I bought a used freelander (built in 2001) 2 years old with 33000km from a landrover dealer.
Only 4 months later the cylinder head seal was broken... my dealer fixed it on his account. Just another year later the bush (socket) of the cylinder has broken. Now a replacement motor is necessary. total cost about 4500 EUR. Though I made all inspections Land Rover is not willing to pay a cent.
I am totally disappointed. Never again british engineering ?!? Guess with a landrover after this experience I would never ever leave a road where a tow truck cannot pick you up again. Not at all made for off the beaten track !!!!

Does anyone have made as well bad exeperiences with the Freelander Motor or the bad behaviour of land rover to fix their quality problems on their account?
Please help,
Boris

 

I recently had a problem with my 03 Freelander. The mechanic tells me that one of the bolts holding the camshaft failed and the resulting damage will require a new engine. The repair hasn't been quoted but the engine alone is more than $3000. I've heard a lot about the poor quality of the Freelander but are there any statistics on these problems and are there any consumer recourses?

 

Nobody has responded to my post (the one previous to this one) but I am pretty sure I will not be buying any used Freelander. I found this website from consumer reports

http://cdn.consumerreports.org/static/0504typ0.html

The 2002 FL was the LEAST RELIABLE used SUV for the 2002 model year. Wow. Out of every single SUV made in 2002, the FL was the worst...142 problems per 100 cars. That is ridiculous. I think I'm gonna look a little harder at Toyota and Honda. I wanted something unique but not at that cost. Sheesh.

 

Join the club. My rover is a dud. I have a Freelander 2002 and I've had nothing but problems with it. Landrover has actually discontinued the model. You can check on their website...it doesn't even list it as a model any more. I've had my rover in the shop 12 times and 11 of those times was for replacement of defective parts!! Not a good percentage.

They advertise that this vehicle is the most travelled vehicle on earth and yet I can't get it out of the driveway!!! They talk about adventerous, quality, and supermacy but I have not seen any of these qualities. Save your money and buy something else.

 

Update: Well I finally got my vehicle back on the road. I’m still not sure what happened.

When I took my vehicle in to a local mechanic, it would turn over and not start. When I was called several days later the mechanic told me that the cam bolt had failed and that the engine needed replacing. He quoted me $6800 to install a used engine and no warranty.

I had Landrover pick up the vehicle (60 miles away) and put in a new engine for $5800 including a 12 month unlimited mile warranty.

I’ve contacted LR corp. and dealers all over asking about this Cam bolt. No known issues. No help from them either for the trouble.

My longtime mechanic who said honestly that he could only do minor work on my LR checked the engine and noted that the cam bolt had a torsion break which is practically impossible under normal conditions. He suspects that the first mechanic used this bolt to turn the engine over in order to diagnose the problem. Using this bolt to turn the engine caused the failure and then during a starting attempt the engine destroyed itself for being out of time.

It’s been since August 05 since this problem and I hired an attorney to pursue the first mechanic. I’m out more cash, ($800 for the 1st mechanic, $6800 for the new engine and $3000 in attorney fees) but out of principle I will not give up until I get some justice.

I love my vehicle and LR has been of some help with a supporting letter to help my case, I but would probably err on caution before buying a LR. If buying new dump it as soon as the warranty is up. If buying an extended warranty, make sure it covers the basics like nut bolts and fasteners.

Good luck.

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