. I'm hoping that will help prevent the Td6 crankshaft failure problem.

 

102k miles on mine now. Never a breakdown. It's not been without need of repair. All things I could do myself with simple tools. No issues with engine or drivetrain.