2002 Land Rover Freelander: check engine light

Filed Aug 28, 2011 · Engine · 3,000 miles · OR

We have had several incidents with my 2002 land rover freelander type s overheating and check engine light going on, we have regularly taken it to our local land rover dealer to find out the problem. The latest, now august 2011, the coolant was found to be low, and a discussion with the mechanic and the shop person indicated that their is no external leaks, and that the coolant may be leaking into the engine. I was told that the cylinders/heads are made of different materials, and that a gap may have formed there causing the coolant to leak into the engine. I was told that if the coolant continues to leak without any visible signs of external problems, the engine would need to be replaced. We have done all of the routine maintenance as well as thousands of dollars of repairs for the cooling - including multiple thermostats(I believe we are on our fourth one, including the ones under warranty, etc. The latest diagnosis is coolant into the engine and fouling a cylinder. I repeated asked, since we were under warranty, if we had a lemon and have now seen thousands of postings on the internet relating to this problem, with models from 2000 to 2005, the years the car was available in the us. It appears that there are no viable replacement engines available that do not have this same problem since, the vehicle was discontinued in 2005. Based on the information I have gathered, it appears that the engine used in this vehicle was of a faulty design, given the fact that a replacement with out this problem is not available for the record, my vehicle info is as follows: make: land rover model: freelander type s year: 2002 purchase date: 07/2002 I am the original owner, and I purchased this from land rover portland, portland oregon.

Filed Apr 30, 2010 · Engine, Locks · 101,000 miles · FL

I took my 2002 land rover freelander into land rover to be service because my transmission was slipping and the check engine light was on. They said it wasn't the transmission but it was the upper intake manifold, the vacuum hoses, and sensor that was causing the problem. So we had them replace the manifold, hoses and sensors. The service manager keep narrating that it wasn't the transmission. We picked up the car the next day again the service manager assist it wasn't the transmission and the car is running perfectly. As soon as I went about 2 miles my transmission started slipping. I took the car back to land rover the next day irritated. The car spent 5 days at the shop trying to find out the problem. Which was indeed the transmission, they didn't offer to fix the transmission but to refund the money and put the old parts back in. Which we agree to unless they guarantee it would be in the same condition. It was making more noise then before, 2 weeks later the timing belt broke. This car is a lemon. Its doesn't make since how the engine, the timing belt, the transmission, and the upper intake manifold all fell at once. The car is not running and stuck in my drive way.

Filed Jan 26, 2010 · Engine, Transmission · 93,400 miles · TX

I bought a 2002 land rover freelander hse with 92,000mi, about 6 months ago, few months after this the check engine light started flashing, so I took it to the repair shop, it turned out to be the thermostat and some related parts, I ended up paying 600 dollars. Then a week after that my transmission felt weird and showed a code in f-4 in the dashboard so I took it to the repair shop and it turns out it is a solenoid, the repair cost will be about another 300 dlls.

Filed Sep 3, 2008 · Body, Transmission · 48,000 miles · CO

Mechanical problems immediately after purchase required 4-5 trips to dealership before they fixed it. I don't' recall the exact problem. Sunroof motor died & had to be replaced. Left rear window regulator died and had to be replaced. Right rear window regulator died and had to be replaced. Broken latch on hood had to be replaced. Check engine light and excessive cranking 6/1/02 and 8/17/02 dealership cleared codes no repairs. Service engine soon light and excessive cranking 9/17/02, dealership replaced leaking fuel pump. Service engine soon light and shifting problems 3/2006, dealership sent me home no repairs. Service engine soon light and car lost power while driving, throttle body had a short and dealership replaced. Service engine soon light and delay in shifting from 2nd to 3rd 9/1/08. Have not had this diagnosed yet. Suspect bad solenoids or transmission failure.

Filed Aug 29, 2008 · Transmission · 58,000 miles · PA

I have a 2002 landrover freelander. Ran great at first. About 2 weeks later, the check engine lights came on, the downhill decent warning light, and the odometer display was flashing f and 4. Upon driving in this condition, we found that the gears were slipping and made a loud clunking sound.

Filed Jul 10, 2008 · Engine, Transmission · 50,000 miles · MA

Land rover freelander 2002 transmission issues, traction control light stays on and check engine light. Transmission and engine issues galore, currently only have 54,000 miles on the vehicle.

Filed May 25, 2008 · Engine, Visibility · 65,000 miles · WI

Check engine light , ticking engine, antifreeze , oil leak, smelling coolant inside car and numerous other issues such as window regulator , wiper motor and rattling noises underneath car has been my complaints since feb 13,2008. Parts were replaced that didn't correct the problem of the ticking engine, coolant leaks, smell of coolant inside car,and check engine light which always comes on a couple of hours after the dealer returns my car to me. Car was towed from freeway due to breakdown on the way home 15 minutes after picking car up from madison dealership for engine repair. Dealership stated that this was due to an oil seal/oil plug and it was not their fault although they just finished working on the engine. I did not have my car for a total of 30 days not including the prior visits where they took almost 2 weeks to diagnose the problem. I was charged for a rental car during this period. Milwaukee dealership claimed they corrected the engine problem on 3 different visits which I paid $600.00 for a timing belt which never corrected the problem along with a $100.00 deductible for using the warranty. The parts replaced on the vehicle is as follows; manifold assy. Motor assy for wiper blades,window regulator,timing belt and differential front mounting which did not resolve rattling noise underneath car. Milwaukee dealership has also attempted to correct these same problems with no success. The coolant leak is still apparent and the check engine light is on again. The only thing the dealership can tell me is to monitor how many times I have to replace coolant. In the mean time, they have sent me home with a car that has a check engine light on and a disappearing coolant problem. I guess they will continue giving me the runaround until my warranty expires aug 2,2008 just as many others has reported they did to them. Please help!!!!!

Filed Apr 25, 2008 · Engine · 35,000 miles · TX

I had my car for less than a year when the radiator/check engine light went off. I brought it to the dealership and said the oil was leaking into the coolant (something like that.. I know nothing about cars). They had my car for a couple of weeks to fix the problem which I was told by their service manager at the time was a manufacturing problem with all land rover freelanders of 2002 and 2003. I browsed the internet for more information, and sure enough, my car wasn't the only one with this kind of problem. Thankfully, when I had originally purchased the car, I had also purchases their extended warranty. But the warranty runs out in 2010, and I'm sure I'll continue to have this problem. I want to sell my car, but I can't justify selling a car that I know has so many problems.

Filed Apr 2, 2008 · Engine · 53,772 miles · NY

We currently have a landrover freelander that is on its third engine (within 1 year). We are continuously inconvenienced with this vehicle having issues that bring it back to the dealership they claim to fix the issue and within 3,000 miles we are back again like clockwork. Landrover does know about this issue, and we have a vehicle that we could never sell to anyone else, purchased an extended warranty on, and have absolutely no recourse with. I brought the car in last week for them to fix an issue, service engine light was on and I was inhaling coolant fumes; they stated that it was fixed, no sooner than 4 hours after I picked the car up on friday afternoon, did the same check engine light go on and I currently am driving around inhaling fumes from coolant again. When do these issues get resolved. It has been over a year of the same issues with a car, that the sales woman's words to my husband were, the first vehicle created by landrover is still on the road. My car was purchased new, has approx. 57,600 miles on it, it is 5 years old, and for the last year and a has had nothing but issues. I asked the service manager how many of these models have had issues stated, more than he would like to admit. Please let me know what can be done. At this point my husband would like the extended warranty money back and at least half of the book value of the vehicle.

Filed Dec 17, 2007 · Engine, Transmission · 66,000 miles · IL

We had just had our car in for servicing prior to a longer drive. While we were driving at highway speeds, our car accelerated without warning. The engine "revved" without any increase in speed. Once home, contacted our dealership where they proceeded to tell us that we would require a new transmission when we were only just out of warranty. They could not tell us what the cause of the problem was - only that it would cost upwards of $6000 to fix it by replacing the transmission. Prior to this, our dealership had our land rover freelander for 4 weeks fixing other known problems such as the coolant system, again, just out of warranty for a fix of over $3000; once it was returned, the engine light came back on immediately (I.e. On our way home from picking the car up) - I returned immediately with the vehicle and was told that the engine block had been cracked which would require an additional $2000 plus in repairs (although they did discount us on this repair - more than likely because they had caused it). We have had nothing but difficulty with this vehicle. The issues began almost immediately from the date of purchase. Additionally, the land rover service people are less than helpful. I believe they are deceptive, arrogant, and lack the knowledge and skill required to fully service a vehicle. I have gone through three different dealerships to locate someone whom I trust to service this vehicle; finally, now that the care is out of warranty we will be going to a local repair shop where they were able to walk me through what was wrong with the vehicle and fix the problem.

Filed Nov 25, 2007 · Electrical, Engine · 75,000 miles · IA

Transmission failure at 75,000 miles. Excessive check engine light warnings. Bad sensors. Engine noise.

Filed May 10, 2007 · Body, Electrical · NJ

Our 2002 landrover was purchased used and the mileage started at 3,500. It was a show room car. When the mileage reached mid 40,000 miles the check engine light came on. We heard strange noises coming from engine , and the car had trouble accelerating. We brought it to the dealer, and made it so that the check engine light went away. However, the car still did not accelerate well, making it difficult to drive on freeway. After a while, the light came on again. We brought the car to dealer again, and once more they worked on it, but the results were similar. When we passed the 50,000 mileage mark the car started to fall apart rapidly. The transmission went out, the rear door didn't open from outside, the sun roof broke, and the starter also broke. This all happened very fast. When we went to dealer, they said we were no longer covered under the warranty, even though we bought the car at 3,500 miles to start with. So we thought that we would be covered until 53,500. Therefore, we had to pay for all the repairs ourselves, and the transmission alone cost us $5000 to repair. We are worried that the car will continue to break down the longer we have it and we don't know what to do.