2002 Land Rover Freelander SE review from North America
"This SUV sucks - spend your money elsewhere"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Oh, only buy this car if you like suffering... I had to take it back to the dealership for repair at least once every month I owned it.
Within a week of buying the car it was back at the dealership for very rough shifting. I had the transmission reprogrammed with a "patch" and still experienced the same problem.
Water started leaking into the passenger cabin the first time it rained. Turned out the antenna & sunroof had never been sealed.
The sunroof had to be replaced within 3 months. This turned out to be a special order item.
The whole interior rattled. The headliner, sunroof shade, door pillars.
Had to have door pillars re-attached several times as they popped off.
Air conditioning barely worked. Dealership couldn't determine why the interior of the car wasn't cooling off, but claimed the air coming out of the vents was at the right temperature.
Fan for the climate control system was incredibly noisy.
Constantly had a coolant smell when using the air conditioning. The dealer never was able to determine the cause of the smell.
Right front brake started squeaking whenever the car was turned to the right at about 1000 miles. Dealer claimed my brake pad was already worn through and my rotors damaged. Convinced dealer to replace brake pads under warranty. Same brake started squeaking again within 100 miles.
Temperature gauge was very flaky. It never moved past the 1/2 mark, even when the car was turned off. Dealer claimed nothing was wrong with the temperature gauge.
General comments?
The Freelander is a nimble off-roader, but not worth the cost.
Interior is very cheap. It's inexpensive leather that wears easily and hard plastic trim. The trim pieces are attached too tight on the dash and bow out.
Horrible gas mileage! I was lucky if I was getting 15 mpg most of the time.
Seats are comfortable, but have limited adjustments. Cannot adjust height. The lack of power seats and armrests bothered me. Rear bench seat was uncomfortable for long drives.
Constant hard shifting between 2nd and 3rd gears drove me nuts. Acceleration was sluggish off the line. The dual automatic/manual transmission was a nice thing to have.
Dealer service was BAD on this vehicle. I tried more than one dealership and got the same rude service at each one.
I got so frustrated with all the problems after one year I traded it in and got a 4Runner.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 4/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 1/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 17 miles |
| Most recent distance | 8000 miles |
| Previous car | Acura CL |
| Date of Entry | 11th July, 2003 |