I've owned two Freelanders, a Td4 Sport (04) and the Freelander 2 XS which I've had from new in March 2008. It's been a really good reliable performer and a joy to own and drive until the last couple of months. The service centre I use in North London seem to be stumped so I'm hoping there might be someone out there in Freelander land who has experienced the same problem.

It started a couple of months ago when after the MOT there was a loud noise coming from the engine which started when I put the key fob into the ignition and continued after I switched the engine off and removed the key fob. The sound was like a very large wasp buzzing in a jam jar. As this happened a day before I had to drive to Stansted Airport at the crack of dawn I called Landrover Assistance, fearful that the car was about to conk out. They diagnosed the fault as a valve (one which is involved in burning exhaust gases), isolated it but said I should arrange with the Service Centre to have the valve replaced or repaired. The technician gave me a report sheet with a number of error codes from the Engine Managmeent System which I gave to the Service Centre. So far so good. The Service Centre took the car in and took over a week to come up with a diagnosis themselves and (presumably) replaced the valve, the whole thing paid for under the extended warranty.

But since them this strange phenomenon has occured. At odd times (there's no pattern I can discern) whilst driving either in or out of cruise control, the engine revs drop (by no more than 100 RPM - not much) and the sensation is like someone has touiched the footbrake, the car jerking before picking up again. Last Monday, whilst driving back from a weekend away, it happened a couple of times on the M40, after well over 60+ miles. On the way up the previous Friday it occured a number of times, both on the motorway and, rather alarmingly, whilst going round a roundabout. And that's it, this engine rev drop and jerking fore and aft ride. I know it shouldn't do it and I suspect it has something to do with the valve problem, but the Service Centre seem totally unable to come up with an answer.

Can anyone help??

I had a weird noise that took 4, yes four different mechanics to finally diagnose, I had heard suggestions from engine mounts, airbox vibration, cambelt pulley, and in the end it was an aux belt pulley, was so relieved when it was fixed I was beginning to think no one would be able to track it down.
My advice is to take it to as many different mechanics as it takes to get it sorted!

You need to get it plugged in to diagnostics to see if any other codes are listed, till then we can only guess.

That's what they are currently doing, but so far after 2 days they've come up with nothing.

Just a guess

http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic5041.html?

It sounds similar, but you seem to have been experiencing total power loss whilst all I'm getting is a kick and a minor loss of revs before the engine picks up and motors on as though nothing has happened. I've to call the Service Centre at lunchtime to get an update. Can't say I'm optimistic.

A manifestation of this perhaps - http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic16502.html

If they replaced the EGR valve (which is what it sounds like) then perhaps there is a new problem/fault with that. You'll note though that the Haldex is listed as one fix for the problem in that thread, and some others have yet to find a solution. Mine was OK following the EGR replacement, but I sense that the problem is coming back, albeit only very mildly at present.

It doesn't have to be directly linked to your first fault, could be something that they disturbed when repairing the valve.

If you have a freelie MY10 or earlier you can fit an EGR blanking plate at the front of the engine where the pipe is nutted to the adaptor on the inlet manifold.
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If the EGR is or was playing up this will stop the exhaust flowing into the inlet.
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You can choose after problem solving as to whether you leave the blanking plate in or take it out again.
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You cannot try this on MY 2011 or later cars as it throws fault codes.
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Hope this may help someone.
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Kind regards from Fred.
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

Well after two visits to North One Service and an eventful run up the A1 to Northumberland, during which the engine warning light came on and I called Land Rover Assistance out, the source of the kicking ride fault has now been diagnosed as a deterioration in the car's wiring which necessitates a new wiring loom, which with labour is going to cost upward of £1000.

My question is does anyone think a six year old car, which has spent a pretty conventional life, done just over 100,000 miles, should need a complete rewire, and, consequently, is it worth tackling Land Rover on the subject?

Ease can you go into any more detail as to who said it needs a new loom and for what individual reason.
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First there is more than one loom. There will probably be a main body loom, an engine loom and at least one dashboard loom.
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Did the analyst give you fault codes ?
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I can't see it being a loom total fault.
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Did the guy say you have a broken wire?
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Kind regards from Fred
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva

I believe it's the engine loom, I have a copy of the fault sheet with the fault codes that the Land Rover Assistance Technician identified which, he said, pointed to a valve problem. However the fault sheet is in the car which is still at the dealer, North One Service. Having examined the valve and reloaded software they said that the fault code(s) were still present and so they turned their attention to the wiring and reached the conclusion they did today, that a wiring loom needs replacing.

Take it to these people... http://www.goodyer4x4.co.uk/contact.htm This is where the land rover dealers go when they get stuck.

Not so sure about Goodyer as they didnt seem to even know the difference between a 200tdi & 300tdi engine when I asked them to change the timing belt on my defender. Maybe they are better with FL2's

Ummmm...... So how rich are you or how handy are you?
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I would be unhappy about investing so much cash on what risks being a wrong diagnosis.
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The Engine Loom is just a simple plug fit and is definitely a DIY prospect. You will be able to source a second hand one off a breaker on eBay for a fraction of the cost.
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A few years ago I was rebuilding write off cars at a fair rate and often came across mysterious faults inherent in the cars; my first approach was to go to each connector in turn and unplug and replugin each connector 3 times in succession to scrub the connector pins clean and make contact. It never failed!
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Could it be that the repairing garage has already damaged the wires when doing the EGR change.
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I would also look to fit a blanking plate to the EGR pipe at the front of the engine.
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I wouldn't be confident that the harness is genuinely at fault.
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If sourcing a second hand engine loom the be careful on part numbers as the MY 2011 onwards is different as it has a different EGR and Glow Plugs system.
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I hope I've inspired some alternative thoughts.....
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Kind regards from Fred.
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
Other cars:-
1958 & 1959 Austin J40 Pedal Cars under restoration (I make many J40 parts)
If you have an Austin J40 or Pathfinder Pedal Car looking for a new home pls PM me.
2009 Meriva