1999 Land Rover Freelander XEI 1.8 petrol
Summary:
A nightmare car that must not be touched
Faults:
Head Gasket blew and leaked into cylinder head requiring new cylinder head.
General Comments:
Had a dreadful time with the dealer and Landrover. The car was only weeks out of warranty, had a full dealer service history and Landrover or the dealer would not help with the repairs. I have since found many other owners of this car who have the same problem. LR know about the problem and published a technical document describing the fault and vehicles that it will affect. There are many more cars that will suffer from this problem.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th December, 2002
10th Dec 2003, 07:36
We have a 1998 Freelander, one owner, 74000 miles, which has had the cylinder head gasket go a second time, this time cracking the cylinder head. This is on top of numerous other problems including a leak which lets water into the stowage locker under the luggage compartment floor, and which has never been cured, despite it becoming evident when the car was new.
Land-rover and the dealer seem to think this is quite normal; I think it is disgraceful. I have a BMW of the same age- never any problems, and I am sure that any would be dealt with speedily. No wonder one buys German!