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SUVs Land Rover Freelander Maintenance and Repair
281 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 10:22 AM
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I'm new to this site. Bought my Freelander HSE new in '04. Shortly after driving it off of the lot, car engine sounded more like a diesel. Brought it back numerous times to LR (under warrantee) and was told it just needed the oil changed. At 53,000 miles (just after the warrantee ended), brought it in for it's scheduled oil change and was told by the mechanic "This car sounds horrible". They suckered me in for $2,500 saying a screw must have fallen into the intake manifold. Since then ... -Both rear window motors need replacing. -Sunroof assembly and motor needs replacing. I was driving down the road with the sunroof open when I got caught in a rain storm. Went to put the sunroof down and it would not budge. Took it into the LR mechanic and was told the only way to put it down would be for the mechanic to push on it for the outside and break it, thus requiring a whole new assembly. -Harmonic balancer found off and banging around inside of the engine. Found by a non LR mechanic, probably part of the god awful clanging that was present from almost the time of purchase. -Coolant leak (no idea where it is leaking to, but I always have extra in the back of the car now.) -Now the oil light is on. Just brought it to the LR mechanic last week for "expert diagnosis". Was told, (after the mechanic took off the oil fill cap and looked into it with a flash light) that the engine is coated with oil sludge and needs to be replaced. Don't know what I'm going to do with the vehicle. Part of me wants to try to run some oil cleaner through, fix the windows and get rid of it. The other part screams for me to run fast and far away; to just get rid of it now and cut my losses. Please if you are considering buying one of these vehicles, don't. If you have one and are starting to have problems, get rid of it. If you have one and aren't having problems yet, get rid of it. I kept saying to myself, I'll just fix this last problem and then it will be okay. This last problem turned into the next problem and into the next. This car has been nothing but a headache.
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Replying to: goatgirl26 (Sep 21, 2009 11:16 am) Pay close attention to the coolant leak. Mine started leaking in Feb of this year and same thing "nobody could figure out where it was going". I spent $600 to have the thermostat replaced as that was the only "logical explanation" at the time. 2 months later my temp guage spiked twice (I too had coolant constantly in the truck as I was going through about 1 bottle of it a week) and I took it into the dealer to have it looked at when I was then told I either had 1) head gasket failure or 2) complete engine failure and would need to be replaced. More than likely the coolant has been leaking into the oil, causing the "sludge". I chose to get rid of it while it was still running. Good luck with what you decide to do...
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Replying to: goatgirl26 (Sep 21, 2009 11:16 am)
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Replying to: spnkygrn (Sep 22, 2009 6:19 pm) |
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Replying to: spnkygrn (Sep 12, 2009 7:19 pm) Ford sold Land Rover to Tata back in March, 2008. link |
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I am searching for info on lawsuits won against Landrover and recall information on Freelanders, specifically 2002 SE models. I have a true mudpuddle in that engine noise, windows and sunroof have a mind of their own, the muffler blew smoke for two miles and I thought it was on fire (but it just blew a hole in the muffler large enough to put my hand in there after I paid $60 for them to tell me that I had emission problems and $700.00 repairs to the coolant system), and ty rods and bearings are making noise. In Minnesota, when it gets cold, the transmission runs through several codes if you drive it without warming the engine to the point of burning enough gas to get to work before leaving the driveway. The fuel pump recall was installed, but I still call it my slurpee because it uses gas so fast, and the engine coolant system is a real screamer. The cost of this is not just ridiculous, it is an insult. Landrover dealers are so insulting to deal with on this vehicle it is embarrassing. Can anyone tell me if there are options others have used to make the dealers honor fixing this horrid thing? Is there anything that I can join in to make the Landrover manufacturer repair their mud puddle? One thing ruins another along the way and it has just kept going. Help! |
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Replying to: cwoolner (Sep 21, 2009 2:56 pm)
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Replying to: goatgirl26 (Sep 28, 2009 12:10 pm) My oil never turned milky. I was checking it almost daily for a change or sludge starting to form and I never had any of it though I was filling the coolant container weekly or more. Yours does have sludge?
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Replying to: cwoolner (Sep 28, 2009 5:40 pm) Just had the timing belt and other things done in November (by my regular mechanic). He had the valve covers off at that time and said the inside actually looked pretty good. Although, the coolant didn't start leaking until Feb/March of this year. So I'm not really sure. Is the engine really coated with sludge? Can that really be diagnosed by looking into the oil with a flash light? Do I really want to pay for "more detailed expert diagnosis" just to be told, "yes, indeed, the engine needs to be replaced."? If the engine does really have sludge in it, is there anything (cheap) that can be done to limp it along, so that I can at least get a little bit of money for it as a trade in before it totally dies? I am officially uninvited to ever again returning to the LR dealership in Sarasota, FL, as of today. Was told by the service manager that they don't want customers like me (customers who ask questions and don't just blindly fork over thier credit cards at any monetary charges they throw out).
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Replying to: goatgirl26 (Sep 28, 2009 7:14 pm) I have been in contact with the lawyer mentioned above, and have been told to the get " it needs a new engine" from a dealer. My problem is that the nearest dealer is 100 miles away, and I am not sure if the vehicle will make it! My selling dealer (used) told me the wholesale value of the car is $5000 -- What do you think the odds are that a LR dealer would give you that for this POS? I already had a service manager tell me to NOT repair the vehicle just based on the timing belt issue. Wish I had that on paper. Just count me another very unhappy Freelander owner. |
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