Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
SUVs Land Rover Freelander Maintenance and Repair
281 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 10:22 AM
You are in the Land Rover Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
|
Replying to: aligator71 (Apr 16, 2008 5:53 am) Yes, the brake pads wear out fairly quickly on these Freelanders, I would wear through pads every 15,000 miles and the sales rep who sold me the car said it was normal as the weight of the vehicle was so heavy. I had to replace pads at every 15,000 miles and have the rotors re-cut at every 30,000 miles (rotors replaced at 50,000 miles). That smell of coolant that you mention is the more serious problem alot of people, including myself, have experienced. If you are smelling coolant, you seriously should check your oil cap to see if you notice coolant in the oil and/or you should also notice your coolant overflow level dropping slowly over a 20-30 day period, which is the Head Gasket Failure issue many, many of us have had. Once the Head Gasket Failure starts to happen, you will only get so long before it fails completely and the vehicle is done. I seriously would suggest trading it in now or as soon as possible and get a different vehicle while you can. Once the coolant/Head Gasket Failure happens, you might get another 9 months out of it before it completely over-heats and seizes. You are correct to never buy another Land Rover again. Get rid of it while you can! |
|
|
Replying to: aligator71 (Apr 16, 2008 5:53 am) We are currently in a battle with an extended warranty company that would not cover the variable intake motor power valves that went out on the thing with less than 50,000 miles on it. We had to replace them to the tune of almost $700. We will probably never buy a Land Rover again either. Let us know if anyone knows anything about a lawsuit against Land Rover for their crappy design of this vehicle!
|
|
|
|
|
I have a 02 Freelander. When it was first purchased I was exhilarated, after all I finally became a Land Rover owner. I liked it because it always stood out and there wasn't very many of them seen on the road. Unfortunately, now I know why they are an extremely rare find on the road. I took care of the car always trying to keep it running at its best; however, preventive maintenance is irrelevant, when it comes to this vehicle. I have become accustomed to the "service engine soon light". One week it will stay on and another week it will go away. At around 50,000 miles, I finally took it to a Land Rover dealer which is very far from where I live. I was informed that there was a vacuum leak in the engine, and that it needed a replacement of the intake manifold inserts, etc etc. At first, although costing thousands of dollars, I was happy knowing that at least the problems were solved and my rover was running normal again. The engine light warning was gone and I had a pleasant long drive home. The next day the service engine light soon light came on again. They must of missed something with their 99 point inspection. That obviously was disappointing beyond belief, considering the fact that the whole point of taking the vehicle their was to make sure that anything involved with that warning light was supposed to be corrected. I now have to make another long trip back to the dealer, and I am not too impressed with their service anyway. I thought Land Rover was the best. At the dealership, well at least mine, they expect me to just shell out thousands of dollars with no remorse. The employees were rather rude, and I noticed that none of them drive a Land Rover, Jaguar, or Volvo; although they are the brands that are sold and serviced there. Even my 07 loaner was a lemon as well. At the dealership they try to calm me and pamper me with free food and refreshments. All the free food at the dealership will never compensate for being without my car. After all I did not go there to eat, and all I want is my car fixed right, if that is possible with this thing. Personally, I will never buy another Land Rover. They are like German tiger tanks from WWII. They are big, intimidating, and sophisticated, yet they are impractical, over-engineered, and inefficient. My car may look nice, but what is the use of it, if I am not able to drive it. |
|
|
Replying to: ali6010 (Apr 16, 2008 3:35 pm) The Freelander was discontinued in 2006 and there are no more engines produced, so if you do have a Head Gasket Failure, they would be trying to fix basically a piece of shit engine, at a cost of $4000-$5000. None of this is worth the money. I will tell you, I did get those synthetic oil changes, but it made no difference at all, didnt help prevent the Head Gasket Failure one bit. If you are doing that to meet warranty requirements, ok, but once I had the Head Gasket issue, non-synthetic oil at Jiffy Lube for the last few months I had the vehicle worked just fine. I was told by the Land Rover mechanic at my nearby dealership to simply Trade In the vehicle as soon as possible. I couldnt do so due to a loan that had another year and 1/2 on it at the time. An attorney I spoke with said I could sue for costs incurred, but I found it better to not waste the money trying to replace the engine and incur more than the $3000 I already had spent. I bought a different car subsequently, a small sedan that serves me just fine after this horrible experience. |
|
|
Replying to: cmarsh2 (Apr 11, 2007 11:42 am) If the lawsuit is still going on, you can count us in on being a part of the suit. Thanks Brandon & Ruben |
|
|
Replying to: wildrover (Dec 15, 2006 8:59 am) 
|
|
|
|
|
I've owned this vehicle for a year and it has been a money pit to say the least it has 74k miles on it, I bought it with 67k. I use it as a spare car for teenage son, trips in town no real commuter driving so the usage is very low. In this short period of time I've replaced head gaskets ( which was under warranty I dodged a BULLET on that repair ), radiator fan control module, water pump, coolant leak (and still leaking imagine that?) starter motor and a few more things that I can't think of at the moment. Price tag for these repairs well over $5000 and still counting. Whom ever at Land Rover that designed this vehicle should have been FIRED and whom ever the VP of Quality Control should as well. They all new what type of product they had, this vehicle should have never seen the Light of Day. I called LR for help, the customer service rep said ther is nothing they can do about the POOR Quality of their product, CSR suggested that I take the car to the nearest dealer so that I can be hosed again for problems they can't fix. I will NEVER buy another Land Rover product and will tell all about the Poor Quality, Workmanship and Service that I received from the company and vehicle. As I read all talking about a Class Action Law Suit we will be OLD and GRAY or DEAD before we see any JUSTICE. :lemon
|
|
|
Replying to: richard457 (Apr 28, 2008 9:22 pm) That was it for us.... we had already put way too much money into repairs for this crappy truck - so we gave that truck back to the bank (repo). UGH!! Land Rover sells crap
|
|
|
|
|
I had a 2004 Freelander that started leaking coolant in March. It happened like clockwork (right around 50K). I was naive and thought that Land Rover would step up and do the right thing to fix the situation. Everyone admitted that the Freelander was junk -- my service specialist, the Land Rover North America customer service representative I spoke with, even the salesperson that I bought the car from. They all told me to trade the car in as soon as possible. But when it came down to help, there seemed very little that they were willing to do. They wouldn't even talk to me about a trade-in, unless it was for an LR3. This is the second Land Rover that died on me within 3 years of ownership (I had a 1999 Discovery II before this, which died within 2 years), so buying yet another piece of junk was out of the question. I haven't even seen a single Freelander on their lot (Bellevue Land Rover) since this all began. Without boring you all with too much detail, it took two months of fighting with Land Rover and with Primus to finally get a new engine installed. It cost me about $1000 out of pocket, even though I had an extended warranty. (Primus is getting very good about finding things not to pay for). A (reputable) local car dealer was cool enough to take a trade-in on my Freelander while it was still in the shop. I lost a lot of money in negative equity on this car. I made the investment hoping that I would have this car long-term. But I figured that it is better to spend the money to get out of it now rather than spend 7-10K on a new engine a few years from now when the second engine dies and I'm out of warranty. My advice is to trade in this vehicle at the first sign of a coolant leak. Don't feel as though you're passing off the problem on to someone else -- you'd be surprised at the number of people who love these cars and are willing to put up with the trouble they cause. Land Rover is very aware of this situation, and they are very prepared in how to fight customers that are facing this. They will not help you. Cut your losses and buy a more dependable car -- a Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, or Subaru. I went with the Subaru Forester, and I'll agree with the Rav4 owner in a previous post, it was the best thing I ever did. What disappoints me most is that Land Rover is not accountable to anyone for the cars that they manufacture. They supposedly discontinued the Disco and the Freelander in favor of the 'improved' LR3 and LR2. If you do a bit of research you'll find that these cars are money pits just as their predecessors. If you've had a similar experience, write your state Attorney General, Land Rover North America, and your local Land Rover dealer. Let them know how disappointed you are with Land Rover products and service. 
|
|
|
Replying to: lrnnc (May 06, 2007 2:33 pm)
|
|
You are here:
Forums
SUVs Land Rover Freelander Maintenance and Repair
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2005 Land Rover Freelander
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
