Volvo And Land Rover Differential Problems
One thing that we pride in here at AMC, is our ability to diagnose, first understand why the problem occurred - understanding the 鈥渨hy鈥?is the key to preventing a reoccurrence, and then designing a durable solution to the problem. By durable, we mean minimally giving the service life of the replaced part, ideally longer. On teardown inspection of this rear differential, we confirmed that the bearing and race for the pinion gear had failed, and the pinion gear was nearly seized, very tight and difficult to turn by hand. The inside of the differential was a mass of shinny metal flakes from the failed bearing, and the fluid smelled severely burned. Fortunately the rest of the differential and Haldex drive system were intact and undamaged, so a proper and through cleaning, inspection and precision rebuild were in order. The concept of disassembling and rebuilding a mechanism like a Haldex differential is not common today, but here鈥檚 where Atlantic Motorcar shines.
It's a good compromise between the organic feel of wood and industrial presentation of aluminum or carbon fiber, and since it's unique, no one can say it looks like faux-anything. All the controls fall readily to hand and are easy to use, including the three HVAC knobs that sit below the navigation screen, offering a well-oiled, expensive feel when manipulated. Below those, you'll find a chintzier pair of heated seat switches and the car's optional push-button start, though there still remains an ungainly plastic panel covering the hole where the standard ignition would have been on the steering column. The DVD-based navigation system was unremarkable, which is to say it gets you to Point B no better or worse than the competition. The seven-inch touchscreen also interfaces with the Bose ten-speaker, 333-watt surround sound system. Six CDs can be inserted behind the screen, and it also tilts up a few degrees to reduce glare on sunny days. The large tach and speedo are also easy-to-read and jump out with orange-on-blue backlighting. There is a small LCD screen that sits atop the center console, but it attempts to convey more information than its real estate can comfortably handle.
The car market in western markets is far too sophisticated to buy on price alone. As my dad used to say: More haste, less speed. Korea: Having established their reputation on price, they are now trying to prove themselves on quality. I must say that they are doing a good job on that front. It's hard to make money at the bottom end of the price market and the Chinese will be there soon enough so the timing is right. It takes awhile to gain a reputation. It won't happen overnight but it will happen, as long as they keep quality as their focus. Italy: After a rough ride where the Italian (read Fiat Group) lost their way, things are looking better. Product is improving and reliability issues are being resolved. They mustn't take their eye off the ball though, as the car market of today is so competitive. An Italian style must be maintained to offer something different too. UK: The death of MGR as the last locally owned volume maker could have made the UK's inclusion redundant. However, it still has local brands with a strong identity that is uniquely British. Land Rover, Bentley and Aston Martin will consolidate but must get their average carbon emissions down, which they are all working on I'm sure. Jaguar will do well with the XF but chasing big volumes isn't where Jaguar ought to be. UK Japanese factories are all getting close to capacity with production so no problems there. I admire their sticking with a high cost country rather than 'doing a Peugeot' and going east. Overall a solid market but reaching a ceiling volume wise.
SITUATION: A 'TRANSMISSION FAULT - TRACTION REDUCED' MESSAGE MAY BE DISPLAYED ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. UPON DIAGNOSIS, DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) P1889-14 IS FOUND TO BE STORED. SITUATION: A 'TRANSMISSION FAULT - TRACTION REDUCED' MESSAGE MAY BE DISPLAYED ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. UPON DIAGNOSIS, DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) P1889-14 IS FOUND TO BE STORED. SITUATION: ONE OR MORE FO THE FOLLOWING ISSUES MAY BE EVIDENT WHEN USING THE SMART KEY: ? SMART KEY NOT FOUND' MESSAGE DISPLAYED IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER; ? ENGINE FAILS TO CRANK; ? ISSUE: LOSS OF ALL WHEEL DRIVE FUNCTIONALITY CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO OPERATE IN 2 WHEEL DRIVE ONLY. SITUATION: CONDENSATION/MIST MAY APPEAR ON THE INSIDE OF FRONT AND/OR REAR EXTERIOR LAMPS. CAUSE: CONDENSATION/MIST IS A NATURAL PHENOMENON WHICH CAN OCCUR WHEN THERE IS A TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INSIDE AND OF THE LAMP UNIT. SITUATION: THE ENGINE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) MAY BE ILLUMINATED AND DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) P008B IS STORED IN THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM).
