Freelander 1 IRD unit

Mike Bennett · Nov 7, 2017

Hi Everyone
Our 2001 Freelander which we have had for about 7 years needs an IRD unit, I replaced the VCU unit about 2 years ago, Should I replace the unit or just run it on 2 wheel drive till it’s time to let it go?
The general bodywork and engine are good

I want to replace it in a couple of years time with a Freelander 2 or Discovery 3 or 4

Any comments would be welcome

Thanks

Madmustang · Nov 7, 2017

It depends on what benefit having it 4wd has for you. Whats wrong with it?

Mike Bennett · Nov 7, 2017

We haven’t used it off road a great deal , it’s the wife’s car but she loves driving it and feels safe in bad weather and with all the lunatics about

I use it when the weather is bad as I drive about 25 miles to work across country lanes

I can’t say we have had to need the 4wd for most of the time we have had it

Madmustang · Nov 7, 2017

Mike Bennett said:
We haven’t used it off road a great deal , it’s the wife’s car but she loves driving it and feels safe in bad weather and with all the lunatics about

I use it when the weather is bad as I drive about 25 miles to work across country lanes

I can’t say we have had to need the 4wd for most of the time we have had it

You proberly didnt notice it was working

Remove the prop shaft and VCU and see how you get on with it on your long drive to work before the winter then decided if you can live without the 4X4.

Nodge68 · Nov 7, 2017

Mike Bennett said:
We haven’t used it off road a great deal , it’s the wife’s car but she loves driving it and feels safe in bad weather and with all the lunatics about

I use it when the weather is bad as I drive about 25 miles to work across country lanes

I can’t say we have had to need the 4wd for most of the time we have had it

How do you know you haven't had to use 4WD? The system is fully automatic, so you can't generally tell when it steps in. If you make it FWD, it'll spin it's wheels when you pull out of junctions in a hurry. Normally this isn't noticed as the 4WD system steps in the moment traction is lost.

Personally I prefer the FL1 as a 4WD. It just works better that way without insurance company issues either.

A word of caution about getting a FL2, D3 or D4. All are massively more expensive to run and maintain than the comparatively cheap FL1. A D3 for instance can and does cost more than £2000 a year in parts alone.

So for me, I'd fix the FL1 and keep it going, rather than trade up to higher repair costs.

Mike Bennett · Nov 7, 2017

Madmustang said:
You proberly didnt notice it was working Remove the prop shaft and VCU and see how you get on with it on your long drive to work before the winter then decided if you can live without the 4X4.

Thanks for the advice , will see how we get on

Mike Bennett · Nov 7, 2017

Nodge68 said:
How do you know you haven't had to use 4WD? The system is fully automatic, so you can't generally tell when it steps in. If you make it FWD, it'll spin it's wheels when you pull out of junctions in a hurry. Normally this isn't noticed as the 4WD system steps in the moment traction is lost.

Personally I prefer the FL1 as a 4WD. It just works better that way without insurance company issues either.

A word of caution about getting a FL2, D3 or D4. All are massively more expensive to run and maintain than the comparatively cheap FL1. A D3 for instance can and does cost more than £2000 a year in parts alone.

So for me, I'd fix the FL1 and keep it going, rather than trade up to higher repair costs.

Thanks for the advice
I did hear recently of a guy who paid 22k for a Discovery 3 then got a 6k repair bill in the first year

freelance · Nov 7, 2017

I would expect fl2 to compare to running costs of fl1, or new bit less

Hippo · Nov 7, 2017

4 different LR main dealer parts departments have rated the FL2 as being the most reliable LR of the electronic vehicles they made, over the last 10 or so years when asking them. Theory based on the amount of parts they have to supply the service/repair peeps. This is balanced against the number of different vehicles worked on. That dun't mean yer can't buy a bad one... everyone knows yer can't go wrong if buying a Freelander 1 or 2.

Freelander 1 IRD unit

Mike Bennett

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