Freelanders - are they as unreliable as folks say
Discussion
We are looking to replace our 2003 jeep cherokee and 2002 subaru forester with one newer family carryall. By default I have avoided looking at freelanders, mainly due to their poor reliability reputation. Is this misguided?
I know 2 folks who have had major issues with fairly new cars in 2006/7, which is the era of cars I would be looking at.
grateful for any pointers
I know 2 folks who have had major issues with fairly new cars in 2006/7, which is the era of cars I would be looking at.
grateful for any pointers
ClaphamGT3 said:
Ignore 'bloke down the pub' wisdom: we've had a 2.5 V6 FL1 for 2 years and its been great. I believe that the FL1 facelifts and the FL2 are even better.
Your biggest concern after the two you've got won't be reliability, it will be lack of boot spaace
whats the running costs like with the V6? Your biggest concern after the two you've got won't be reliability, it will be lack of boot spaace
with regards bootspace, the jeep is not well blessed in that direction
sawman said:
whats the running costs like with the V6?
with regards bootspace, the jeep is not well blessed in that direction
Hi. About 20 mPG around town, 26 on a run. We had an original 4.0 Cherokee before the FL. The FL feels much more modern & more of a 'car' but its smaller and not as good off road (though not too bad, esp with the right tyres)with regards bootspace, the jeep is not well blessed in that direction
ClaphamGT3 said:
Hi. About 20 mPG around town, 26 on a run. We had an original 4.0 Cherokee before the FL. The FL feels much more modern & more of a 'car' but its smaller and not as good off road (though not too bad, esp with the right tyres)
Thanks thats helpful, our current cherokee averages about 14 around town so 20 would be a significant improvement. The 2.5V6 is nice but not as quick as you'd expect! Boots are quite small but it's going to be down to what you want it for.
If you can stretch to a Freelander2, it will be worth the extra as they are a much better car. If you want something with a bit more 'poke', then see if you can get one of the i6 engines (3.2 straight 6). They weren't sold for long in the EU markets as LR went all diesel shortly after they were launched.
Frankly, I really like the Freelander and they're pretty handy off-road too. If you're going to use it off-road, make sure you get one with an auto box.
Personally, my favourite is the TD4 Auto (for FL1 & FL2).
M
If you can stretch to a Freelander2, it will be worth the extra as they are a much better car. If you want something with a bit more 'poke', then see if you can get one of the i6 engines (3.2 straight 6). They weren't sold for long in the EU markets as LR went all diesel shortly after they were launched.
Frankly, I really like the Freelander and they're pretty handy off-road too. If you're going to use it off-road, make sure you get one with an auto box.
Personally, my favourite is the TD4 Auto (for FL1 & FL2).
M
Was fond of my 2006 model TD4 Freelander, had it from new for about 60k miles.
However in that time the viscous coupling went at approx 7k leaving me stranded as it seized completely, the clutch cyclinder at approx 25k. It had a couple of leaks in the back and the doors - had to replace a couple of speakers on the passenger side because of this.
When it went the injectors were on the way out too, but traded it in before getting those dealt with.
So it was far from perfect, however it drove pretty well ( for what it was ) and had plenty of character and was reasonably economical.
Had the later verion a couple of times as a courtesy car when mine was in the garage, whilst it was more refined and felt better screwed together etc for some perverse reason i preffered my own.
Would i buy another; probably but I wouldn't be doing so expecting trouble free motoring.
Also for what its worth ( in my experience ), when pressing on mine - had 17" wheels which help - certainly felt more planted and seemed to grip better - however neither generation is ever going to be a B road blaster!
However in that time the viscous coupling went at approx 7k leaving me stranded as it seized completely, the clutch cyclinder at approx 25k. It had a couple of leaks in the back and the doors - had to replace a couple of speakers on the passenger side because of this.
When it went the injectors were on the way out too, but traded it in before getting those dealt with.
So it was far from perfect, however it drove pretty well ( for what it was ) and had plenty of character and was reasonably economical.
Had the later verion a couple of times as a courtesy car when mine was in the garage, whilst it was more refined and felt better screwed together etc for some perverse reason i preffered my own.
Would i buy another; probably but I wouldn't be doing so expecting trouble free motoring.
Also for what its worth ( in my experience ), when pressing on mine - had 17" wheels which help - certainly felt more planted and seemed to grip better - however neither generation is ever going to be a B road blaster!
You're budget should get you a nice HSE auto with decent mileage.
Don't buy one that has been used for towing, mine was used solely for towing and it's threw up transmission issues. VCU and IRD and diff mounts have had to be changed.
Get decent tyres that are M+S rated. The ones with more tread go on the rear.
Blank the EGR, fit the BMW mod to replace the crankcase breather, replace all engine hoses with silicone ones.
Don't buy one that has been used for towing, mine was used solely for towing and it's threw up transmission issues. VCU and IRD and diff mounts have had to be changed.
Get decent tyres that are M+S rated. The ones with more tread go on the rear.
Blank the EGR, fit the BMW mod to replace the crankcase breather, replace all engine hoses with silicone ones.
camel_landy said:
The 2.5V6 is nice but not as quick as you'd expect! Boots are quite small but it's going to be down to what you want it for.
If you can stretch to a Freelander2, it will be worth the extra as they are a much better car. If you want something with a bit more 'poke', then see if you can get one of the i6 engines (3.2 straight 6). They weren't sold for long in the EU markets as LR went all diesel shortly after they were launched.
Frankly, I really like the Freelander and they're pretty handy off-road too. If you're going to use it off-road, make sure you get one with an auto box.
Personally, my favourite is the TD4 Auto (for FL1 & FL2).
M
Biggest thing for off road use is TCS/HDC, in fact even on road in the snow they make a huge difference. Auto box is nice and will help save the clutch if you will off road it, but manuals work well too.If you can stretch to a Freelander2, it will be worth the extra as they are a much better car. If you want something with a bit more 'poke', then see if you can get one of the i6 engines (3.2 straight 6). They weren't sold for long in the EU markets as LR went all diesel shortly after they were launched.
Frankly, I really like the Freelander and they're pretty handy off-road too. If you're going to use it off-road, make sure you get one with an auto box.
Personally, my favourite is the TD4 Auto (for FL1 & FL2).
M
My 54 plate freelander is a Td4 Sport auto. Now resident in sunny Crete and used off road almost daily.
Avoid 1.8 K series for all the usual cooling problems and go for BMW Td4 much superior to the early (Perkins?) unit. Auto is a nice drice and avoids clutch problems if off roading. The Sport spec lowers the suspensio which hasn't for me affected off road usage but does drive so much better on the road and compensates for high centre of gravity.
Spin the wheels whenever possible on a soft surface to activate the central diff, it's lack of use that leads to problems with these. The only mechanical problem I have had was a split turbo pipe last year which was expensive to repair at Euro 600 but this did include a full service.
Avoid 1.8 K series for all the usual cooling problems and go for BMW Td4 much superior to the early (Perkins?) unit. Auto is a nice drice and avoids clutch problems if off roading. The Sport spec lowers the suspensio which hasn't for me affected off road usage but does drive so much better on the road and compensates for high centre of gravity.
Spin the wheels whenever possible on a soft surface to activate the central diff, it's lack of use that leads to problems with these. The only mechanical problem I have had was a split turbo pipe last year which was expensive to repair at Euro 600 but this did include a full service.
stuwalsh said:
Spin the wheels whenever possible on a soft surface to activate the central diff, it's lack of use that leads to problems with these. The only mechanical problem I have had was a split turbo pipe last year which was expensive to repair at Euro 600 but this did include a full service.
It don't have a centre dif... 
M
stuwalsh said:
Avoid 1.8 K series for all the usual cooling problems
Not sure I agree with that.stuwalsh said:
and go for BMW Td4 much superior to the early (Perkins?) unit.
And most certainly don't agree with that. The L-Series is a very good, stout and reliable motor. And slightly more economical than the TD4. Not quite as powerful granted, but real world usage it's not so evident, and you can map them. Biggest restriction is they can be made to produce more torque than the PG1 gearbox likes while the Td4 uses a Tremac.Gassing Station | Land Rover | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff