An SUV that I miss to this day, that I previously owned, is a 2002 registered Range Rover Vogue 4.6 V8 – the last of the Land Rover Range Rover MK2 P38 models. A lovely Oxford blue with cream leather combination. I owned it for 5 years and sadly had to let it go as I couldn’t afford to keep it with owning other cars at the time.
The air suspension height could be set at three different levels via a height rocker switch on the dashboard. Standard height for normal driving, motorway mode for cruising over 50mph, high setting for wading through water and a lower access height are all selectable.
If in standard height, on reaching 50mph, the car will automatically lower to the lower height ride. The drive was smooth with a positive float effect but wallowed on harder cornering which spoilt the overall ride.
Being a Range Rover, I drove it off road on a couple of occasions on muddy courses to test what it was capable of and was duly impressed with its ability.
Back in the snowfall of the 2019 winter, with heavy snow on the roads, I managed to get to the office in Cambridgeshire with ease. My colleagues owning Tesla’s and a rear wheel drive Mercedes were reluctant to attempt the journey!
A subsequent routine commute a few months later just before Covid reminded me of the vulnerabilities of driving an older car with modern features that can go fail in time. Whilst diving home along the dual carriageway A428 Bedford Cambridge road, the height rocker switch started flashing signalling a change of ride height from motorway to access height. Why?! When the transition was complete, I felt the car was lower although it could have been psychological!
I pulled off the carriageway at my normal junction exit, around the roundabout and onto a single lane. The car starting hopping and the ride felt harder. It was driving at the lower height. The hopping effect started to sound louder and crashing noise became apparent. It suddenly felt like no suspension! I slowed down, looking for a place to pull over. After a few more roundabouts, there was a layby which I entered. I got out of the car and inspected the ride height – it was low, no spare gap between the wheel arches and the tyres. This looked like a failed air suspension. As I only had approximately another 20 minutes to get home, I decided to nurse her home instead of calling an International Rescue service.
Those last 15 miles or so driving were difficult. An advantage was that it late evening and less traffic about, but driving at around 30mph on an ‘A’ road was difficult and motorists following me felt intimidating until they get a chance to overtake.
I could not put the hazards on as that was not appropriate or legal at that speed, but a quick blip of the left indicator on clear sections of the road ahead seemed to help followers check for an overtake and proceed if they wanted.
I subsequently phoned around for prices for the analysis and fix for the suspension but was too prohibitive. I therefore fixed the comprehensive air suspension myself over the following months by sourcing calibration software runnable on a PC connected to the car’s OBDII port. I tested the ECU, removed the valve block, replaced the O rings, and replaced the air compressor.
It was an education and took some hours but rewarding when all working. Some owners have converted the to springs replacing the complex air system, but at the time I enjoyed the challenge. Obviously later models have a more complex set-up deploying more electronics and sensors. Specialist software is now required for these, but luckily my P38 was fixable with a bit of time and patience. ©
