2003 Land Rover Freelander engine problems

Filed Jul 31, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Purchased the truck in 2003 from land rover, brand new. Dealt with a few recalls and other issues ( sun roof was off track, did not work. Leather seats had deformations on seats. Truck need an acid wash for spots that developed on bumper) soon my engine and coolant issues occurred. Why driving id notice my truck start to overheat. This was even after being serviced at land rover. Come to find out my coolant was leaking. The issue continued to the point where I had to get new external parts ( thermostat, water pipe, expansion tank) this helped but not for long. My truck continued to overheat and leak, o the point I had to replace the cylinder head gasket and the timing belt.. I accumulated only 56,000 miles over 9 years of driving this truck and spent +$20,000 trying to save it ... I see why this model was discontinued after only one year. I have to take my situation to civil court even though this should fall under the lemon law.the class action group I was apart of for 4 years has made no progress at all.

Filed Feb 24, 2016 · Body, Engine · 62,000 miles · NJ

1.coolant system:strong antifreeze odor in vehicle cabin - replaced coolant reservoir;replaced coolant reservoir cap; thermostat housing failure; replaced all coolant lines and hoses as preventative measure; heater core failure - leaked anti freeze into heater chamber 2.transmission system (1 of 3): code f4 appeared on odometer; hill decent fault light illuminated; traction control light illuminated; brake anti block light illuminated; transmission (while in automatic d) will not downshift past 2. Transmission will not upshift beyond 3; manually shifting down to 1, transmission experiences harsh shifting accompanied by loud clunking sound shifting from 1 to 2; will not manually shift beyond 3. 3.intake manifold and induction system: vehicle reverted to creep' mode and would not travel beyond 5 MPH; towed vehicle to residence; discovered intake manifold butterfly valves were disconnected from actuation rod - replaced intake manifold 4.fuel system:vehicle lost all power while traveling at high speed on freeway - replaced fuel pump 5. Sunroof, windows, and doors: sunroof will not close replace sunroof actuation mechanism 3 times; power window regulator fail on: left front (2 times); right front; left rear; right rear (3 times); rear door (2 times): 5.warning and caution system: check engine light illuminates then extinguishes, then illuminates and stays illuminated (multiple repeat discrepancy and ongoing): purchased obdm ii code scanner/reader: most common fault left #2 bank too lean; misfire detected on #2 or #1 spark plug - replaced all 6 spark coils; '

Filed Dec 28, 2013 · Engine · 86,000 miles · NJ

Original owner of land rover freelander 2003. At approximately 60,000 miles, the "service engine soon" light came on and engine had to be replaced due to problems caused by the coolant leaking into the engine. At the time, the car was under an extended warranty so most of the repairs were covered. Now, at approximately 86,000 miles, the "service engine soon" has again appeared. I took the car to a land rover repair facility and was told that the car requires a new manifold intake valve. Total cost of repairs around $3,000. At this point, I am totally disgusted with land rover and will never ever buy or recommend a land rover vehicle. This car has been nothing but a major headache.

Filed May 12, 2012 · Body, Engine · 350 miles · CA

1.coolant system:strong antifreeze odor in vehicle cabin - replaced coolant reservoir;replaced coolant reservoir cap; thermostat housing failure; replaced all coolant lines and hoses as preventative measure; heater core failure - leaked anti freeze into heater chamber 2.transmission system (1 of 3): code f4 appeared on odometer; hill decent fault light illuminated; traction control light illuminated; brake anti block light illuminated; transmission (while in automatic d) will not downshift past 2. Transmission will not upshift beyond 3; manually shifting down to 1, transmission experiences harsh shifting accompanied by loud clunking sound shifting from 1 to 2; will not manually shift beyond 3. 3.intake manifold and induction system: vehicle reverted to creep' mode and would not travel beyond 5 MPH; towed vehicle to residence; discovered intake manifold butterfly valves were disconnected from actuation rod - replaced intake manifold 4.fuel system:vehicle lost all power while traveling at high speed on freeway - replaced fuel pump 5.sunroof, windows, and doors: sunroof will not close replace sunroof actuation mechanism 3 times; power window regulator fail on: left front (2 times); right front; left rear; right rear (3 times); rear door (2 times): 5.warning and caution system: check engine light illuminates then extinguishes, then illuminates and stays illuminated (multiple repeat discrepancy and ongoing): purchased obdm ii code scanner/reader: most common fault left #2 bank too lean; misfire detected on #2 or #1 spark plug - replaced all 6 spark coils; ' discrepancy not corrected; could not determine cause of lean condition possible ECM flash.

Filed May 1, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 77,000 miles · NM

F-4 flashing on the odometer, both check engine lights on, and the hill descent/traction control lights coming on. Vehicle quickly dropped power to no power. Service engine soon light and car lost power while driving, something with the throttle was repaired the first time. Then the harness was repaired and two weeks later the vehicle is doing the same thing again. Mechanical problems continue now going on the 4th trip to the auto mechanic shop. There is no warranty left. Maybe there is something to be done. It is obvious that I am not the only one having the same problem and yet nothing has been done to correct any situation. I will never purchase another landrover in any model and will let anyone that is interested in purchasing a landrover of any model that they are not worth buying due to all the mechanical problems that knowingly seem to occur over and over. Where landrover is making no attempt to make it right or even notify such situations in their vehicle. I would rather drive a ford at this point then to be stuck with this high maintenance problem of a high end vehicle. Landrover might not care about their consumers because they are selling the vehicle and who cares what happens after words we have our money. Thank you for taking time to read all reports of your worthless vehicles. Not impressed! *tr

Filed Mar 14, 2012 · Engine · DC

Bought car used in fall 09, had several what seemed like normal wear and tear repairs. There was no warranty on it as I bought it from another owner. Early may '11 the oil light came on but I didn't know what it was. I arrived at my destination. On the way home it came on again and as I was 2 blocks away from home the car just slowed and came to a stop. This turned into a 2+ month stinch in the shop, with the engine needing to be rebuilt. This was done by my mechanic. I wished I had read the info listed here prior to the purchase or even a year ago. Last winter the coolant constantly needed to be replaced like every few days and the car was over heating. My mechanic said the hoses needed to be replaced. Between then and this winter both were replaced and now I'm experiencing the car over heating when its full with coolant, having problems with it starting, there not being enough power to get it up a hill etc.

Filed Mar 5, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 88,000 miles · WA · fire

At 88,000 miles, my 2003 land rover freelander lost ~80% of power while going up a hill on a major high way and started to billow smoke. After steering the vehicle out of traffic, I popped the hood to find the material on the lower side of the hood on fire. Upon putting this fire out, I realized there was still a large amount of smoke coming from the underside of the engine cover and my anti-freeze was empty, when served only a couple weeks prior. After letting the vehicle cool, I took off the engine cover to find it had a mixture of coolant and oil resting on top of it; a dark-milky colored liquid. Upon having it towed and further inspected by a professional, not only is my head gasket gone, a fitting on the a radiator line had melted above the engine, and a catalytic converter is as well. I got it back to my house in this condition because I still owe $7500 and have only had it for 1 year. Mechanically totaled in my driveway, it now only sometimes will shift and when it does, only happens with force. Prior to this almost fatal disaster, I had three window assemblies brake; ruining the motors and causing them to fall while driving, and my brake lights do not function. I replaced the brake light switch, problem with brake lights still persists. I've given up hope on this SUV and have got not one reply from land rover costumer service. I am stuck making payments, and even if I could afford to fix it, would never put my wife and daughter in it again. Please get these vehicles off the road, before someone is even less lucky then I.

Filed Aug 11, 2011 · Engine · 70,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 land rover freelander. The contact stated that the engine coolant mixed with the oil and the engine seized as a result. The contact also stated that prior to the failure, the oil was changed and there were no signs of any failure. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where the contact was informed that the engine could not be repaired and would need to be replaced. The failure and current mileages were 70,000.

Filed Jun 30, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 45,000 miles · CA

1) driving on the highway at 60mph, my engine suddenly shut off and I lost all power except brakes. I was able to pull over to and allow my car to rest, and later drove my car to the land rover dealership where I was told something along the lines of "the coolant gasket was cracked/broke" and had caused the engine to overheat. 2) I was having my car fixed for random failure of window motor and sunroof, I was told that the the carrier bearings/support bearings that the driveshaft goes through are bad, yet this repair is covered. The problem is that the place where the shaft comes apart is rusted and corroded which is a $3200 dollar repair. The warrantied part (driveshaft) is $429, and the corroded piece + labor was $3160. 3) while getting a smog check in california, I had error codes indicating "engine misfire" and "fuel injection error" and my car did not pass, even though there was no service/check engine light, the car drove "fine" with fine meaning a grinding noise of my drivetrain and knock when going from 2nd to 3rd gear. Land rover said that inside the upper intake manifold chamber, the actuator flap is stuck -a defect known to land rover but not covered since my car was out of warranty. This repair was $2000 4) while driving on the highway, suddenly check engine light came on at 65k miles, and all gauges shut down. Rpm, fuel, MPH, and temperature all fell to read 0, empty, 130+, and 0 degrees respectfully. I emergently pulled to side of the highway fearing the engine had overheated but everything was "fine." I then turned the car back on after 30 minutes and saw all gauges again functional except speed. Please look at the internet, this has happened to hundreds of people and this car is unsafe. It needs to be recalled! I was lucky that no one died or was injured in any of these 4 incidents. I never feel safe driving on highways anymore.

Filed Jun 3, 2011 · Engine · 76,000 miles · IL

I paid $2,700.00 for an extended warranty throughlandrover/easycare my (2003 freelander ) in june of 2007. The warranty is for 60months and up to 100,000miles. My vehicle has not been operable for over 2 months largely due to the difficulties of conducting what should be normal business with easycare. Easycare has been so difficult to deal with that the first car repair shop I took the vehicle to 'advanced auto service' chose to give up after getting nowhere with easycare. 'advanced auto service' stated 'they are just too difficult to deal with' and requested I pick-up/tow the vehicle to a land rover dealership, this was 3 weeks after I had dropped off the vehicle. I then had my vehicle towed to '[xxx]' and the vehicle is still at [xxx]and has been there for 2.5 weeks and counting. [xxx] has expressed to me that major repairs need to be performed on to the engine. They have also expressed to me this engine repair was not due to 'lack of maintenance' and that the appearance of 'sludge' is not in excess. [xxx] has relayed to me that easycare informed them engine repairs will not be covered, and have only given the reason of 'lack of maintenance' ' due to 'sludge'. On two separate occasions I have asked three of easycare's staff (unknown name, [xxx]) to provide me with the reason for the denial of the engine repair claim. Both times they have refused to provide this documentation and/or the evidence for decision made. To date there has been no communication to me from easycare other than the 2 times I called. The requested information has never been provided to me, nor has easycare provided me with any documentation as to why they have denied, the required engine repair. Since I bought my warranty at [xxx] and through easycare, I expect them to work together to resolve these issues without me having to constantly waste my time. This car is truely a lemon. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).