Hi guys, I am a new 2008 LR2 auto I6 owner, just bought the truck with 65,000 km on it. I have noticed that first gear is a little louder and whinier than the other gears. Is this normal? it's not super loud, just a bit of a whine as i accelerate that goes away after it shifts to second. Also, total new owner question, is there a towing electrical harness hidden somewhere on the truck or is that a factory option? thanks for the help guys!

Hi Artic Fire

there are a few i6 owners on here but not many. The i6 wasn't a big seller in the UK due to high fuel prices.

As for the towing electrical harness - it won't be hidden on your car but can be easily retro fitted. You will have to visit you dealer to get the CPU coded to accept it though. My recommendation is to buy a genuine LR item - easy to fit!

happy hunting

DR There's always a way forward!

2008 Freelander Td4 GS - Stornoway Grey - Now Gone - Sob
2011 Freelander Td4 GS 150 - Rimini Red - in its place - Better x far x 4!!

I would second getting the genuine LR towbar and electrics, easy to fit and if you have a warranty and there are any issues it goes back to one place! Worth paying a slight premium for in my opinion.

Truck

G'Day Arctic Fire, my i6 auto, 61,000km, is exactly the same for first gear against the other five, has been since new. A loan one I had during service was also the same, so I am sure this is normal and nothing to be concerned about. As a matter of interest, mine rarely starts in first gear on normal roads unless I choose it through command control; it comes into play off road on steep hills, particularly with HDC engaged. I hope you have as much pleasure with your Freelander as I've had with mine, excellent car with no problems to date. Sorry I can't help with the harness question since I don't tow but, if I did, I would follow the other members and go for the Land Rover items. Good luck with it all.

Great! it's not a bad noise, just a little loud. I have noticed that a few people have mentioned the second gear starts, and I think that the adaptive learning may pick up my slow start habits and start using second to go. I think I will take it in for a towing kit quote at LR, and I will let everyone know how much.

egipp wrote:

G'Day Arctic Fire, my i6 auto, 61,000km, is exactly the same for first gear against the other five, has been since new. A loan one I had during service was also the same, so I am sure this is normal and nothing to be concerned about.

Sorry to have been confusing! Mine is exactly as you describe, only the first gear has a whine.

My Td4 auto whines infirst as well ! For me its anoying as mine has used 2nd gear to pull away for 2.5 years due to a fault that two dealers failed to ever find ! So now it works properly it always pulls away in first. The whine is only slight !
Lrover tow kit is the way to go.
Make sure if its a detchable it has a number 215 on the ball! Any other number is a faulty batch !

Is this another instance of where the additional "earth" connections may be of assistance?

It's an issue which has been discussed many times and seems from experience of several members to make a difference to the auto boxes on our fine vehicles. 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

quite correct Simont

Quote:

Is this another instance of where the additional "earth" connections may be of assistance?

The OP has a mechanical whine in 1st gear as do all of our vehicles albeit differing in 'how loud', and someones suggesting the magic earth wire to cure a mechanical noise

Back to reality, any towbar will suit but it is recommended to fit the dedicated harness.

towbars do not fit securely on fl2's, buy a lorry or tractor if you need to tow safely At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

ooops
I think EYORKSHIRE has miss read the post !
No! an extra earth wire doesnt cure the whine ! infact mine had never had the whine untill the earth was fitted becasue it was then discovered that mine had always pulled away in 2nd ! which made it really really slow ! especially towing !
The fitting of the extra earth then enabled 1st gear everytime when pulling away and thats when the whine was first noticed and then realised that must be 1st gear ! and a lot swifter pulling away !
I still to this day cannot understand how it had been into two dealerships many times over for hesitation and low power and it had never been noticed that it was pulling away in 2nd, which I thought was normal as my E250 uses 2nd pulling away.

Wow guys thanks for the info, very reassuring. I was at first boggled by the "earth" discussion, as a Canadian, i pictured a chunk of extra dirt and grass (earth) caught in the suspension or something, I am assuming you mean what we call "Ground" or grounding wire. I absolutley love this truck so far,

It's always hard buying a very rare used vehicle, because you have no frame of refrence for what is "right" with the one you just purchased.