Freelander woes
Steve explains the downsides to buying from a used car dealer
IT’S often mentioned that there isn’t enough Freelander 2 content in LRM. But I’m about to fix that.
You may recall I sold my Discovery 3 last year and decided on buying a Freelander 2 to replace it with. The FL2 would take the reins of becoming the new daily along with our Freelander 1.
The FL2 was purchased last December from a stereotypical used car garage. You know the type; even vehicles with balding tyres receiving a heavy dose of tyre silk, along with every other car having a flat battery. The only thing missing was that the dealer wasn’t named Arthur and Daley or wearing a sheepskin jacket! But what attracted me to the Freelander in the first place was the full Land Rover service history, a mileage of just 54k at the time, and the HSE spec. This particular model comes with the 190 hp 2.2-litre diesel over the less powerful 150 hp version and in terms of power, versus what I was used to with the D3, is on a par, and all with a vehicle weighing a lot less. Overall a great car to replace the Discovery with, and with a reputation for being one of the more reliable ‘modern’ Land Rovers, I felt it was a good bet.
The Freelander came with a three month warranty, as expected when buying from a dealer, but what is the warranty actually worth if something goes wrong? Which it did. What I haven’t spoken about until now was the fact that at around a hundred miles into owning it, the engine management light came on (this was a car that came serviced from the used car dealer) but the problem being I was now a hundred or so miles further away from them. A quick call to the garage and they said, “oh that’s strange –no worries, pop it back to us and we’ll take a look”. After a few conversations with them it became apparent they had very little knowledge of Land Rovers and would only be able to get their mechanics to look at it in a few days’ time. Simply not good enough, I thought – a two-hundred-mile round trip to drop it off, then again to collect it simply wasn’t feasible, especially with work commitments – and how would I know if they’d solve the issue and do it properly first-time round?
One thing I have learned in all this is that it’s best to either buy from a) an independent LR specialist who has a reputation to uphold, b) a main dealer, or c) buy it privately from someone who knows the history of the car and you can look them in the eye – if they’re hiding anything you might be able to tell. You know those used car dealers with that shiny Land Rover/range Rover lurking in their yard, the one they probably bought from an auction full of problems? I suggest leaving it there… Why? Read on…
The issue I had with the engine management light was that it would stay on for a bit, then disappear for a few hundred miles before reappearing again. The car drove fine and with everyday life getting in the way, it took me a few weeks to finally book it in to my local specialists, David Harby 4x4. This was back in March where I asked them to carry out another full service along with diagnostics to find out what was going on. The car went in the day before Boris
announced we had gone into full lockdown, so after David cleared the faults (there were many, along with an EGR fault) and he had carried out the service, we swiftly collected the car and parked it up on our driveway. While I worked from home, Louise, my wife was furloughed for 10 weeks from her job and with Tesco’s delivering the groceries, the car got very little use. The intention was to drive it about to see what faults reappeared before properly diagnosing any recurring issues.
Another few weeks passed and the car started to get more use – the engine check light quickly reappeared. Off to the garage we go to get it fixed. While it was there, we had a list of additional jobs, too, which included a new cambelt, as this needs to be replaced at either ten years or 150k miles. I thought it best to get this done for peace of mind. One of the rear bumper reversing sensors had since fallen in, so every time you reversed the sensor picked up on the actual bumper instead (very annoying), the trailer electrics didn’t work either, so we upgraded those to the later Euro-type electrics, too. I also felt the auto ’box was a little rough on the downshift so we had that flushed with new oil added. The main issue, however was the need for a replacement EGR Valve, which was duly fitted along with a throttle body. The bill, a little over £1800, which considering the amount of work, I was happy with.
The following day, I felt the gearbox was still a
little rough, followed swiftly by our mate, the engine check light, reappearing. So, we contacted David once again. This time the fault came back as the EGR vacuum control valve, which is a fairly small part but important nonetheless. There was a small break in the vacuum pipe. The car was then returned having been road tested for a day or so. A few hours into me driving it, and guess what? The light was back, again! This car really started to annoy me now, and David too. David was quick to collect the Freelander, which in itself had taken to running rough – a slight jerkiness on a neutral throttle. To cut a very long story short, we eventually solved the issues. The vacuum actuator rod was coming off the EGR cooler and no amount of putting it back on would keep it from coming off. As soon as the car got up to temperature, the same thing would happen. It was apparent that there was an issue with the EGR cooler. So the new EGR valve had to come back off, and a new cooler ordered and fitted. David said sometimes you get problems like these; you replace one part and then it has a knock-on effect to other parts along the system.
At the time of writing, I am awaiting the revised parts bill but for now I am very happy with the Freelander, and I think David is too. It’s finally fixed; the rough running, and gear changes were all attributed to the EGR issues. You certainly have to become friendly with your local Land Rover specialists, especially for situations like these. I promise you a more positive Freelander 2 story in the upcoming issues of LRM!