help needed

[quoman]

i am on a mitsubishi pajero site(www.pocok.co.uk)to read some of there posts you would think landrover was the worst vehicle ever made,i try to reason with them,but there,s no hope

[V8MoneyPit]

I think it is fair to say that when it comes to build quality, Land rovers (all of them) have their brief moments..... it's just a pity that the brief moments are when a good one is produced!

And we have both a 110 and a Freelander  :D

[wurzel0747]

Landrover freelander 1.8 is the worst vehicle I have ever had the misfortune and stupidity to own.And I have driven Landrovers all my adult life.
Anybody who argues this is sad !And wrong !
I am stuck with a very very expensive storage box sat on my drive !
I am sure die hard bods that spend weekends driving around quarrys will feel a little upset !
Sorry !I am just so so angry with the rubbish I spent my hard earned cash on !
I work hard for what I have , this realy winds me up !
Landrover , Charles Hurst, Belfast ,charged me £80 to sniff the tank and tell me my head was cracked, I have only just got the car and the HG was changed less than 1k miles ago !How did this vehicle roll off the production line ??
Not good !!
Nuff said !

[quoman]

if i say i am sorry,that wont help you or get you your money back,however the problems you have are the exact reasons i did,nt buy a petrol freelander,i choose the td4 diesil,which up to now is very economicle and has,nt missed a beat,I tow a medium wieght caravan(1400kgs)with it,and depending on wind and road conditions,i can still get up to 30mpg.
My previous vehicle 2.5td pajero,although very reliable,was also very thirsty 18.5mpg towing.So i have lost out on comfort and toys but still feel i made the right choice.
I wish you better luck with you next vehicle.
           
              regards Quoman

[landroverkeith]

As we own a 1.8 freelander and touch wood have never had any major problems it quite often acts as a main vehicle while the discovery is yet again off road....
 I will argue for the freelander, it being a great little vehicle so does that make me sad???   :shock:  I think not

[wurzel0747]

Erm , Yes ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 Just because you are having good luck with yours .the ratio of vehicles to pressure cookers is still proof that Freebies are bad and I realy hope the bubble does not burst for you .
One more point , since the last post,  I have found that 98% of major garages will not touch my vehicle due to fact they can not guarantee that I wont be back in 1600 miles with the same problem.
Landrover even had the cheek to suggest that I was to blame because of my driving !
Inst adv motorist ,4x4  x country instructor.Police advanced driver means nothing then !
If you think I am showing off , then yes , I have probably done more x country and I do mean proper x country on nearly every type of terrain on the planet than 99 % of viewers to this site.
I say this as a fact not a boast , and to give my whinging a bit of backbone , I am not an ill informed boy racer who knows nothing.
So please believe me when I say that freebies are no good .
By the way , the disco we had required 3 engine replacements !
They aint that good when they are driven along  dirt tracks in KABUL !
Kensington high street maybe !
I am sure that this will realy annoy a few , if not all LR owners that care enough to read this.Sorry but I AM RIGHT ! ENDEX

[Tigger]

Just because you are having good luck with yours .the ratio of vehicles to pressure cookers is still proof that Freebies are bad and I realy hope the bubble does not burst for you .

Do you know what the ratio / percentage of failures actually is ?  Obviously you have had some bad experiences... but there are a *lot* of Freelanders around which are running perfectly well.

I'm well aware of their faults, and I wouldn't proclaim that they are a perfect vehicle by any stretch... any more than I would proclaim that they are *all* terrible.  

FWIW, I would read your complaints with equal gravitas if you were a mum on the school run..  off road driving credentials shouldn't really come into the equation when we're talking about vehicle reliability.

[Sider]

Tim, that was a very exhaustive reply, that saved me from writing my own, probably accompanied by a couple of expletives :D

[landroverkeith]

well if u consider landrovers so bad u know the answer dont u..........

[Sider]

And BTW, wurzel, I am a professional driver, and I do know more than one police trained "advanced" driver and IAM drivers who I would't let anywhere near my car, let alone allow them to drive it.

If you can't keep your vehicle maintained properly and it fails (and since you are telling us that all your landrovers are giving you troubles, I am inclined to believe that) don't blame it on the vehicle, blame it on yourself. Or on whomever told you you have the expertise to maintain a vehicle.

There are some lemons going around, but I am still to hear of the first LR model famous for its spontaneous combustion fits.

And before you reply irately, bear in mind that I am not an "advanced" driver, but someone who earns his living behind the wheel of 5 different vehicles on a regular basis, 2 of them Land Rovers, and who is responsible for keeping those 5 vehicles plus another 6 vans on the road.

[V8MoneyPit]

I think the problem is percentage failure. It is, without question, unacceptable that so many K series engines have problems (and this includes Rovers, MG's, Lotus, etc... not just LR Freelanders). The K series was, in concept, a fantastic engine. The mistake was stretching it to 1.8 from it's original 1.4.

As Tim rightly says, there are vast numbers of 1.8 engines running around without a sniff of trouble. But I do believe that the percentage of failures is far higher than it should be. We had a 1.8 and had no problems at all during the time we owned it.

As for your grievances, Wurzel, you need to pursue LR harder. Forget the local main dealer,  they can be more trouble than they are worth! Go direct to LR customer services. Write to them, don't phone. Check with the SMMT as well, to see whether they have any advice as to how to approach the problem. They will have had experience of this before and will be able to advise what to expect.