Hey guys. I've read through a lot of the threads and can't seem to find something similar to my predicament.

So my Freelander was less than 6 months old when I noticed a rattling noise on acceleration. It is especially elicited by accelerating after driving at slow speeds for a while e.g. Sitting in traffic and then breaking free on an empty offramp.

I have taken the vehicle to LR RSA and they swear that no noise was heard.
At this point I wonder is this noise normal and perhaps I'm just being foolish?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Also - noises when turning? Especially on inclines/ declines? Sounds as if the car axle is breaking. Also heard by anyone else?

It's now over year old and I've had no issues but I wonder if this is just their ploy to quietly drive me out of the warranty period with some underlying problem.

Is your car petrol or diesel?
If petrol it could well be "pinking" noise. All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

Hi Druand

It's petrol.

What is pinking noise?

Pinking or pre ignition is when the spark timing is too far advanced or when the fuel is too low an octane value. The fuel explodes rather than burns quickly in the cylinder. It can also be caused by deposits in engine when a car needs a "decoke" but I haven't heard of that for years. It also used to be an issue on cars years ago when you had to set up your timing with feeler gauges and dwell angles etc. Now I believe that the engine is supposed to detect it happening (there is probably a sensor doing this) and the ECU adjusts the spark timing. If you think it's really happening then I would first of all suspect the fuel quality and perhaps research petrol engine fuel additives like Wynns. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Try 95 or 98. I use 98 mostly. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Thanks Dorsetfreelander.

I did a bit of research on fuel and it seems the fuel I'm using should be appropriate. I use Caltex unleaded 95 octane which is above the minimum 91 octane recommended for Freelanders (correct me here). The additive they use is some "special blend' called Techron apparently designed to prevent fuel deposits and hence pinging/ knocking.

I always fill up at the same petrol station but perhaps this week I can try changing to BP and see what happens.

The petrol engine has two 'knock' sensors bolted to the front of the engine and will adjust individual cylinder mixtures if 'rattling' due to ignition is felt. Here's a quote from the workshop manual, it seems 95 RON is at the lower end grade of fuel, or you may have a faulty 'knock' sensor.

Quote:

The signals from the knock sensors are used in conjunction with the CMP sensors and the CKP sensor to determine the ignition cycle and therefore identify which cylinder is knocking. The ECM is programmed to use ignition maps based on high quality 95-98 RON fuel. If fuel of a poor quality such as 91 RON is used the engine may suffer from knock (pinking) for a period of time. The ECM is capable of learning and adapting to the low grade fuel and will modify its internal ignition mapping to compensate for the low grade fuel. This feature of the ECM is called adaption.

Hi guys

Just an update on the issue I had with my freelander 2 Si4.
I took it to Landrover In CT South Africa yesterday for a faulty PDC sensor was told that the vehicle was also getting a "software upgrade".
After speaking to one of their technicians and going for a drive with him in my car (within the dealerships property), he amazingly heard the "ticking sound" and confirmed what you guys had already said regarding the timing for the ignition of the fuel.
I showed him the description of the jobs to be done which included the "software update" as shown here:



Service action Q511. He said that the update was to resolve this issue.
I spoke to the service co-ordinator and she said that Landrover South Africa issued a recall for specific Freelanders within a certain Vin number range to resolve this problem.

Forgive me for the long message.
What I would like to know is:

I have been experiencing this sound since 2014. Could there have been any lasting damage that was caused to the engine during this time or am I just being a bit "bitchy" for no reason?

On the noises when turning.
If it sounds as if your vehicles difflock is on, then it is your Haldex system which is faulty. Slip diff system of some sort.
It happens and worsens the sharper you turn. When driving straight it won’t make the clicking sometimes violent noises and shudders.
My rear one broke and there is a breather near the rear diff (there are two, one for the Haldex and one for the diff) and mine was not replaced properly and water entered my system.
Get that checked immediately and replaced under warranty. A new one is about R47 000.00 excluding the labour. You won’t want to pay that Bill yourself.
That is where I am at currently....

Regarding the rattling. I'm an 'old school' mechanic and I worked in Cape Town for a couple of years in the very early eighties. (Motors WP - VW/AUDI/PORSCHE dealer). When we had cars come to the Cape from Joburg, we had to 'retune' them by adjusting the CO mixture and ignition timing due to the altitude (Joburg being a lot higher and the air being thinner). On my current touring motorcycle, it has an altitude sensor which automatically adjusts things at differing altitude. I'm just wondering if your FL has such a sensor and if so, is it working correctly? If not, could that be giving you the rattle? Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Pinging/Pinking does create excess heat in the engine, whether this will affect the engine in the long term cannot really be known until it either fails or is pulled down. In turbo performance cars which are tuned too lean you would usually see a swift engine failure due to melted pistons.