Hello Everyone,

Sorry if this is not the right place to post, silly newbie not figured it out as yet

I have just bought a Freelander 2 HSE Auto (2007) 28000 miles, and a few things are concerning me, but the dealer has been no help what so ever.

1.) When I start the car up in the morning it seems to idle a little rough with some smoke being emitted from the exhaust. I need to up the reves a bit for it to start idleing smothly again...surely his is not normal?

2.) the exhaust pipe itself is fairly black (inside) (I have has diesels before and none of them look like that)

3.) Under hard accelaration (kick down) there is some smoke out the back until I lift of the accelarator.

Is all of this normal on a 28K mile car? I suspect its not?

Any help willl be very much appreciated.

PS. This fourm has been like Gold dust, thanks to everyone who comments on it!

Cheers,

Yorky

Hello - wlecome to the forum

I'm by no means an expert on here! but here is my suggestion.

I'd probably start by filling the fuel tank with a premium diesel (maybe Shell V-Power) with its advanced cleaning properties.

and putting in a dose of REDEX diesel (fuel system cleaner) - normally cleans the injector things as well.


People do complain about the quality of supermarket fuels!!!

I'm sure others will reply with other/more technical ideas....

Good luck  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

Hi Yorkshire lad - welcome to the forum.

What diesels have you driven in the past?? if they have had dpf's then you are unlikely to sooty deposits as these are all filtered (which is why a few yrs ago you started seeing diesel cars with decent straight exhausts rather than the downturned ones of old)

Anyway that aside, my 2007 blows a bit of smoke on first start up but is perfectly OK shortly afterwards. It does sound as though your injectors and fuel system may need a bit of a clean though. As simont said, some decent fuel, a bit of diesel cleaner and an Italian tune up (thrape it up and down the motorway) should clear it.

As I said you wont have a dpf so you will always get the odd puff of black smoke, usually when carbon has been allowed to build up such as when the engine is allowed to labour.

Good luck - hope you get it sorted  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

28k is nothing, it hasn't even been run in fully yet, they will be a dusting of soot in the tailpipe, but I think you need to create on the sellers doorstep as something is obviously not right and it is better to create sooner than later.

Good call CW

Forgot to say take it for a FAST drive @ 70mph (couldn't recommend speeding ) 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

I would agree with the previous posts.

the low mileage may suggest the car has been pottering around a bit rather than good long journeys to clean it out.

do you know the previous history/ownership of the car ( maybe it was used solely for the school run ? )

Iain

To put it into context:

Mine is 2007 and it's got 70,000 on the clock - runs like a dream....  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

Thanks everyone for your comments and tips.

I bought the car from Armstrong Massey in York, it had one prvious owner and was bought and serviced by Ripon Land rover.

I do indeed think it was used to potter around (as the service book indicates about 8000 miles per year) and it was service each and ever year by Ripon.

The car comes with a one year warranty, so is there anything the dealer can do to sort these issues for me?

On your side is the fact that it is from a LR Dealer rather than a back street seller, I am surprised that the dealer is not doing much to get to the bottom of your problem.

Yorkshire Lad wrote:

is there anything the dealer can do to sort these issues for me?

Put fuel system cleaner in and take it for a long fast drive. 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

All I got from the service guy at the dealers were "they do smoke, its normal, but we will check it for you" still got the same problem, dont think they checked anything to tell you the truth.

I am going to take it back to the dealer again this week, hopefully they can sort it.

If it has in fact just been pottering around all its 28K life, and apart for shell V power and some Millers, and thrashing it, what else can I ask the dealer to do?

Hi YL. From your description of lumpy running on cold start up, I would get the glow plugs checked. A malfunctioning glow plug will give exactly the symptoms you describe, where it may be running on only 3 cylinders to start with. 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Both of mine, I started without touching the accellerator and they both just tickover straight away, even in the winter, so if you are getting rough starting now it will get worse with winter around the corner.

Thanks guys, for all your contributions, its very much appreciated.

I have just called the dealer and booked the car in for Wed this week. They have asked me to leave it over night so they can start it up the next morning. I mentioned the glowplugs as well as the smoking issue, so hopefully it will come back sorted. Fingers X

I will keep you all posted, and once again thanks to everyone for your help!

Quick update - Got car back from dealer and running and starting like a dream. There were a load of software updates that were never done, one to do with the auto box update and a few others. I filled up with Shell V Power and added some Millers and took it for a long drive.

Starts perfect in the morning now, only a puff of smoke when starting on a really cold morning, but idles fine. The auto box seems to be much more responsive too, as well as improved MPG ( I was getting 25MPG around town, now getting 30MPG)

Thank you all for your advise and tips!