Buy at your own risk??

[tiredguy]

Hi, My name is Trevor
I'm new here, I live in Canada first off.
I've been thinking of buying a Freelander,
but while reading reviews online things don't sound good.
One mag even stated it was a "busy at your own risk" SUV... are problem really that common with these?

any info would be great,
Thanks
Trevor

[brooklynodog]

Hi, Ive had a 03 td4 (40K on clock) for nearly 2 years, the only major problem was a failed injector this June which was replaced under warranty.

[gary noden]

No, I've had two, both the 'notorious' 1.8 petrol (gas). no significant problems at all, well maintained and carefully looked after.

I guess folk just post about their problems so they seem more common. When things are going smoothly then no one hears about it.

[willo]

In Europe Freelanders are mostly either 1.8l petrol, 2.0l diesel (older ones) or Td4 diesels (from end 2000 on), not so many 2.5l petrols I guess which you will have to buy ?

[tiredguy]

yes it is the V6 2.5 petrol that is sold over here, well, not new any more only used, If I could get my hands on a Diesel I would, but they were never sold in north america.

[AllanI]

It's not so much the fact that Freelanders have problems, it is the potential for one thing to lead to another and the sheer cost of rectification will result in these vehicles coming to the end of economic life quite quickly. For example the viscous coupling goes and takes the IRD with it and also causes rear diff problems. You are looking £2k to replace these units. I have also heard of a vehicle that went in for injector (TD4) faults and because these had siezed in the head the final bill was £2k+. It doesn't take many more expensive repairs like this to render the car uneconomic to continuing with it. I think my Freelander is great but for some time now have been likening it to a financial time bomb and wondering when, not if, it's going to go off.
Allan

[cuthers]

I have a TD4 2005 Freelander and apart from an initial electrical problem I have been very pleased with it. My only issue would be the cost of maintenance thru LR dealers but once it is out of warranty I will be using a local 4x4 garage.

PS we liked it so much my wife now has a Defender 90 County (2001).

[tiredguy]

Well, this has helped me out, thanks to everyone

[willo]

Sorry no more response on your request, but as far as I know not that many V6's around here (especially not in Belgium, all by all I've seen 2 since 2001 :D:D:D) but to go along with cuthers, I have my Td4 since january 9th 2001 and apart from a couple of problems, all fixed under warranty, nothing (and I touch wood) happened to the car so far. As a matter of fact, to drive the Freelander I prefer it to my last car I had before which was a Mercedes 190E 2.0l petrol. (With which I did over 200.000 problemfree kilometers and kept it for 13 years, which means I was really pleased with it, but the Freelander still beats it in driving pleasure etc... so I hope this will be my ride for another 10 or more years).;)

[tiredguy]

Keep the comments coming the more i know the better, thanks

[RealBeale]

I have owned most of the Land Rover range at some point or another.Exeptions being a Series 0ne and Range Rover.Granted, most have been exMilitary soft tops - 90/110/109/88/lightweights.I've even had 3 Discoverys.
I bought a basic 1.8 Freelander because I needed something in a hurry after selling my ES Discovery.As I knew I wasn't going to need it for a long time, two weeks to be precise to go on holiday with, so all the gadgets - traction control ,HDC etc were not needed.
I was very suprised by it's performance.Although the clutch started to slip at the end of my Holiday.When I returned I bought a 2.5 V6 ES Freelander ( still got a 200Tdi 90) and apart from the fuel consumption I wouldn't be without it.I love it as much as the ES Discovery.
As for reliability.Go and check out ANY other car forum.I guarantee they will also have pages and pages of people who are asking about the faults associated with that particular model.After all , this is what the forum is for.If you have problem with a particular car, you go on the forum and ask what is causing it, in turn finding out if others have had the same problem.Although this can have a negative effect on people who are thinking about buying that car/model believing it to be a problem vehicle that will cost loads to repair and forever be in the garage being fixed.
Think of a car or manufacturer that is known for their reliability.Find the forum associated with it and see how many people have had problems .After all, cars are made of metal and plastic and even the prestige vehicles suffer fatigue or wear and tear.
If you want a Freelander, go for it.At least you will be safe in the knowledge there are people on this forum to help you out if need be with the right advice.
Ian

[The Mad Hat Man]

KV6 is also prone to HGF. It suffers from similar problems to the 1.8. Primarily design faults..........
Measuring coolant temperature on the route back to the engine, not exiting the engine, thereby measuring the cooling system effectiveness, not the peak engine temp.
Transverse V6 with rear bank running hotter than front.

If yu get a KV6, get an EWP fitted and ensure that it will run on after engine shut down to reduce cavitation and thermal hot spotting.

[Carl]

Hi Trevor,

You might want to spend some time browsing over here you might find more relevent info on owning a V6 Freelander in North America.

We have a TD4 and it's running fine :)