I bought the car privately 9 days ago. Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8. 2011 reg, 121k miles.
It has been well looked after and was bought from a Pistonheads member privately.

All was fine on the day and on the way home - 80 miles, great car.
5 days later, having not done many miles since then, the "battery low, please start the engine" warning came on the dash. Well, I had been studying the handbook, so it was possible.

I connected my smart charger and tested it, and it said 12.7 volts, 70% charged.
I charged the battery to 100%.
Next day I drove the car 210 miles, mainly on motorways.
3 days later our friend the low battery warning is back, but this time I had just been out in it once, yesterday, for 8 miles, and this time I have had no spare time to be reading the manual and sitting in the car trying things.

Once again it is 70% charged. It is back on charge again

In Januaru 2023 a new Yuasa 9000 battery was fitted.
In September 2023 a new alternator was fitted.

I suspect that the battery is failing. I have had a P38-engined TVR for 13 years now and have seen this more than once in that time.

1. Do you agree?
2. Do you have any other suggestions?
3. If I end up fitting the replacement myself, I guess I am looking at Yoof Tube for the method of getting the battery in and out of that rather awkward location? Or do you have good suggestions.
4. Do these cars have a fuse between the alterntor and the battery, ie in the charging circuit?

Hi, I can't help on the alternator fuse however, I own a 2012 4.4tdv8 and they are hungry for batteries. I'm not sure about your but suspect it will need an AGM type battery. I replaced mine for a Yuasa AGM and have never looked back. I do think the battery warning is too sensitive and priot to changing to AGM, found mine giving that warning on a regular basis.

Possibly not related but I didn't realise how slow my old starter motor was until replacement last year with an OGM Denso. The starting now is much sharper, in any conditions. I hope this helps.

Yes, think Land Rover did an update to make the warning message less sensitive. Mine does the same.

If I remember right the car only charges the battery to 80% due to LR caring more about emissions and fuel economy or such like.

Obviously it will be charged fully if you do it manually.

As above, needs AGM battery if it’s not on there already.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Big tip when changing the battery is to first remove the plenum filter box, only 2 minute job, but gives you much more room to work.
Mike. G reg 2.5VM Vogue Portofino red 1991- 1999
V reg 2.5td P38 Rioja red 1999- 2006
53 reg td6 Vogue Oslo blue 2006- 2015
11 reg 4.4 TdV8 Vogue SE. Baltic blue 2015- date.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic56162...tty+affair

On removal and refitting, I take it you know how to get the bonnet into the service position, ie wide open?

Chris

Thanks guys, great replies.

I did read somewhere about bonnet service mode, but don't know how to get it there.
It clearly needs it, and I do remember it on other cars many years ago (1980's Merc?).
Is it in the handbook? If it is I can find it, if not please enlighten me.

The car does have a Yuasa 9000 AGM battery, and tests at my Autospares Indie showed that the battery, which I fully charged last night, is good working condition, no failed calls, 100% fine, but only charged to 61% this morning.

I then went to the best auto-electrician in town to book it in, said "Range Rover" and he groaned. Firstly I told him the test results and that the car had previously sat for 4 days before it started the "battery low, start engine" warnings, and every time it has done that since it has been reading 60% on my Ring tester/charger. He therefore reasoned that it was not a massive battery drain, or I would have had a flat battery by three days. I have therefore locked the car on arriving home and am leaving it alone for three days to see what happens (apart from bird on the bonnet).

He says he comes across these warnings regularly, feels they are over-sensitive (like you do) and thinks it is caused by some part of the many many electrical gizmos on the car not going to sleep properly. It is now booked in for him to check it over on Wednesday 2nd July.

I will check with a main JLR dealer regarding the software updates. The car has been serviced by independent specialists for a good part of its life, so may have missed a main dealer update.

The starter motor turns over very fast, even on 60% charge, so I suspect that is not an issue.
Thanks also for the tips on what to remove when fitting the new battery (if I end up doing the job myself)

My 2011car that I’ve had for 10 years has chucked up that warning practically every time it hasn’t been used for a few days even with a new battery fitted.
I bought a jump pack just in case, I’ve never had to use it (at least not on my car).
My conclusion is that it’s just another “feature” of Range Rovers.

Thank you, that is reassuring. It’s just the very large and speedy drop in charge state that now worries me.
I will leave it alone for three days and then check the amount of charge left.
I work from home, so being stranded isn’t a worry, and my RAC covers home start..
I also have a random taxed and insured old shed collection that I can use if all else fails.

I waited Two days and checked the battery this morning. 40% charged.
It started fine, I drove it three miles and went to Morrisons and Asda, then home again.
My battery then said 70% charged,
I will check it again in the morning.
Now baffled and have not cancelled the appointment with the car electrics guru for next Wednesday.

Now toying with leaving it for a week and seeing how flat the battery goes.
And also buying a proper battery condition tester.

The MY11 wasn’t designed to keep the battery fully charged at all times
Charging will kick in around 80-85% of charge
At 40% charge, the car will probably not start / turnover. Voltage is probably <12v at 40% charge.
After 3 miles, the battery state of charge in these L322s will not jump 30%. And my experience is that short journeys will drain the battery further.

I suspect whatever device you’re using to measure charge state of the AGM battery is a tad off
Charging the AGMs on these to 100% is fairly pointless…..as the car will not keep it charged at 100%
Battery management ECU needs to be told (for optimal charging ) when a new battery has been installed
My experience of having a MY2011 4.4 over the last 14 years is that these cars are not particularly battery hungry. I change the AGM every 3 years as a precaution. I have heard tales of alternators failing, but depending on which Indy you speak with (I use Glenrands), this model is no more prone to alternator failure than any other.
Going back years…there was a problem with quality control on the batteries…which would test fine at the dealer but were actually faulty.
JLR did change the charging and “battery low” parameters a few years after the MY10-12 model years came out

Sitting in the car with radio / lights on for a while may drain the battery enough for a low battery warning.

Thanks Rambles.
I have a different device arriving today, and battery condition tester rather than a tester/charger.
An electronic second opinion, if you like.
It had a new Yuasa AGM battery installed 2.5 years ago by a 4x4 indie, I can only assume he told the car what he had done.

I am probably worrying about nothing, with it being a while since I had an expensive car like this. In the past I bought Lexus LSs and Audi A8s without thinking twice about it, so maybe I am just over-reacting to new tech etc.

I do very much like the car and am looking forward to good touring holidays in it.

Quick update. I left the car parked and locked and with my new battery condition tester I could see that my AGM battery went from 90% charged to 20% charged in 48 hours. It started fine, and the battery condition was good.

It goes to the expert tomorrow.
I did note a post by an Irish owner, Paddy X350, who mentioned battery drain as an issue,
He had an earth clamp tester and pulled fuses until he found the fault.
In his case it was a dodgy AC control panel.

I will report back on Thursday.