Bought my FL2 brand new, I love it. And it does get used offroad a bit and is amazing what is can do....well that was until this past w/end. After 3 days in the dealer, they have told me the computer (EMS/ECU whatever you call it) has failed as it is not sending a msg to fire up.
Has any other FL2 owner had to replace their computer???
I find it annoying that after only 4 years I've had to do this. And they are unable to determine why this has happened. With a major service due as well...this is going to be a costly experience! (I'm in Australia)

Well sorry to hear of your failure, these days ECU failure isnt as common as it used to be. Occasionally there can be an underlying cause. Have you ever suffered battery problems or failure ? have you ever jump started another vehicle ( using jump leads ) ? Jump starting another car can prompt ECU failure
Has the dealer diagnosed the fault correctly ? Crankshaft sensor failures are the common fault on non starters on these ! ( no input then the ECU doesn't produce an output) I have also seen on CRail injection cars where an injector has a short internally and it pulls the ECU down.
My own FR2 has suffered a bad connection in a main battery cable which kept blowing dash boards and may other components and it took 3.5 years before it was traced to a corroded cable under the shrink wrap ! God knows just how many components have been zapped ( spiked electrically) over the years!
I wish you luck

Thanks for your reply.
Can't say I've suffered battery failure, but had noticed a few times over the past few months the car sounded like it was struggling to start up, but always did. We checked the power of the battery and all was fine. We've never jump started another vehicle. The dealer has had the car now for a day and half, testing and testing. All that happened was driving along a bush track,, a few bumps but nothing like what we'd already been over and the car just died, lights on the dash and rolled to a stop. Never to start again. We tried what the manual said about fuel cut off thinking maybe the sensors had thought the bump was a major accident. NO luck. the dealer talked about crank ??? sensor not picking up fuel to start. Now they say they have run out of ideas and it has to be computer failure. They say they can smell as if it overheated but can't see any burnt areas. I might tell them what you say about the corrosion. The vehicle is due for it's major service and the cost of a new ECU on top of it means a very lean xmas I feel
It is such a shame I love this car and both on and off road she is amazing. But with modern technology and the big wide outback of Oz I'd be too worried about going bush again with this kind of issue. We were lucky that we were only a few hours from civilisation on ground that was easy to get towed out. Sady I've lost faith and confidence in her. As twice before I've ended up limping home with "reduce engine performence" due to sensors clogging up, mis-reading what is happening due to dust or mud.
Thanks once again for your advice.

Austag. Sorry to hear of your problem, and no solutions I'm afraid. I just wondered who your dealer is. I've just bought a new FL2 from a dealer in Perth after owning a Disco2 V8 for 9 years from new. I decided to stay with Landrover despite major problems with the Disco. So it's a bit of a concern that your dealer can't fix it.

It may not be within your possibilities. But given the nature of your "sudden" failure it way be down to a "dry solder joint" or cracked solder joint on the circuit board of the ECU. I've never had one out to check before and it's probably all sealed up anyway, but it's perhaps worth considering.

A "dry/cracked" solder joint in the right (or wrong) part of the circuit board would cause terminal failure and could have been there since it was built but not seen until a component leg or pin physically detached from the surface of the circuit - this could happen under a sudden jarring for example

These can be "fairly" easy to spot (if you know what you're looking for) under a magnification glass and can be resoldered using the proper tools.

It could be just a simple fault that can be seen on almost any electronics kit.

Other than that if it's a component failure on the ECU you are unlikely to see any damage at all.

Hi HSP8 - My dealer is Southerns in Cannington. I've used them for all my FL2 work, except once (thinking I was going to save money) and that once going elsewhere I ended up with some issues, so back to Southerns I went. I've not had any issues with them, they have always done well for me and my vehicle. I don't think its as simple as the dealer being able to fix it, they knew there was an issue but not able to determine exactly why it had happened, I'm now waiting for the ECU from the east to be fitted and hopefully all will be good and I won't have any more computer issues for years !!! I love my FL2...and you've got the new one...you won't be disppointed I've really not had many issues with my FL2, other than computer based issues - sensors putting up error messages, but a computer reset sorted them, they just get a bit sensitive to the amount of dust/mud I put the car thru.

Hi Brightsparking - all this computer talk confuses me....LOL. But I've had a look at the ECU board, doesn't really mean much to me. But I might tell them I want to take it home to investigate more.

My car does get used off road and I'm always with the big boys (defenders/cruisers/nissans etc) so I pretty go where they go (other than ground clearance issues) so maybe I'm driving her too hard and should go back to the big 4wds, but with these new technology....its a worry that this could happen and you could be in the middle of nowhere and no way out!

Thanks for the replies guys!

Austag. Good luck with the ECU. It's actually a Freelander I've bought, not a D4 - hence joining this group. Bought from Southern, and I'm encouraged by your endorsement. I had the D2 serviced by independents and, whilst satisfied with them, now intend to use Southern just to keep things tidy.

Hi austag, Sorry to hear of your problems; I've never had difficulties with the electronics or any other bits on my i6 - only75k though, and am I tempting providence? - but wouldn't it be nice if there was a master switch that bypassed all the modern electronic gizmos and just let you get home. After all, the engines are mechanical and not basically all that different from days gone by. I wonder what Alex_Pescaru thinks? (Sorry Alex!)
Again, sorry I can't help you.

HSP8.... ...yes I typed about the D4, then re-read your post, did edit my post but seems I was a bit too late...HAA HAA. I just think tho the dealer maybe a bit more expensive, they have the right equipment and backup for this Landrover technology that maybe no-one else has. The dealer knows my car and has the history on it, I just think it's easier and as you say tidier to just keep with the dealer.

Egipp, what is an i6?? never heard of that. The bypass question isn't a silly one I'd been told that you can buy some generic computer tool that you can plug into your computer and if the fault isn't major it will reset it so at least you can get back to the dealer or just over ride the issue that really isn't there...tho this time for me I don't think that tool would have helped. Totally agree about the engine comment. If only!

I6 is the 6 cylinder petrol version not sold in the UK now but is available in export markets, I had a used one last year but the price of petrol dictated that I now drive a Diesel. Gone, 2007 TD4 SE Auto Baltic blue, clear side repeaters, full sized alloy spare.

English by birth..... Yorkshire by the grace of God.