I just purchased the vehicle from a gentleman. He had purchased the vehicle two years ago at 88,000 miles, and started having trouble with the transmission about two months ago. About three weeks ago the gentleman had the vehicle towed to his service center who then notified him that his transmission needs replacing. I have bought the vehicle and plan to replace the transmission. It does seem a bit early for a two owner vehicle at 110,000 to need a new transmission. It was well cared for not abused.
Land Rover Freelander transmission failure problems
56 of the 455 owner complaints about the Land Rover Freelander describe complete transmission failure, most of them for the 2002 model year.
- owner complaints
- 56
- worst model year
- 2002
- typical repair cost reported
- $5,000
- typical mileage
- 60,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Overheating 12Engine failure 9Power windows 7Check engine light 5Wipers 3Loss of power 3Jerking 3
What owners say
What is to say that has not already been said about this nightmare! I have replaced everything on this car: power steering system, engine manifold, coolant reservoir, water pump, radiator, brakes 2x, camshaft and crankshaft sensor, crankshaft pulley, timing belt, and now I am lucky enough to have the same transmission failure happening that everyone else who owns this junk experiences. This is not to mention that the sunroof does not work, the passenger door lock, and 3 of the 5 power windows do not work either. In the last year alone I have put more than $3000+ into this thing, and that is but a fraction of total I have put into it during ownership..and the blue book value is less than $5000 at best! Words cannot express how angry it makes me, and how pathetic it is of land rover to knowingly ignore the problems associated with this vehicle and the suffering that owners of it have to endure. The transmission problem alone should have a mandatory recall forced on land rover to fix for all freelanders, and that should just be the beginning! I cannot tell you how many land rover technicians have blatantly told me that lr knows these are a money pit nightmare full of defects, and that they hate to work on them and feel bad for us. When will this sort of treatment by big corporations end? What ever happened to standing behind your product? Whatever happened to government agencies assigned to enforce rules governing this sort of thing actually doing something for the consumer? I could go on and on about this nightmare, trust me, but I am too worked up at this point as it is. Please the federal safety agency, do something, anything for us unfortunate freelander owners!
Transmission began to have a rough 2nd to 3rd shift around 60,000 mi. Complete 3rd gear failure by 69,000. Car will accelerate to about 25 MPH and then shift into 3rd and its like being in n car will coast and engine will rev. Have to install new transmission. Shop said it was clear from the condition of the car that it had not been abused, and that a transmission should last to about 150,000 miles.
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
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.
My 2002 landrover freelander is now dead. For the second time in less than 8 years the car have experience transmission problems. I had the transmission replaced after only 8 months of owing a brand new out of factory vehicle. Now about 5 years later the identical problem is happening again and the mechanic claims I need another new transmission. The car has less than %50,000 miles. The company needs to take responsibility for these lemons. I have replace all the window regulators except the rear door which needs to be replace but because of the current problem I haven't bother. The cooling system is always having problems. My goodness.
2003 freelander land rover - transmission died at 40000 miles and coolant system failed 2 weeks later. Dealer will not repair, car is incredibly unreliable and hence unsafe.
2002 landrover freelander. Bought with 4,000 miles from landrover of asheville, nc. Today at 67,000 miles they said the transmission needs to be replaced for 5k. I have had other problems with this vehicle but the sends me over the edge. I have been reading bloggs from other owners who stated having the same problem. What can be done.
My 2002 freeland landrover is having transmission problems. The f4 lights came on and they are saying I need to get a new transmission. There aren't even 65k miles on the vehicle. I am very disappointed. It seems that everyone is having this problem and something needs to be done.
Have owned 2002 lr freelander since may 2008, for around $9,000, have spent $4000 on repairs since. Transfer case went in the end of november, then the transmission died in the middle of january. The car was returned to me "fixed" early february but the transmission died again within 25 miles of the auto shop, luckily the work was under warranty, they found that an electrical issue was the true problem and returned it to me "fixed" again march 6, 2009, not even 20 miles this time and I'm getting the f4 signal, hdc warning, and the gears won't shift. I owe to much on the car to scrap it, but can't imagine wasting more money to have it sit in the shop for another couple of months (while im making payments on it) just to suffer the same fate.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Land Rover Freelander transmission failure
Which Land Rover Freelander years have complete transmission failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2002 (47 complaints), 2003 (5 complaints) and 2004 (4 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix complete transmission failure on the Land Rover Freelander?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $5,000 (median of 13 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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