Freelander 1 Rapid tyre and brake wear

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice or insights into a recurring issue with my 2006 Land Rover Freelander TD4 (5-door). The car has approximately 182,000 miles on it and has been converted to front-wheel drive due to the common driveshaft issue with Freelanders.

Background:
In June 2024, the front tyres were replaced (Kumho, middle of the range), and new front discs and pads were installed. At that time, all wheels had their geometry done.
The next 6 months or so, the car did another 14,000 miles. It was largely motorway driving.
Problem Description Now:
Recently, the front brakes have started grinding. And we now found out that they are completely worn out.
The front tyres, to our surprise, were also badly worn with inner side wear down to metal thread.
Rear tyres, much older with more mileage with low-end Suny tires from China, are ok.
Questions:
Is this abnormal wear of brakes and tires, under the circumstances described above normal, or could it be indicative of an underlying fault?
Is it the conversion to front-wheel drive or geometrical setup that is making the wear irregular on the front tyres?
Are there any particular components that can be checked, such as wheel bearings, suspension, or brake calipers?
Advice or suggestions about what to check or how to avoid this sort of wear in the future will be gratefully received, thanks in advance!

Hi,

On the freelander 1 you need to change all the 4 tires at the same times. If the propshaft was removed, you still have a differential and 2 drives shafts that you need to service …

For the front tires, are they rightly inflated ? A picture of the tire can help. Bad suspenssion or bad tie rod ends can kill your tires too …

For the brake issue, you will certainly need to change the discs with the brake pads. If the brake fluid is black … or has never been changed you can have sized brake pistons.

I should say, It’s not your problem, you paid for new tires and a geometry, renewed brakes, something went wrong … they give you a waranty. It not normal in 6 months and 14 000 miles to have this issues !

Get back to the garage … they must fix It as a waranty they give you !

The front brakes could be siezed calipers causing premature wear. Uneven tyre wear could be pressures incorrect, alignment out or wear in ball joints, track rod ends, drop links or even the steering rack. You need to check for play in all those I would say, most likely the ball joints. At that mileage, wishbone and steering arm bushes may also be contributing.

Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me


I'm glad I'm not.crazy and that the wear isn't normal!

For the other issues you guys mentioned, is there a way I can check them myself, as I don't have much confidence in the guy who did it, but don't want to engage yet another garage and pay fpr the investigation, after already being a grand in.

Thanks again for the advise

NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:

Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me


I'm glad I'm not.crazy and that the wear isn't normal!

For the other issues you guys mentioned, is there a way I can check them myself, as I don't have much confidence in the guy who did it, but don't want to engage yet another garage and pay fpr the investigation, after already being a grand in.

Thanks again for the advise

Click to expand...

Hi,

4 tires change on the FL1 only if it is a 4 by 4.

2 wheel drive freelander, you still have a rear diff that need oil, 2 drive shafts that have boot gaiters that can leak grease.
And you still pay for the rear geometry, and pay more for the MOT than a 2 wheels drive car.

NoIdeaWhatImDoing said:

Thanks so much for the input. I wasn't aware that all 4 tyres needed replacing at the same time, even if it's no longer 4wd, so thanks for enlightening me

Click to expand...

You don't.

You could probably run 25" on the front and 35" on the back if you wanted. Might feck up the speedo, but the ABS & TC would still work, HDC might get confused because of the speedo issues. There wouldn't be any mechanical issues because the front is not connected to the back mechanically. It would be stupid, and probably illegal, but the car would function.

But the gist is... you do not need matching tyres on the front and back so you can replace fronts and rears independently.

Park the car on a flat piece of road, stand in front of it and have a look at the angle (Camber) of the front wheels. If it looks like an F1 car then they probably need adjusting.
As already mentioned if 2WD then assuming the rears are OK, only change the fronts but get a proper 4 wheel alignment done by a place that can do it right, including camber. Be sure to specify you want a 4 wheel alignment as the rears may need adjusting too. Forty or fifty quid spent here will save a fortune in knackered tyres.
Also as mentioned the calipers are probably knackered causing the brakes to wear.