2002 Land Rover Freelander: engine overheating

Filed Oct 10, 2013 · Engine · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 land rover freelander. The contact stated that the engine overheated when the vehicle was turned on. The vehicle was taken to the mechanic for inspection who confirmed that the engine coolant was consuming prematurely and there was no evidence of a leak. The mechanic replaced the thermostat, the water pump, and the motor fan regulator; however the failure was not corrected. The manufacturer was not made of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 96,000.

Filed Mar 11, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 70,000 miles · KS

The year is accurate,month and date are approximations started having problems with overheating and coolant leaks. Coolant wouldn't puddle under vehicle,though.but I could smell it sometimes with windows open. Then,one day it would not start. Towed it to land rover dealer and over the course of 3 days,they couldn't start it,either. Was told it needed a new engine.paid out $5800+.now,with 104,000 miles,it's losing coolant,again. They claimed the over flow container was leaking. Had it replaced. And it is still losing coolant.it is not puddling under the truck.I saw,online,where the freelander has a possible engine defect,with cylinder sleeves and gasket problems.do I have any recourse with land rover? Or, could the lemon law come into effect? I,also,have experienced rear window and sunroof motor failures. I am retired. I cannot afford to replace another engine ! Thank you.

Filed Dec 17, 2012 · Engine · 49,807 miles · RI

On november 1st my wife and I left la proper headed towards phoenix, az. With the mileage now at 49,807 and approximately 2 hours of driving on I 10 the car was losing power, so I did my best to safely pull over to the break down lane which was next to the on ramp (very scary). I had been driving at 65 miles per hour when the car would no longer accelerate. I had to call a tow truck because after I let it rest a minute or two it wouldn't turn over. When I looked under the hood I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, no smoke, the coolant tank was full, I checked the oil dipstick and it seemed fine. There were no lights that came on inside the auto to signal that something was wrong, no overheating etc. I had it towed to the nearest dealer and was told to come back next morning. I was told that the engine blew a gasket and was advised due to damage to the engine was to replace it. I was quoted a price of $10,000.00! I ended up selling it for salvage for $500 since we were traveling so far away from home and the cost to tow it to rhode island didn't seem worth it. Since then I have contacted land rover and have been given the run around like many other owners. I also have had the chance since this occurrence to check via internet that this is not unusual for the 2002 freelander. I feel this engine should of been recalled.

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 Jul 7, 2011 · Transmission · 53,305 miles · WA

A car made to break down on you. I bought a landrover freelander 2002 and barely drove it...it had been a leased vehicle and was well taken care of...however...it broke down as soon as I got it. First it was a coolant problem, it overheated while I was driving it home from work. I live 5 miles from work. The first year I bought the car I put less than 1000 miles on it and had already brought it in at least 3 times for problems. The first was the coolant, and then I brought it in a few times since it constantly had this feeling as if the breaks were being applied. It has a hill decent button that would come on and I thought that was part of the problem, but it still did it regardless. It's as if the breaks were on and were stuck. And every time I brought it to landrover they said they couldn't find a problem....of course not. And then I had it in there and they said they had a bunch of "strange" codes pop up they hadn't seen before so they just "wiped" them as the man said. ??? He didn't bother to figure out why??? Now...my car has been sitting for almost 3 years since I couldn't afford to fix the broken transmission. I have a total of 55350 miles on it..bought it at 43603 in 2005. All I see all over the internet is how these same problems have kept occurring and no one was held responsible for all the work and money that has to go into for fixing this....it doesn't make sense that a company as large as landrover would be able to make a car that was bound to break down...and not have to fix the problems??? It ends up coming out of the pockets of the poor consumers who at this point are all on their own. I'm exceptionally disappointed. This was the first car I ever bought...I thought it was safe and I was having a baby 4 months later. All this vehicle has done is make my life more difficult. Thank you landrover...I will never ever buy a car from you...or anything you make. You have no honor not to take care of your obvious mistakes in the creation of these cars.

Filed Dec 29, 2010 · Engine, Locks · IL

Freelander 2002 has had many defects. The transmission failed at approx. 50k miles & was replaced. Power windows failed. A/c hose cracked & repaired. Manifold replaced. Exterior brake lights have been replaced. Electrical power to passenger door lock system have been replaced. Now, at 70k miles the coolant leaking and engine knocking. Not worth replacing engine at this point. This car has cost more to repair than what is was worth. It should be recalled as a lemon & law suit against land rover.

Filed Aug 12, 2010 · Engine · TX

Coolant leaking, head gasket failure, thermostat failure for 90,000 miles.

Filed Apr 1, 2010 · Engine · MN

2002 land rover freelander defective engine replacement *cw after taking the vehicle to the dealership, the consumer was informed the engine had a design flaw. The consumer was also informed it would cost$5,800, but the replacement engine also had a design flaw. The vehicle had a coolant leak. The first coolant leak was found during an inspection. The coolant overflow reservoir was replaced due to a crack in the plastic container. The second leak had to be performed due to the thermostat leaking. Upon completion of the coolant leak repair, the technician noticed there was a knocking type noise in the engine. The consumer brought the vehicle back to the dealer and the noise had become louder. After listening to the motor and isolating the knocking noise, it was determined the noise was in the area of the #2 cylinder connecting rod deep into the engine block. A cause was never determined for the failure of the engine.

Filed Oct 2, 2009 · Engine · 60,000 miles · HI

My husband and I purchased a 2002 freelander type s with around 60,000 miles on it. After owning it for less then a week it started overheating. Each time it would start to overheat, it would require us to immediately pull off the road to prevent the engine block from cracking. I took it into the landrover dealer to find out what the problem could and was told that the cylinder sleeve was slipping causing coolant to leak into the engine and mix with oil and will eventually cause the engine to freeze. The only remedy for this problem was to replace the engine at the cost of 12,000 dollars and that does not include labor costs. After reading quite a few complaints this seems to be the number one problem with this vehicle. Landrover should be at fault and should recall the faulty parts in the engine!

Filed Aug 19, 2009 · Engine · PA

I own a 2002 freelander se that has had nothing but problems that have left the car stalling on the road or overheating. I have all repair paperwork and have obeyed all regular maintenance schedules. The engine should have been replaced but land rover refuses to make the necessary repairs. Other issues have been experienced throughout the life of the car. The vehicle was purchased new.

Filed Jun 29, 2009 · Engine · 90,000 miles · WA

Since I purchased my 2002 landrover freelander in aug of 2007 with 63456 miles on it, I have taken it in for numerous costly repairs. The first being 12 days after the purchase in attempt to fix what I thought was causing the disappearance of my coolant, the cracked coolant reservoir was replaced, only to find out to the engine would continually overheat and I would become stranded on the road on at least 3 occasions even after I had taken it in by this point and had it suction tested to see if a leak could be located with in the coolant system and was told it passed. So I continued to operate the vehicle shuttling myself to and from school and work, stocking my vehicle with necessary coolant to maintain the proper level. After a traumatic incident on the freeway in I june 2008, where I was forced to quickly pull to the shoulder going form 60 to zero while still in traffic, I took the car in to have it serviced again where I soon found out the coolant contaminated the oil because of the seal slipping (through research of my own I have learned the material the seal is made of is in adequate to hold high temperatures for even a reasonable life of the car). Unable to afford the costly replacement of the engine which was advised at this time, 6/08 (over the worth of the vehicle at $7,579 + taxes new and with multiple research attempts done to find a used one with no success because it's such a common problem with these models) I bought some time with an engine flush only to have the internal damage the seal failure had caused result in the complete seizure of my engine as of 1/09. I have been put in harms way in near misses of causing an accident as I uncontrollably come to a stop and soon after sit helplessly on the side of the road through no fault of my own, countless times do to the manufactures negligence for the safety of the operator. Even after this whole ordeal, I still find myself fortunate to only be out a costly vehicle and not the loss of my life.

Filed May 26, 2009 · Engine · 59,828 miles · HI

My 2002 land rover freelander was having cooling leak problems starting at 50,000 miles. It was found that the leaks were caused by brittle heater lines and brittle universal heater joints made out of plastic. The lines failed catastrophically. The lines and joints were replaced costing $50. At 58,000 mi the thermostat had to be replaced because the coolant leak still existed and was leaking from this location. Cost of repair at dealer $1100. At 59,828 mi the engine failed catastrophically. The cause of the engine failure is due to the cylinder liner (sleeve) slipping causing a gap which caused the coolant leak into the engine block. The engine required total replacement. There is no recall against this known problem. Land rover's stance is that they only guarantee the vehicle for 50,000 mi, so they are not responsible for the engine failure. Cost of replacement of the engine is $15,000 as quoted from the land rover dealer. Total consumption of coolant was at a rate of 1 gallon per week, with the exception of the catastrophic failure of the heater lines and universal joints.