Problems with 2002 Land Rover Freelander ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

On two separate occasions, one days after my car was cleared for a second time by a land rover dealer. my car went into 'limited perfomance mode' while i was commuting to work....i was in the high speed lane and the middle lane and my car would not accelerate about 20 mph. i had to call 911 on the second occasion as it happened because i was in the merge of 2 highways in the evening. my car also had downshifting problems where the downhill decent control would come on out of nowhere causing my car to buck forward and drop down to second gear. the dealership again said that is could not be duplicated 3 times before they finally found something and then it kept happening anyway. my transmission let go on the highway at just over 60k miles and then my engine lining shifted spewing oil only about 2 months after. the dealerships are well aware of the poor quality of these vehicles and yet, they sell and re-sell them to the unsuspecting consumers. i have a lawyer and will be suing lr for everything i can, including lost wages, emotional and physical distress, and anything else that can be tied into my two year nightmare. i strongly suggest you get these vehicles off the road before someone gets killed. thank you *tr

Engine coolant, transmission failure overheated, leaking fluids. dealership replaced transmission when vehicle overheated. paid 2500 for a new transmission then dealer indicated that this vehicle needed more servicing unrelated to the transmission for another 3000.00. dealer was negligent when fixing transmission and caused further damage. *jb

Our 2002 land rover freelander began to over heat at 63,216 miles. we were lucky in that we were at a drive through near our house. we took the car home right away. upon getting an appointment with the dealer, the car was taken in for inspection. the long block needed replacing. this was due to the fact that a cylinder sleeve had slipped. we were able to get the engine replaced. upon further discussion with the dealer, it seems to be known that the engine will fail. this dealer has had owners come in for their 3rd motor all within the warranty. the life expectancy seems to be between 30,000 and about 65,000 miles. we are lucky that we were not anywhere far away or my wife was on business. this seems to be a bad design and right now it looks like land rover will do nothing about it. those whom are out of warranty are out of luck. *jb

Engine failure-check engine light appeared & slow acceleration, upper intake of engine had to be replaced at 51,000 miles, dealer not willing to cover due to regular vehicle maintenance not done at dealership, this is a violation of the magnuson-moss act. *ak

I bought a 2002 land rover freelander as a 2nd owner of the vehicle from a local car dealership. since the purchase of the vehicle, i replaced a sunroof, a transmission, the brakes require constant replacement (more often than should be necessary), a passenger door window motor and the engine has been replaced once and now has blown again - i am unable to have this engine replaced #1 there are no more engines as the landrover dealer only made this defective model 1 year and there have been so many engines replaced by other owners that there are no other engines available. even if there were any engines i would not pay $10,000 to have another "defective" engine placed in this vehicle. there are over 1400 messages on the edmond forum.com outlining other peoples similar complaints. this defective vehicle has caused countless people's credit to be ruined, and financial hardship to untold families. i wonder why nothing has been done already with all the complaints that have been filed. landrover needs to reimburse these owners the money they have spent - such as myself on repairs, constantly in the shop and having to pay for rental vehicles. the local dealer was rude and had absolutely no sympathy and actually told me after bringing my vehicle in to them over and over that "he will be glad when my husband and i get out from under this vehicle" and admitted that this vehicle had been a problem for them. but... the dealer wouldn't even offer us a free oil change for all of our hardships. it is a shame. i hope eventually something is done before this company "bellies up" and files bankruptcy and all of these families that have been ruined will have no recourse for their financial woes as a result of this horrible situation. please help any way you can! *tr

My land rover freelander has had 2 engine failures under 50k mi., the first at 26k and the second 24k later. 2 sunroof replacements, 2 side window repairs, 1 overheating incident, and the car just runs hot all the time, with hot coolant smell. *nm

Engine temperature spiking. engine sucked a lave into the engine - engine seized. had to rebuild engine - $5500.00. *nm

I took my vehicle to landrover when i noticed a loss of power in engine & tapping noise while it was in warranty. a few times landrover classified my problem as the throttle, which happened to be a recall item. once they did the "recall" repair on the throttle in 4/05, i took it back a few days later because there was no change after the initial "recall repair". than i was told it was a common problem among all freelanders. now that the vehicle is out of warranty, i learned about a tsb that came out a year after i reported my problem for my identical problem that existed than and now that landrover tech's misdiagnosed, mistaken or ignored for something else. they are clever enough not to include what the customer complaint is on the repair ticket & only include what they did. the loss of power is unpredictable and is a hazard that landrover is fully aware of per the tsb listed below. it's disturbing that the repairs done to my vehicle under "recall" never fixes the problem. the roof & pillars recall was fixed twice when in warranty and broke yet again and remains broken. landrover now wants to charge to fix it again. why, the fix doesn't work. the vehicle hasn't stopped yet, eventually it will get to the point where i can't drive it because of the unpredictable behavior. kv6 variable intake manifold system (vis) motor diagnostic aid no: 19/01/06/nas fgn 310-00 ref: 19/03/03/nas ta02tb01, ta021901, ta031901 issue: 1 date: 26 june 2006. *tr

The passenger cabin filled with smoke. apparent cause is a blown cam plug. dealer claims cold climate causes build-up of vapor presure in the engine. the plug blows out and oil pours onto the hot exhaust system. dealer claims they have seen this before, and that a cold climate kit that is used in canada resolves the issue. but land rover will not pay for the modification which cost me $296! this could have easily caused a fire of an accident.*ak

(1) defrost/heat not work;2) engine overheated;3) replaced heater vac at a cost of $830, old part kept at delear. *ak

2002 freelander. used 1 quart of oil per 1000 mi. at 12000. new engine was put in. back window would not roll up. sunroof leaks. coolant blew everywhere. and the worst, while driving on a right curve, steering went out and was nearly a 3 car accident. dealership wants me to drive it without knowing why it's happening. *ak

Vehicle was purchased with 40,000 miles on it from a dealership in december of 2004. day after vehicle was purchased rear window motor broke. dealership replaced. two weeks later car began to lose power, dealership replaced sensor. loss of power again dealership ending up performing engine work. vehicle continually displaced hill decent / track control light. dealership replaced. at 65000 miles keyless entry stopped unlocking all doors with the exception of the driver's side door. doors can no longer be unlocked from the inside as well. rear passenger window on driver's side does not go down. loss of power issue is happening again now at 75,000 miles. *tr

2002 land rover freelander has problems with faulty cam sensor, faulty sunroof, transmission and battery.*mr the battery and struts were replaced. the driver's side window would not close or open easily, so the dealer replaced the regulator. the vehicle overheated. the engine light illuminated and different componets were replaced to try and rectify the problem. *jb

My 2002 landrover freeland has overheated 5 times since i purchased it in 2003. each time the rand rover dealer repaired it and said it was something different. it just happened again and i brought it to a gargage. (since my warranty is up and the dealer ship claimed it was something different each time.).. this time it was fixed costing me $800.00. not only has this been a problem, but i have had the headlights go out on me while driving across state at night on the thruwa and now the rear window is now not working. i have had nothing but problems and have spent alot of $$ on this truck. unfortunately i cannot afford to buy something else. i am a single mom trying to out her kids through college... : ( i hope something can be done to prevent another consumer having these problems and someone really getting hurt. i have been very lucky i havent been in an accident or had the truck blow up while it over heated !!! lol thanks.... *nm

Numerous times the engine of my freelander loses compression and the vehicle will not travel at a speed faster than 5 mph. the vehicle lurches and won't maintain a proper speed. the vehicle has been into the dealership several times. i have been told that they aren't sure what is wrong with it. approximately 8 months ago the replaced the throttle body. the vehicle worked properly for 7 months. a month ago it happened again. this time i was on the expressway in between semi trucks. the vehicle lost speed and i could not tracel faster than 5 mph. i was able to get the vehicle off to the side of the road. i let it coll down for 20 minutes. when i started the vehicle it was able to drive. i took it to the dealership and they said that they didn't know what the problem was. however, they did state, "we have been having problems with this model." i was told to drive the vehicle home and bring it back if it happened again. one week later, it happened again on the highway. again' i let it cool down, and i was able to get it home. i made contact with the dearlership and land rover of north america, and not once have they asked to see the vehicle, offer to fix it, look at it. all the have attempted to do is for me to trade up to a discovery. the vehicle sits in my driveway because it is too dangerous to drive and land rover refuses to take the vehicle back, or even offer to fix it. *ak

I finally got my freelander back from over 4 months of waiting. my 2002 freelander required a new engine after it was found that mud and/or debris had entered my timing belt enclosure and caused my engine to jump time and catostrophically destroy my engine valves and cylinder walls. a specific land rover dealer noted that "mud" was the total cause of my engine failure, when in fact it was a 1" x 1" hole in the timing belt enclsoure; this hole is a design flaw or oversight and thus allows any dirt/grime/debris/mud to enter and cause severe damage. freelander never showed visible signs (meter or steam) that it was overheating. insurance has covered this issue under a flood coverage and has fronted over $12,800 for a new engine. i haven't received any loss-use coverage for the 4 months. upon inspection of my new 2003 engine, i found a new plastic piece that now covers the once 1" x 1" hole in the timing belt enclosure. this piece also has a piece number and costs appoximately $6.00. now you can see, a mere $6 item would have saved me and insurance over $13,000. land rover has not initiated a recall or service bulletin to my knowledge; i suspect that this will only be installed on an as needed basis for those drivers who do use their freelander as advertised by land rover. in a recent article in land rover chronicle, it was stated that the 2006 freelander will have a better sealed engine compartment, due to the fact that most drivers are using their vehicles for off-road use (as advertised); they also state that this vehicle wasn't designed to match the discovery or defender. on top of it all, my front axle required replacement due to a new engine install (vibration problems), a new 02 sensor, plus i've noticed a small hand-sized dent on my hood (from closing). i still have problems of some sort since my service engine light it on now.*ak

Many problems. 1st. thermostat failure before 200 mile mark. replaced. coolant leaks. heater replaced, leaking coolant. engine sound like a diesel truck, never told what it was. sunroof broke 3 times. transmission replaced twice. steering column was not bolted correctly, steering wheel always off center. coolant still leaks... *tr

While applying the brake pedal, the consumer heard a loud squeaking noise. then, the vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and pulled over. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, who determined the brake rotors and pads needed to be replaced, and replaced them. however, the problem recurred. *ak the consumer stated the coolant system failed and the vehicle had electrical problems. *jb

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. *tt

According to the dealership in charlotte, nc overheating is a known defect due to inadequate engine exhaust fan. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak