Hi, I’ve recently bought a 2010 3.0, it’s the first automatic vehicle I’ve owned so I’m not exactly sure how they are meant to feel but after driving it for a couple weeks it feels like the clutch is slipping during the first half mile of driving. I’ve also noticed that if I lift off the throttle fully the revs will fall to idle as if it’s dropping out of gear, if I touch the throttle it picks up the gear again. It feels like the two are related as both only occur during the first half mile of driving sometimes a little more. I’m not sure if a simple gearbox flush would cure this, has anybody had this occur to them? Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm not sure if I am misunderstanding your problem but with an automatic whenever you take your foot off the throttle you can expect the revs to drop and then pick back up again when you re-engage the throttle. I'd be more worried about it as you say it only occurs within the first half mile of driving. To put it in perspective, if I start up and drive down my nearby bypass - a gentle downhill - then with no throttle I get a reading of about 800-900 rpm. Once the car is warmed up if I do the same journey the revs drop to about 1200 rpm with no throttle engaged. Hope this helps but I fear that I may have misunderstood the problem. Robin
2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8
Gone:
Jaguar S-Type V8 4.2 Sport
MGZTT 190 2.5

Thanks for your reply. Yes on a very gentle downhill slope when cold the revs will drop to 800-900 with no throttle applied and when warm they will drop to 1300-1400, and during the same time when cold it feels like the clutch slips slightly. It’s the first automatic vehicle I’ve owned so I was unsure if this is normal behaviour for an automatic gearbox.

From what you describe that sounds normal for an automatic. If when you floor it the revs go up and it accelerates fast then I would say everything is OK. If in doubt, you could always pop back to the garage you bought it from and just check (assuming you did buy from a garage) and then at least of something bad does materialise, you have at least flagged it with them early. Robin
2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8
Gone:
Jaguar S-Type V8 4.2 Sport
MGZTT 190 2.5

It's normal for these modern auto's to " if I lift off the throttle fully the revs will fall to idle"
It's for fuel economy

Hi,
you may find when its cold and you gentle accelerate up a slope you need to push the pedal down a bit more as well, thinking "come on get going"

every thing is just cold and oil a bit more viscous

You mention a Simple gearbox flush

there are a few different ways to do an oil change in the gearbox, some replace all the oil (in box and TC) full flush or transfusion, just dropping the oil replaces about 1/3rd of the oil and removing the sump pan and replace filter as well you can replace most of the oil then
(my plan for our old 2010 was drop the oil 3 or 4 times over time/services you still never do a complete change and get new oil and I sold the car after the first change )

 Porsche Cayenne 2022
gone Porsche Cayenne 2020
gone Corris Grey HSE Dynamic 2016
gone Ipanema HSE lux 2010
gone Rimini HSE 2005
!!

Adding to Riverblanche's thoughts, I have a concurrent thread regarding my transmission issues, and I am now booked in with my Indie for a "Powerflush" which requires specialist equipment and is designed (I believe) to clean out most of the oil and crud. I seem to recall that the perceived wisdom is that it should be done at around the 70,000 mile mark. Robin
2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8
Gone:
Jaguar S-Type V8 4.2 Sport
MGZTT 190 2.5

Thanks for all the replies, I feel a bit more at ease regarding the revs dropping but the clutch slipping does concern me, as I said I’m new to automatics and not sure if it does allow more than normal clutch slip when cold to protect other parts of the drivetrain. There is no record of a gearbox flush in the service history so I’ll get it done for peace of mind. If it makes any difference I’ll report back to here. Thanks for all the responses, best wishes to you all for this Christmas.

You don’t say how many miles the car has done. It’s a 6 speed box and after 10 years it undoubtedly needs a flush. Do you know if it’s been used for towing? Good start is does it have a tow bar? Towing causes the fluid to degrade more quickly.
The symptoms you mention don’t seem extreme to me, but I have a lot of time driving automatic Land Rovers.
When cold the car does react a bit like a manual with a slipping clutch, but it’s not extreme. However, as it doesn’t have a clutch, in the same sense as a manual, it isn’t that.
Get it flushed and ask the advice of the garage doing it if it feels right. It probably does.

The 2010-2012 models are the easiest to perform a flush at home if you are a DIYer.

See the advice I posted in this thread for another member... https://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic54619.html Kev

MY2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
MY2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

Kev, did you run the vehicle and pump out a couple of litres of oil at a time and then pump same amount back in, until you had clean oil being pumped out? only I can't seem locate anyone near here that has the flushing machine and might have to have a go at it myself, just wondered how fast does it pumps the oil out, only I think I might be a bit concerned about pumping to much out at a time and running the transmission pump dry.

Already have one of these, do you think it would be suitable for pumping oil back in if it can cope with oil viscosity?




Cheers
Col

Yep, that's exactly it Col. It's easier if you have a helper so they can switch the engine on an off whilst you catch the oil.

It comes out surprisingly fast so make sure to hold on to the pipe when the engine is turned on

I recommend having a clear bit of pipe so you can monitor the colour of the oil. It's important to perform the level check at the end so you can verify the final level.

Any standard pressure sprayer will be fine. The gearbox oil is very thin, unlike engine oil. I just used a cheapie.

I did the 8 speed in the L405 a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, there is a thermostatic valve between the gearbox and cooler so I couldn't use the pressure sprayer method I ended up to doing a quadruple drain and refill instead, taking it for a good drive in between refills. Kev

MY2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
MY2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

Thanks Kev, looks like something to look forward to in the new year.

Cheers
Col