Freelander 2 (LR2) Pros and Cons...

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Harold 4x4

Harold 4x4

Active Member
Posts
671
Location
Tournai, Belgium
Hi all, I'm in the process of committing a henous crime and looking at a Freelander 2 to replace our Disco 2.
We've had two TD4s in the past, (one good, one shyte) as they performed very well over here in the winter, and are a much better drive on the autoroutes IMO. However, I loath to buy another and have the same feeling of "when am I going to have to fix it" ... As I did with the last two, and currently do with the two Discovery tdis I still have :)

Is the newer Freelander 2 any better than the earlier TD4?
Are they essentially the same car but with a modified/updated bodywork & interior?

No need to hit my with the "burn them" replies...;)
 
Freelander 2 is quite a different beast.
There have been quite a few threads lately about buying one, so have a little search.
Main problem seems to be the rear diff and bearings (search Haldex unit) , also engine problems are staring to appear.
Mike
 
The FL2 was a completely clean sheet design and having driven a total of around 130,000 miles in a succession of three FL2's, between 2011 and 2015, I'd have another in a heartbeat.
Look out for failing rear diffs at >100,000 miles and the autos can be a little thirsty, but they are generally very reliable.
 
Keep in mind that the FL2 has much more complex electronics and so, unless you have a really good diagnostic tool, complex electronic diagnostic stuff will be left to the professionals.
Otherwise, they aren't to bad. More reliable than the earlier Freelander but harder and more expensive to fix, should things go wrong.
 
Harold 4x4 said:
Ahhhh. I was hoping to avoid an overload of electronics .... Same issue with the D2
Click to expand...

Good luck with that.

When our (7 yr old) Jap Crap "thing" failed about 18 months ago, mainly electronics, but also corrosion, we had a good long look round at all the options we could see. There was nothing without a gazillion electronic gizmos.

I (now) hate electronics on a car, so to keep away from em, we now have two D1's.
 
Yep, me too. 3-door and 5- door. However, despite a 'trouble free' 2000 mile trip to Blighty recently in the 1995 Tdi, I'm hoping to find something suitable (jap or Freelander) for the regular trps back to UK and Belgium.
 
Snap:- a 3 door and a 5 door - 3 is a manual, 5 an auto.
Only my opinion, but for what another vehicle will cost you, and all the potential grief - stick with the D1's - easy and cheap to fix - even the rot, which they all get...
 
Blimey, I'd forgotten where I was for a minute!

If you can recycle D1's for ever, then you can have a life without electronics. Unless electronic ignition on the petrol version is a bit much, then maybe a Series would be better.

To meet current performance and fuel consumption needs, emission regs and yes, reliability, electronics are the only way. Best either find a mechanic who's been able to keep up with it, or buy the necessary OBD readers and software (which is getting really cheap now) and work with it.

The FL2 is fine.
 
Nodge68 said:
Keep in mind that the FL2 has much more complex electronics and so, unless you have a really good diagnostic tool, complex electronic diagnostic stuff will be left to the professionals.
Otherwise, they aren't to bad. More reliable than the earlier Freelander but harder and more expensive to fix, should things go wrong.
Click to expand...
Tigger Eeyore & Roo said:
Blimey, I'd forgotten where I was for a minute!

If you can recycle D1's for ever, then you can have a life without electronics. Unless electronic ignition on the petrol version is a bit much, then maybe a Series would be better.

To meet current performance and fuel consumption needs, emission regs and yes, reliability, electronics are the only way. Best either find a mechanic who's been able to keep up with it, or buy the necessary OBD readers and software (which is getting really cheap now) and work with it.

The FL2 is fine.
Click to expand...
Yes,you make a good point. Maybe it's time to invest in a diagnostic tool gizmo :)
 
Harold 4x4 said:
Yes,you make a good point. Maybe it's time to invest in a diagnostic tool gizmo :)
Click to expand...
I can recommend a really good diagnostic tool that communicates straight to your smartphone, be it Apple or Droid. It's the size of a fag packet and so can be kept in the vehicle, ready for use. I had one of these when I had the D3 and it was invaluable.
 
I can't see how an ODB tool is going to stop the electrical gremlins!

It might be able to identify some of them some of the time - but it won't stop them.

So they're going to still occur, and still be difficult to identify.

You only need to look at the F1 TD4 issues that run and run on here to see that.

So stick with your D1 or D2 - but better still get an L Series F1. Not only will it get you round Europe reliably - it'll probably cost less on fuel than an F2 as well (I don't believe the F2s were particularly ground breaking with their economy) - it'll probably be safer as well (I know I pooped my pants a few times flying round autoroutes in my 300TDI and having to slam the anchors on and hope the old boat stopped in time - at least once I had to head for the hard shoulder because it wouldn't).
 
The biggest issue with "electrical gremlins" is mechanics not being electricians and not being able to trace an diagnose electrical problems quickly and efficiently. Hands are thrown up in horror and parts that can be working just fine are replaced at great cost with no certainly of fixing anything!
A proper understanding of how to use the OBD and correctly interrogate the car's electrical system is just the way things are now.
 
Yes, it pays to know a little about electrics - and that's as much as I know..
Wouldn't touch a Freelander 1 with a barge pole having had two already. I was hopng the concensus might be that the Freelander 2 was the better option, but then anything with a Land Rover badge is going to hit your pocket eventually :)

I was hoping to spend less time covered in rust and shyte and more time quaffing wine - best buy Japanese.
 
I bought my first one in 2011. It was my company car and I had driven 90,000 miles by the time it was 2 1/2 years old. Apart from servicing and tyres I had a fracture in a pipe leading to an exhaust centre, which was fixed quickly, easily and first time.
I passed it on to one of the engineers - a serial BMW purchaser. He still has it and it's now done over 130,000 miles. He's had to replace the rear diff and that's it. He will run it for some time yet and can't think of anything he'd want to replace it with, other than another low mileage FL2.

He pays for an independent LR specialist to service it at the scheduled intervals and he doesn't have to get his hands dirty with it for any reason.
 
Tigger Eeyore & Roo said:
The biggest issue with "electrical gremlins" is mechanics not being electricians and not being able to trace an diagnose electrical problems quickly and efficiently. Hands are thrown up in horror and parts that can be working just fine are replaced at great cost with no certainly of fixing anything!
Click to expand...
That could just as easily be said for mechanical problems! There's just many more components on cars these days for mechanics to throw customers' money at.
Tigger Eeyore & Roo said:
A proper understanding of how to use the OBD and correctly interrogate the car's electrical system is just the way things are now.
Click to expand...
If there are gremlins in the electrical systems - that is when ODB is at its least useful. It at its most useful monitoring mechanical systems with all the electronic components operating fully.
 
GrumpyGel said:
I can't see how an ODB tool is going to stop the electrical gremlins!

It might be able to identify some of them some of the time - but it won't stop them.

So they're going to still occur, and still be difficult to identify.
Click to expand...
I don't recall anybody saying anything about a diagnostic tool stopping electrical gremlins or even OBD for that matter. The tool I had was a fully functional diagnostic device. It uses a custom App that does all the work for you. Hell you can even upload later software, adding features that didn't arrive at the time of manufacture. The tool I describe can even change the length of time that the interior lights are lit. The same can be done for the headlights too. There's so much that is reliant on software, it's reassuring to know it can be checked and fixed if needed, even by a novice.

Tigger Eeyore & Roo said:
The biggest issue with "electrical gremlins" is mechanics not being electricians and not being able to trace an diagnose electrical problems quickly and efficiently. Hands are thrown up in horror and parts that can be working just fine are replaced at great cost with no certainly of fixing anything!
A proper understanding of how to use the OBD and correctly interrogate the car's electrical system is just the way things are now.
Click to expand...
See above ^^^ . There's no longer a need to be technically minded to find out what's up. Developers have done all the hard work so the user can now simply use a diagnostic tool to find out what's wrong. ;)
 
Harold 4x4 said:
Yes, it pays to know a little about electrics - and that's as much as I know..
Wouldn't touch a Freelander 1 with a barge pole having had two already. I was hopng the concensus might be that the Freelander 2 was the better option, but then anything with a Land Rover badge is going to hit your pocket eventually :)

I was hoping to spend less time covered in rust and shyte and more time quaffing wine - best buy Japanese.
Click to expand...
You won't escape electronics by going Japanese. In fact they are even worse the LR. Don't forget that the FL2 is basically a Ford so can be treated as such. All modern vehicles have lots of computers, my Discovery 3 had 13 and it was only a basic spec. Just chose a car that does what you need and fix it should the need arise. The FL2 isn't a bad vehicle and a good LR ;)
 
There's no getting away from electronics on modern vehicles, that be true.... However, Land Rover don't seem to have the same reliability with electrics as most other cars. Maybe it's just my perception.

All said and done I don't like the Japanese alternatives so I'll be hoping to find a descent F2 to sleep under at weekends
 
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