My 37K New 3.0 litre MY2020 Discovery 5 Sd6 diesel

[DadOf5]

Hello everyone
I bought a used 36,000 mile 3.0 litre (MY2020) Discovery 5, HSE Luxury, Twin turbo Sd6 diesel this month (Dec 2024) and fortunately it’s running fine.

Having read all the reviews on here about the 2.0 diesel ingenium engine I must admit I’m starting to think about selling it on already.

We have 5 kids and the Discovery 7 seater was the perfect choice for us, we love it. As we drive to Cornwall and France from the Midlands every year we want to keep it / so wondered what people’s thoughts / views are on the 3.0 litre Sd6 engine?

1) what sort of mileage at 70mph do we need to give a good “blow out” of the Diesel Particulate Filter? 1 hour at 70mph?

2) Are we thinking it will last the 1,000 mile trip around France in 2025?

Any reassurance welcome!

Thanks

[Cagliere]

First up. I don’t own one. But I’ve spent hours scouring multiple websites U.K. and US and Africa wide to gather info on the Disco 5 as I am interested in buying one. This would be to replace my Mercedes GL 320CDI 2007 which in terms of costs has cost!
Comfort levels are great.
Now onto my research.

Ingenious 2.0 big fail
I’ve lost count of the number of D5 2.0 ingenious engines that have gone bust between 2018-2020.
Cause
Seems to be timing chain design and material.
There is a fix for this with beefed up chain and guide rails.
All the reports you will read mention warning lights metal in the oil etc. basically it’s the timing chain.
The only puzzler for me is that the engines are replaced and then go again! Either not a brand new timing gear upgraded engine or a second hand job.
Also seen engine failure as a result of over fueling- this seems to be caused by the engine pushing diesel in to help burn diesel particulate in the DPF but…the overruling seems to enriches the oil and cause degradation of the engine oil. Basically people driving these things around town to school and back and not walking the kids to school!


SD6 V6 diesel
A lot fewer fails reported but the failure is the same seems to be the crankshaft is a bit on the thin side. Failures to do with knackered crank. Solution?…dig deep and replace it before it breaks with a forged=beefed up crank for a specialist. Looking at the Disco3 and 4 it seems that the TD6 V6 also had this issue if you will.

Ingenium SI4 engine 2.0
Not as bad as the diesel 4 cylinder but issues seem to feature around balancer shafts not as common

SI6 Petrol 3.0
Only seen one failure reported on the threads. Some poor guy in the US.
Not sure if it is a dodgy crankshaft.
But these petrol engines have no DPFs to worry about- only issue is the love affair with petrol stations. They are probably from reading about 6-8 mpg worse off.

So obviously it’s Christmas I’m bored in the Lake District loving my Merc and the views during the day!
Hope this helps
KC

[DadOf5]

This model is 3.0 V6 D Gen2 Twin Turbo (2020) (I’m relieved it’s not the 2.0 ingenium)

[Cagliere]

Indeed!
The only thing to worry about engine wise is the crank.
I have also read numerous articles about leaking front windscreens. It isn’t just limited to Discos but also Defenders. This is put down to the type of glue used or application process from the factory which causes the leaks. Not sure who manages their ISO accreditations but they have certainly missed the continuous improvement aspect.
The fix is to take it to the dealership for repair or in at least one case the owner repaired it themselves.
Both the diesel and petrol V6 have tremendous torque so I can’t help thinking the crank could be subjected to twisting like a liquorish stick.

I am not put off about the poor reports on the V6 (Ingenium 2.0 engine is a different matter).
In the time I’ve owner my GL…
Two front struts with air springs
Two rear air springs
Two rear shocks
Speed sensors replaced on transmission
Two air compressors
Six glow plugs - thanks to a mechanic revving the nuts of the car to err clear the
Soot!
New turbo sensor
New turbo actuator
New aircon matrix
Owned the car since 2013 so to be fair not complaining
Oh forgot rear drive shaft snapped up a mountain in Spain cheapest repair though!
I’m stating all of this because I think I’m ready to own a Disco 4 or 5
I think you’ll enjoy your car

[Torali]

The 3.0 SD6 is a much better engine than the Ingenium, you made a good choice there. For a DPF regen, an hour at 70mph should be plenty, but it depends on your driving style too. Short trips kill them. It should easily handle a 1000-mile trip to France.

[DadOf5]

Thanks everyone, so far so good.

1) I’ve given it a good blow out on the motorway for 2 hr drive up to Liverpool (and then back) and will do that sort of run at least monthly I reckon.

Other learnings:

2) It’s doing 27.8 mpg at moment; over the first 900 miles I’ve done this month. Motorway and local, revving it a bit for the kids

3) park assist, works brilliantly

4) cruise control works great - going 70mph on M6, someone pulls out - drops to say 65 mph keeping its distance - then that someone moves back and it picks up to 70 mph again. Clever!

5) with 5 kids the 3rd row 6th n 7th seats are always up - on the go- and the boot can just about take 7 coats wellies and bobble hats

6) the automatic buttons on the tailgate is a dream as my hands are full a lot of the time but the “kick” mechanism can be hit and miss

7) sequential twin turbo is fun and it really is noticeable on the motorway also helps get out of the odd bit of trouble if you need to get out of the way quick !

[disco_fever]

watch the fuel pump.
had ours go while in France.
had to fly back home since no dealer could take it to repair.