After 42k miles my second FL2 has developed the diff-nose bearing rumble (09MY car had a repair at 51k). Dealer has had the car in to do the job but had to back out as the later car has a larger bearing (hopefully to alleviate the problem) and there is no "lowline" fix for this variant. It needs a complete diff assembly, which has been approved by LR, but he hasn't got one in the stores.
It's booked in again for Tuesday but I'd thought I'd share the design change so that others might know that the problem has not gone away and with a bit of prep you might get the job done first time.
Apart from that it's running a dream! Gone... 2013 XS TD4 Manual Firenze Red
Gone... 2008 (09MY) XS Td4 Manual Stornaway Grey
Prior... 2003 G4 Discovery 2, 1998 Disco 1 and 1997 Disco 1 Company car before that
Also gone in Nov'13, after 7.5 yrs, to new owners with time for more TLC - 1980 Series III 88
Current 2015 Discovery Sport HSE 2.0

That's not good Chris, had hoped by now LR would have got to grips with the Diff and solved it.

I guess that means if you don't do that many miles per year, the car will be out of warranty when it goes !

Surely it just needs a larger bearing ? Are they pulling a fast one? * GONE. GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* GONE.2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Rocket ship. 33mpg.
* Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

The outfit that I got my recon diff from said that it was an updated / larger bearing the fitted to the diffs. That being said they did want me to be specific on exactly what model I had

It's when you hear stories like this that you begin to understand why Landrovers are now rarely seen in Africa.

I think its more than just that.

I think LR have become too expensive in general - pushing customers to the lower end of the family.
The lower end of the family are derived from up-specced saloon car design instead of top down 4x4 design. (example being diff bearing)
Whilst off road capabilities are there, the ECU systems are too integrated so they bring the whole car down on errors.

I visited my son in Botswana this summer, he has Toyota Landcruiser that takes a lot of punishment and I had a look underneath. I noticed that both rubber gaiters on the steering rack had split, there was no sign of any oil so I pointed it out but had said that it had been like that for about a year and it was working fine and would get it looked at next service. Now compare that with the Freelander steering rack problems mentioned elsewhere on this forum where the filter in the reservoir gets clogged with rubbish left over from the manufacturing process. The Freelander is good at what it does but not really built for reliability.

dorsetfreelander wrote:

The Freelander is good at what it does but not really built for reliability.

If you have had no problems you are very lucky. Here is my history...

We have had 4 Freelander 2s in the family over the past 3 years and currently own 2
Here is the history
1. 08 reg went to 100k miles only fault was a blocked fuel filter giving the reduced engine performance message and problem with rear door unlocking. Now sold on.
2. 10 reg bought at 30k miles this was a disaster, it needed new throttle body, new clutch (manufacturing fault) , new front half shaft then when the manual gearbox started playing up we got rid of it at 50k miles.
3. 60 reg. Seems to be going OK. No probs so far at 40k miles
4. 11 reg. Has had the hesitation problem which LR don't know how to fix and at 45k miles gearbox problems requiring it to be sent off for a rebuild. Now done 54k miles .

The last two are on extended warranty but will go before they expire. Overall I would not now consider owning one without a warranty.

PS we really like the car despite all this.

Further to my previous post yesterday, the saga of Freelanders gets worse. My son just called saying that the 60 reg 42k miles Freelander is making a humming noise from the back end. It's under extended warranty but I get the feeling that in a year or so we won't have any Freelanders in the family.

I have been thinking about changing mine, but th cost is a bit prohibitive to a pensioner.
Interestingly, comparing the running costs of our Dicovery 1, owned for more than 14 years, and our Freelander2, owned for 4 years is interesting. Ignoring servicing costs, the Disco has cost us less in repairs, about £500, compared with the Freelander which has cost in excess of £2000. 1998 300TDi Auto Disco, never to be forgotten.
2008 Auto TD4 Freelander2, now gone?
2013 Auto SD4 Freelander!
A proud member of Landytown.com
Visit our blog at
http://paullizlifeontheopenroad.blogspot.com/ updated October 2017

I have to agree with Badger. Freelander 2 is the most reliable car LR has built.

I can vouch for that from personal experience. 6 1/2 years with the first one and no issues, and just over a year and 10,000 miles wih this one and not one issue.

Of the thousands built, those with issues are very limited. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

The issue as I see it from many different car I have Owned
the Forums are superb placed with a wealth of knowledge
but they are a place people look when there are problems and so we hear of them
Me included.
I have had a V40 this was purchased at 97k miles to be a commuter for a while
I kept it six years and spent next to nothing on it
then a Jaguar Stype R the fear factor of possible failures mostly from what I read on the Jaguar Forums and the lack of use as I wanted to keep it in Tip top Condition made it an ornament so I sold that
then the Subaru Forester had it from Feb-Oct other than AC condenser replacement, nothing else went wrong
purchased an XS 2013 model in Oct had it 10weeks regretted not getting an HSE Lux
so On Wed Now(dealer called and delayed pick up) I will Finally get the One I want
Small Loss in trade in on the XS, massive 4k+ loss on the Subaru.
If I were to read all the Possible failures on the cars I have had I may have not purchased any of them.
cars are machines with different environments and users, I do hope the New one remains fault free for many years
the warranty will cover the first 2.

fingers crossed this one is a good one.

Click image to enlarge

Given the varied reliability seen by members of the forum perhaps the Mods would consider setting up some sort of poll.
I had company cars for 25 years and generally did 30+k miles a year in a wide variety of cars with few problems, They were generally replaced every 2 years or 90kmiles whichever came first. Now that I am retired I bought 2 Freelander 1 and then 2 Freelander 2 with my own money and really like the FL2 but I have had more trouble with them than any other car I have driven.