2003 Land Rover Freelander: engine overheating

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 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 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 Mar 10, 2011 · Transmission · 35,414 miles · HI · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 land rover free lander. The contact stated that in january 2011, the cooling system began to leak abnormally, the radiator hose fractured from the vehicle and the engine caught on fire. The following month, the engine continued to overheat, the ABS and check engine warning lights were illuminated and the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where they repaired the cooling thermostat, hoses and power steering pump. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the intake valves, thermostat and power steering pump were replaced. The ABS failure was not repaired and the warning light remained illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that when driving various speeds, the vehicle would jerk violently and exhibit an abnormally loud noise. The dealer advised the contact that the transmission failed and would need replacing. The vehicle was not further repaired. The current mileage is 46, 854 and the failure mileage was 35,414 updated 5/2/11 *cn the consumer stated he no longer wants to pursue the complaint. Updated 05/11/11

Filed Jan 12, 2010 · Engine · 61,000 miles · MD

Coolant is leaking visibly in coolant bowl. I add coolant on a monthly basis and dealer tells me to replace thermostat ($1,000). Coolant still leaking visibly so they replace bowl. Coolant still leaking visibly. I have foggy windows and the dealer tells me this is vapor from the coolant leakage. So now I am inhaling coolant (glycol) which is probably a toxic chemical. Now I have to replace a heating sensor where the coolant is leaking still. Cost is $1100, dealer tells me at least I don't have the big problem. I say, what is that? He says the coolant can leak in about 1/3 of the freelanders and it can ruin the engine. The cost of a rebuilt engine is $7,000. This is the same engine and will most likely have the same problems!

Filed Jan 8, 2010 · Engine · 59,500 miles · OK

Known defective metal used in engine with this model... Causes engine to overheat and engine failure, coolant loss... Etc. First overheating in my ownership of the car... Busted thermostat 1500.00 repair estimate.

Filed Dec 4, 2009 · Engine · MD · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 land rover freelander. The contact was driving at an unknown speed rate on normal road conditions. There was a strong odor of coolant inside of the vehicle. Suddenly, smoked expelled from underneath the hood. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle. There was a coolant leakage. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician replaced the thermostat. The identical failures occurred on thirty separate occasions. The components replaced over a period of time consist of the head gasket and replacement of the engine three separate occasions. The failures continued after the repairs performed on the vehicle. There were no resolutions. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The contact had concern of the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was unavailable. The current mileage was 105,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Oct 27, 2009 · Engine · 103,000 miles · MD

Coolant leaks into the engine in the 2003 land rover freelander. Problem started at 25,000 miles and was dismissed by the land rover dealer (frankel land rover- hunt valley) who I bought the car from. I bought it brand new. Eventually at about 60,000 miles they told me I would need a new engine after the warranty expired. I continued to fill the coolant chamber daily and drove it until it completely failed at 103,000 miles while I was driving on the baltimore beltway (695) at 60 MPH. Freelander k-series engines have been known to drop the cylinder liners into the block. Because the liners are steel and the block is alloy, the liners being harder, work their way into the block. This is due to the engine block and cylinder head being composed of different materials that expand at different rates with heat generated during running of the vehicle. This can cause the head gasket to fail. The head gasket/cylinder liner design fault has not been classified as a recall.

Filed Sep 16, 2009 · Brakes, Engine · 107,650 miles · NJ

The 2003 landrover freelander stalled on 2 seperate ocassions,once in an active intersection with barely missing being struck by another vehicle. The 2nd time ocurred about 4 minutes before the previous instance. Additionally,the vehicle as a whole shouldn't be on the highway. To my knowledge this vehicle has never been in an accident and it's uncertain if it may be refurbished from a area where damage was such that some work and relocation presented it for sale elsewhere. The vehicle purchased at a little over 73,000 miles has been in the shop 14 times in 27 months totalling well over $10,000 in repairs. I paid $12,288 for the vehicle. Intake maniifold gaskets,cylinder head gaskets, head bolts,cam bolts, the famed "coolant leak" that has coolant leaking into the engine causing it to cease up. That's the only thing that hasn't happened mechanically with this vehicle. I ride around, when it's not in the shop,with coolant in the back in case its starts to steam again. Lock assemblys (2x), torque converter motor,themostat and several other issues that make it non-highway worthy. This is just mine, at the emunds.com automotive forum among the many others I visited there are hundreds of others with the same problems and are left with either, broken down sitting in the driveway, in the driveway after its last repair so miles are kept low for resale or forced to procure another vehicle or mode of transportation, or forced to continue driving it as its their only source of transportation and low resources while still paying a loan on it and an extended warranty company that you hope doesn't dance around the responsibility of paying for repairs that are obvious covered items in the warranty. Finally, if it weren't bad enough to be stuck with this vehicle and not know if it will remain operable for the length of the loan,currently 48 months, I can't even rely on the vehicle to safely transport my wife and daugther. Landrover mechanics can't keep these vehicles on the road.

Filed Sep 10, 2009 · Brakes, Engine · MI

Well I have had several problems with the landrover. Its a horrible car, I have already replaced the engine twice, along with a faulty brake light that was later recalled. This summer, my car began to smoke and overheat I immediately took it to the shop I was told there had been a crack and the coolant was leaking into my engine. They fixed the vehicle, a week later the crack came back but this time my sixteen year old daughter was driving and it began to smoke leaving her stranded on the freeway. I again took it to the shop and it was fixed they replaced the pipe and fixed the crack. 2 days later the same thing happened she was again stranded on the freeway, and it was taken back to the shop. We were told by our mechanic that I now needed to replace my engine for the third time and it was a complete lemon. I called landrover and they were very rude, and said they could do nothing. I began to read reviews about the vehicle and this apparently has happened to about 85 % of the vehicles. Please recall this car so people know the dangers of this vehicle , and me and the rest of the landrover owners can get justice!

Filed Aug 30, 2009 · Engine · 53,000 miles · OH

2003 landrover freelander with 35000 when problems started. Check engine light came on soon after purchase. Car wouldn't hold coolant and constantly overheated. We drove it as little as possible. Engine blew on highway. Certified mechanic said it was because of the head gasket and that engine needed replaced for approx $6500.

Filed Jul 8, 2009 · Engine · 55,000 miles · OH

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 land rover freelander. The contact stated that the engine was warm and the vehicle failed to start after several attempts. The engine was overheating prior to the failure. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was inspected by a certified mechanic, who stated that the failure was contributed to the head gasket. The mechanic further stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 55,000. Updated 8/10/09 *cn updated 08/13/09.