Freelander 2 (LR2) Buying advice please.....

thebiglad · Nov 12, 2017

Hi all, very familiar with Defenders and Disco's but know jack about Freelander 2.

My wife is thinking about buying a 2008 Freelander 2 2.2 TD4 XS. It has done 128,000 mls.

What are the common faults/problems/things to look out for ????

Dave

cremator10 · Nov 13, 2017

Don't buy one lol

thebiglad · Nov 13, 2017

Thanks for in-depth reply.

GrumpyGel · Nov 13, 2017

He's only giving his overview of ownership!

There have been some F2 buying threads, I just did a quick search and found a few with little response but there are some that have had a bit of response.

I think in general that, apart from the rear diff that is made from cheese, they are reliable until they go wrong - which may be often! Then you get your cheque book out and start donating cash to people who don't fix the problems.

Hope that helps.

thebiglad · Nov 13, 2017

Hi GG, thanks very much for the response. As I said I'm familiar with Disco's & Def's which makes me familiar with the hatred of early Freelanders - but I can't help but feel that since Ford was involved things got better - but maybe not ???

Unfortunately not a big seller so it's difficult to get unbiased feedback.

GrumpyGel · Nov 13, 2017

thebiglad said:
Hi GG, thanks very much for the response. As I said I'm familiar with Disco's & Def's which makes me familiar with the hatred of early Freelanders - but I can't help but feel that since Ford was involved things got better - but maybe not ???

Unfortunately not a big seller so it's difficult to get unbiased feedback.

I agree that the Ford thing should have made things better - but I think the bits they would have been invloved with are probably the worse bits of the car.

As I say, the diffs are rubbish and on a 2008 car I'd be wanting to see evidence of it having been replaced, or budget for a replacement (in the same way you'd budget for a VCU replacement on an F1). After 2010 they got better evidently. Bell Engineering do decent replacements. I'd also give the Haldex a fluid change if I got a F2. The rest of the mechanicals appear sound - unless I've missed/forgotten anything from the threads going through here.

The biggest issues though appear to be the electronics - which is where you would have thought the might of Ford would have sound components. The cars look very prone to spurious electrical issues. This week there's been a thread running where the wipers and indicators would spontaneously turn themselves on - the garage suggested changing the main comms junction which iirc was about £1K and probably would not fix the issue. Problems like that appear common and horrendously difficult to diagnose and fix - even though after running up huge garage bills, the faulty part may only be £2.50!

These types of issues of course may just be common to all "modern" cars and unfair to pin just of F2.

tlo · Nov 13, 2017

cremator10 said:
Don't buy one lol

while GG has explained far better than I could I have to agree with cremator on this, lovely cars but judging by the experiences my daughter has had with hers the only advice I can give you is don't unless you have deep pockets

Nodge68 · Nov 13, 2017

I personally think the FL1 is likely to be less trouble and cheaper when things go wrong, compared to the hideously complex electrical system on the FL2. The electrical and mechanical repair costs are definitely much much higher.
The main FL2 problems are rear diff.
Engine oil leaks, normally the crank rear seal.
Swirl flaps have a bit of a reputation for disintegration.
Clutches can fail at pretty low mileages.
There have been some auto box failures.
And numerous, seemingly random electrical faults cropping up, that will only increase as they get older.

tlo · Nov 13, 2017

Nodge68 said:
And numerous, seemingly random electrical faults cropping up, that will only increase as they get older.

My daughter has resorted to carrying around a set of jump leads because of this

freelance · Nov 13, 2017

She needs to be careful with jump leads, they,re renown for causing spikes and more damage

GrumpyGel · Nov 13, 2017

tlo said:
My daughter has resorted to carrying around a set of jump leads because of this

Jump leads definitely don't help delicate electronics!

tlo · Nov 14, 2017

Thanks lads for the advice I will pass it on, my son in law is a mechanic and it has also been back to were she brought it and neither place can find out what is happening . Hubby has told her if it happens again she has to get rid . Its a lovely car but no good to any one if it don't go

GrumpyGel · Nov 14, 2017

tlo said:
Thanks lads for the advice I will pass it on, my son in law is a mechanic and it has also been back to were she brought it and neither place can find out what is happening . Hubby has told her if it happens again she has to get rid . Its a lovely car but no good to any one if it don't go

Yeh, after reading the jump lead horror stories on here, I no longer carry jump leads in the car. I always carry a rope - its their own lazy fault if they drive an auto

tlo · Nov 14, 2017

GrumpyGel said:
Yeh, after reading the jump lead horror stories on here, I no longer carry jump leads in the car. I always carry a rope - its their own lazy fault if they drive an auto

must tell her that one

300bhp/ton · Nov 14, 2017

thebiglad said:
Hi GG, thanks very much for the response. As I said I'm familiar with Disco's & Def's which makes me familiar with the hatred of early Freelanders - but I can't help but feel that since Ford was involved things got better - but maybe not ???

Unfortunately not a big seller so it's difficult to get unbiased feedback.

Nothing really wrong with Freelander 1’s tbh. Built using many proven Rover parts. In the wider market they are generally no better or worse than almost any other make of similar crossover SUV.

People who claim differently are either doing it for attention or are likely idiots with a chip on their shoulder.

The FL2 is all new parts vs the FL1. So has its own unique issues. But again is unlikely to really be better or worse than most other alternatives. I suspect with some Googling you may find more detailed ownership info on sites other than Landyzone however.

Btw. Pretty sure the FL2 was a pretty good and big seller for Land Rover. Certainly in the U.K. there are friggin loads of them. Depending on your budget and intended use. You might want to consider the 3.2 straight 6 one. Often forgotten or not even known about. But has some rather nice qualities.

Freelander 2 (LR2) Buying advice please.....

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