2000 Land Rover Freelander Xei from UK and Ireland - Comments

My 2002 Freelander keeps losing coolant and no one can seem to fix the problem. The antifreeze just "leaks out" and the delaership seems to be in denial. They keep telling us to bring the car in, keep it for a week, and then charge us $250.00 for minor repairs unrelated to te problem. I don't know what to do.

L.M. Moore.

We bought my wife's Freelander 1.8 at 4 months old in February 2002. A few minor problems since, but last week the sunroof broke on one side whilst it was open. I struggled to get the sunroof shut as it started to rain. Just took it in for service and asked them to have a look at the sunroof to be told I need two new runners, at a cost of £400. The car has only done 33,000 miles in this time and been mostly garaged. The service reception suggested he knew what the fault was likely to be at the time of booking. I advised them not to do the repair and that any thoughts of renewing the car with a new Freelander had just been blown, is it me or should a recognised fault with a car be corrected by the manufacturer with some significant contribution to such repairs!

I recently bought a S-Reg (1999) 1.8 Xi Freelander with 53k on the clock. Had I seen this website beforehand I would have steered clear of this car. I am currently paying for a freelander taxed, insured and sitting at work with a blown head gasket. The train fares in and out of London are expensive. I wish I'd done my homework and bought a reliable car. With what I have just read surely there has got to be some sort of action that can be taken to ensure that us poor fools can get some sort of assistance from Landrover?

1ST DEC 06

XEI 1.8 3DOOR HARD BACK.

How silly do I feel after reading all your comments, of which I am glad of. The car I picked up today will go on sale Monday.

When I spoke to the dealer I asked what was the main fault on these cars...

They had 4 on the pitch and was told I have nothing to worry about we only sell reliable models, if they have a common problem we don't sell them...

Lets keep fingers and toes crossed.

thank for all the advise I will check you guys first on my next purchase.

Hi, all.

I just were reviewing a Freelander 2000 with 58000 Km just for 15.000 AU$. I really appreciate your advice, since I will go over any other vehicle.

BR.

I have a 2003 Freelander that I bought from the dealer with 7,000 miles on it in early 2005 (it had been the courtesy vehicle). In November 2005 the cooling system failed. They fixed it under warranty. Eleven months later, in October 2006, the cooling system failed again; a different part, thermostat this time, charging me several hundred US dollars as it was by then out of warranty. It's now April 2007 and the cooling system has failed again: the third time in 18 months. (70,000 miles on it now, with all services and oil changes done as scheduled). I don't know what part has failed this time as I'm taking it in tomorrow; if it's not the thermostat and hoses replaced in October, I'm looking at another big bill. This is a vehicle that's driven under normal road conditions in a Northern California climate. I've also had both rear windows fail (electronics, still under warranty at the time), and had to have the driver door replaced because it didn't fit properly. (Under warranty). The internal rubber seal around the doors and windows peels off and every few days I'm putting it back in place. This is by far the most unreliable vehicle I've ever owned, and the standard of service has been bad too. Almost every time, I've had to take it back to get something done that they missed, or in one case, broke and apparently hoped I wouldn't notice. I'm stuck with this vehicle for a while, but I'll never, ever buy a Land Rover vehicle again.

Hi.

Bought a Freelander 1.8 XEI 2 months ago (year 2000). Sunroof was fixed before I bought the car. Engine had been replaced before I purchased and has done 35,000. I have had to give the car a thorough service as it still had its original leads etc. I have also changed oil and water and air filter which was incorrectly fitted. It is very important that oil is changed regularly, at least every 6000 miles / 6 monthly. Water must also be changed every 2 years or 3 years if using OAT type (pink) anti-freeze. I have also had to replace some engine bolts which were missing, I presume after the engine change. Clutch bracket also broken... I have now modified this slightly to try to prevent quick replacement again (only cost £5.03). Under-tray rear fixing bolts had rusted in and been broken off so I have had to tap these out again, but fine now. Some repairs made to under-tray as rivets are not very good, I have replaced these with 6mm bolts and nuts.

Power steering hose has a slight leak, but will replace this if it gets any worse.

Overall although I have had minor problems I still enjoy the car... it is also a lot easier to work on than my Citroen Xantia and parts are no more expensive than Citroen.

I have also found both dealers I have used very friendly and helpful with spares (Stratstone, Stourbridge and Hereford Land Rover).

I am still a bit concerned that the engine may give out, but am considering a strip down to install the new head gasket and Sump casting which Land Rover can supply at not too great a cost, its just the inconvenience of having it off the road.

If anyone is thinking of buying I would recommend that you have a good look around the car, especially underneath to check that all looks well and check the water and oil to make sure it looks clean. The engines do tend to rattle slightly...this is normal and is caused by the hydraulic tappets, so don't worry unless very noisy.

MH.

I have had my second engine failure with a 1.8 Xi 2000 model. After 30,000 miles the head gasket went and my Land Rover dealers were pursuaded (after a lot of hassle) to accept an out-warranty-claim for the best part of a new engine. I had a couple of years following that when I commuted by train and and everything was fine. Recently I have upped my mileage and was greeted by the fan belt going, unfortunately this somehow took out the cam belt, bent all the points, and scored the engine block. So every 30,000 the engine pretty much needs a rebuild. The sunroof? well I am on my second and need a third as it has broken at one side.

Plus side? well I was shunted from behind at some speed last week.. knocking me into the car in front. One immobilised car, one badly damaged rear end, and a tank in between.. my Freelander. I have a slightly different perspective now.

Thank you all for your comments. Today we were going to buy a free-lander £4295 37.000 on the clock, it looked great.

Took it for a test drive. agreed trade in on our old ford ka.

But walked way to think about it. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU We thought it was to good to be true We are keeping our little ford Ka.

Oh No I have just purchased a 1.8 Petrol Freelander 2000 model in the UK. It looked great, drove great I just could not resist - what do I do? I feel helpless? Does anyone know what I can do to avoid all of this? Are there any good ones? what about support from Landrover?

We bought a Freelander TD4 ES Triptonic new in 2002. Has done 60,000 mileage when the gearbox seized up. Had to be towed away and waiting for it to be repaired for £1800. Also, the left side motor for the sunroof has failed. Looking at the other comments above, I suppose the next thing to happen is the head gasket to blow. Shouldn'r Land Rover acknowledge that there are inherent faults with certain Gearboxes, Sunroofs and Head Gaskets and accept responsibility for at least part of the costs?

1999 Freelander 1.8 XEI - 48k (genuine mileage) - blown head gasket, possible engine issues.

1999 1.8 Freelander.

Problems so far. Blown head gasket (twice). Land Rover customer care refuse any help for first case. I shall not waste my time for the second.

Rear window motor failed.

Clutch bracket (2) failed twice in one (this) week, taking cylinder assembly with it.

Air con went ages ago.

Steering rack leaks.

Assorted other minor faults.

Why have I still got the car? I spent 8K buying it 4 years ago, (before the head gasket became known about) which is 3 times the amount I would normally spend. I won't get much back if I sell. I needed 4wd and it does the job. It's just totally unreliable and badly engineered with no public admittance of responsibility from the manufacturer.

Anyone with coolant leakage for no apparent reason - it's your head gasket that will eventually need replacing. If you fail to notice and top it up regularly, the engine will be damaged probably beyond economic repair!

I will never buy Land Rover again, no matter who owns it.

I also had the 1.8 litre Freelander and the engine blew up just like all these other poor people, Landrover should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this vehicle when they knew about the design fault. In short DO NOT BUY ONE.