2000 Land Rover Freelander SE 1.8 petrol

Summary:

If you have the money / wish to fulfill a dream in owning one then go for it, but keep it and regret

Faults:

The head gasket blew after 68,000 miles and cost an absolute fortune to resolve.

After the head gasket was fitted, the cylinder liners dropped rendering the engine useless and a new engine had to be fitted at immense cost.

Tracking on the rear wheels has never been in alignment since the day we purchased the car.

Fuel economy has gone down ever since we purchased the car.

Clock / Radio display failed soon after purchase and we have just not bothered to waste more money on getting it fixed.

Solenoid controlling the rear door handle has failed leaving us with a freelander that has a back door / boot which cannot be opened.

Air conditioning discharged after 70,000 miles and even after recharging has never blown cold.

General Comments:

A very poor car in which anything and everything can go wrong. My advice would be don't buy one and if you do, then please ensure you have sufficient funds to constantly upkeep the vehicle.

Many things tend to go wrong with these cars and as ours was a 4 door, the chassis even seems to be out of alignment as one of the rear doors will not shut properly!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd July, 2005

4th Nov 2005, 07:13

How much did you pay for this car, and why didn't you ask for some Warranty on it? Was it a Private sale? You can buy warranties of the Net now and i'd recommend you get one, as LandRovers are expensive to maintain - like you've found out.

2000 Land Rover Freelander Xei 1.8

Summary:

A very poor car in all respects

Faults:

The car failed to start when we went to pick it up from the dealer... not a good start.

The hill descent failed.

The exhaust system and catalytic converter completely failed.

Oil and water mixing throughout.

Sunroof leaking causing water to catch in the roof lining.

Back door seals leak.

Sun roof gear winders broke.

All this within six months of purchasing the car from a large dealer. The after-sales care has been awful and we are left with a bill for over £4000 for a complete new engine and catalytic converter.

General Comments:

The car has been a complete disaster from the day we purchased it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 1st February, 2005

2000 Land Rover Freelander XEDi 2.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

Good image, but high maintenance costs

Faults:

1) Excessive tyre wear.

2) Air conditioning

3) 4x Number plate bulbs

4) Soft-back Zips.

General Comments:

For all the bad press that the freelander gets it is actually a very enjoyable car. I appreciate that the diesel is under powered, but what other 4x4 delivers 35mpg+ economy.

I have only had a few niggles, for example, the poor heater and excessive road/axle noise.

The real issues, for me, are main dealer servicing costs and frequent tyre replacement. I know that for every 10,000 miles I will have a 700GBP bill too expensive for the family user!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th February, 2004

2000 Land Rover Freelander 1.8 Unleaded

Summary:

High running costs, Low return

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 42,000, necessitating a new engine!

Switch on rear window failed repeatedly after 20,000 miles meaning it would randomly wind down. Meaning I could never set the alarm!

Drivers' side window makes a grating noise, and never stays fixed.

Clutch went after 15,000.

Original tyres lasted less than 12 months and 12,000 miles!

Plus si many smaller faults I can't keep up with them all!

General Comments:

Having come from a Civic Coupe which went wrong only once in three years (and that was an electric window switch needing replacing), this was something of a shock.

It's somewhat less reliable than my Mark 5 Cortina, and somewhat slower too. Although it's a lease car, and they've had to pay for the bi-weekly major maintenance it seems to have needed, I still felt it didn't merit more than a "1" for running costs because it drinks more petrol than a 747. Any motorway driving at anything over 70 mph, and you can almost watch the petrol gauge drop.

The last straw came when the head gasket blew up eight weeks after a service, necessitating a new engine. At first I thought the engine was on fire, and actually stood there praying the car would explode.

I would never recommend one of these to a friend, unless they were in a "Brewsters' Millions" situation and had to get rid of a large amount of money in a short space of time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th October, 2002

16th Oct 2004, 17:49

Excellent review, my own freelander needed a new engine after only 33,000 miles!

7th Dec 2004, 20:56

Today the head gasket on my engine went at 38K miles. Numerous problems during three year ownership--rear window malfunctioning, car overheating time and time again for different reasons, first three months of ownership electrical system fried the battery. Back tire blew out after first two months. In and out of the shop too many times---brake pads are low standard so brakes had to be repaired six times during three years. I could go on and on, I would NEVER recommend ownership of this car to anyone, Land rover should be ashamed of themselves and should issue a recall on the defective engines before someone gets hurt.

16th Dec 2005, 06:43

Owned a Freelander (better call it FreeJunker) for 3.5 years. The problems on the car started on the very first year with an incredible noise coming from engine. After taking it to the Land Rover dealer I was told that the tires needed to be changed! Need to say that at the time I had less than 8,000miles on the car! At 18,000 miles the water pump broke which resulted to a 300 pound repair! Again the Land Rover dealer denied any wrong doing with the car and covered absolutely no fees towards my problem. At 29,000miles the head gasket went!!! By this point I was fuming with anger since the estimated cost of repair, came to 700 pounds! Needless to say that not even once the car was abused by any means. All service maintenances, oil changes.. etc was done by the dealer. Fixed the car and was lucky enough to sell it in no time.

It is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE for a car with 29,000 miles to need a new head gasket. Judging and reading from other landrover owners this is a very common problem with the Freejunkers and land rover should be ashamed for having this car into production.

I would never ever buy a Landrover again in my life! Not even if they gave me one for free.

2000 Land Rover Freelander Standard 1.8i

Summary:

Solid and well engineered 4x4

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Nice comfortable car which handles better than many saloons I have owned.

Has a presence on the road that you don't get with Far East or German 4x4s.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st December, 2001

1st Aug 2002, 09:00

You must be joking!

23rd Oct 2009, 18:45

I must have bought the worst Freelander in the world.

2000 Land Rover Freelander TD4 5 door ES 2.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

The safety and purpose of a 4x4 with the comfort of a limo

Faults:

Nothing at all to date.

General Comments:

Build quality is superb, clearly influenced by Ford.

BMW sourced turbo-diesel is quiet, smooth and incredibly gutsy.

Ride is better than most saloons and equipment is generous.

Economy of only 32 mpg disappoints, but may improve when fully run in.

A bit of a gamble buying it, but no regrets at all now. Superb.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd December, 2000

6th Mar 2001, 06:00

It's a shame Land Rover can't sort their products out before the customer gets them. From your Freelander it would appear the problems are now finally sorted, but it's three years too late for a lot of owners.

13th Mar 2001, 16:25

3000miles...just you wait!

My 1998 50th Anniversary has been nothing short of a complete nightmare.

Good luck to you both!!

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