QuestionA friend of mine recently told me about a '97 Disco with around 30k miles that he was about to sell. He said that it had had some door lock issues, but nothing to major. It's never been in an accident, and he doesn't drive it hard at all. I was doing some research into the Disco I, and I am struck by all of the problems that people have. Are these complaints representative of the norm, or are these problems less likely to occur than they seem.
I am especially curious about the Inertia Switch. I understand the advantages of it, but if your vehicle is in a bad collision, wouldn't the last thing you want to have happen is for your doors to become unlocked, and potentially unlatched - especially in light of how prone SUVs are to rolling over. How long does it take for the Inertia switch to be triggered? Is it an immediate thing? That is to say, if the vehicle were in a collision, would the doors unlock instantaneously?
Thanks in advance for your help.
AnswerThe 1997 Discovery is a good vehicle, but it can be problematic. Reliability is less than stellar. But off road performance is excellent.
As to the inertia switch - all high end vehicles today have safety systems that unlock the doors in the event of a bad crash to allow rescue personnel to get in.
Unlocking the doors does not mean they would fly open. Don't worry about it.
