Are they really this bad? (Software, electrical gremlins...)

[Bluesurf]

The gremlin's are very real. Recently I'm getting tones from the dash without any lights or explanations. Very frustrating and aggravating. I wish INEOS could fix all this stuff.

 

[Commodore]

So my intended use is for overland trips/expeditions of up to a month or two, in Morocco/Africa, remote parts of Eastern Europe etc.

My wife and I need a vehicle that is comfortable to drive very long distances but also extremely dependable and capable off road.

I've owned several old Defenders before, and a couple of Land Cruisers, and am very capable mechanically. However, I'm not good with electrics and besides, any vehicle that either needs sophisticated diagnostic software and a laptop to fix, or worse, must be returned to a dealer to be fixed, is not something I'm willing to risk when stuck in the middle of the Sahara desert, or miles from anywhere in a remote area.

A modern defender has 3x the electronics so take that off the list and from person experience I wouldn’t call it reliable. Really you are left with a Land Cruiser. A 70 series isn’t going to offer the long range comfort you likely want. Maybe a 300 series with some mods to make it more off road capable. Of course it’s also a very complex truck. Buy a professional grade scanner so you can diagnose any issues yourself.

When you start digging into the nuts and bolts of the modern truck dilemma, you realize that the Grenadier is a good value prop. The two biggest issues are a closed off diagnostic system and sparse dealer support. Both of which I expect to be solved in time.

 

[Brandtnm]

I have 23000 ish miles and the only electrical issues I had was a defective ABS sensor that died in a river crossing. Everything works like it should, HVAC included…Y2K (we asked for a retro truck) service reminder software notwithstanding

 

[ryket]

So my intended use is for overland trips/expeditions of up to a month or two, in Morocco/Africa, remote parts of Eastern Europe etc.

My wife and I need a vehicle that is comfortable to drive very long distances but also extremely dependable and capable off road.

I've owned several old Defenders before, and a couple of Land Cruisers, and am very capable mechanically. However, I'm not good with electrics and besides, any vehicle that either needs sophisticated diagnostic software and a laptop to fix, or worse, must be returned to a dealer to be fixed, is not something I'm willing to risk when stuck in the middle of the Sahara desert, or miles from anywhere in a remote area.

Keep in mind that the software issues in that thread are just annoyances. Apart from the fuel gauge issue (which is stupid but not a big problem once you get used to it), none of those things are going to stop the car from moving. I've never noticed battery drain in mine but all modern cars will have "intelligent" charging programs and will leave electronic modules on when the door is open etc.

That doesn't mean the IG is the right vehicle for your trip, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor.

 

[C-Mack]

Maybe others have experienced this but yesterday I drove into town about 10 miles parked the Grenadier for about 1 hour. Came back out after running my errands, and after I started the vehicle and the righthand side of the center console display (radio, settings, off-road, etc…) did not boot and the screen was blank.

I turned off vehicle waited for about 30 seconds then turned ignition to on position. I waited for center display to load and got the same result right side was still blank. I then pressed and held the mute button for several seconds with the ignition on and the screen rebooted this time everything loaded and worked and then started the engine.

So yeah, the software is bit glitchy but I will say this is the first time I’ve had to manually reset the display screen. Since new, I’ve been in habit of turning the ignition on to allow the software to load fully before actually starting the engine. I followed that procedure yesterday but as you can see from above that process doesn’t guarantee you won’t have the occasional glitch.