My Freelander 2 has started misfiring when (seemingly) only driving up hill. It judders/hesitates for a split second, revs go down, then car picks up as normal. It suddenly done it once when accelerating up hill, then not again for 6 months, then it started doing it again and now it has done it 3 times in the last week!

Week days it only does 3 mile journeys to work and back and only does a lengthly journey on the weekend.

No codes on dash. Car is a 2007 manual 2.2 diesel has 94,000 miles on the clock, fresh service (done myself) 6 months ago with all Castrol oil and with MANN fuel filter, oil filter, cabin filters etc. Someone said it could be the MANN filter as it isn't genuine?

Injector? DPF? Fuel rail?

Any ideas? Just bought some injector cleaner that goes in the tank and will buy some DPF stuff as well.

Keep considering selling her as shes cost me over £2,000 in the first year, even took her to a garage to part exchange her last week but couldn't do it as I really like the car she just keeps having these problems.

Thank you in advance.  FL2 GS

Hi Aimeetess1,

Lot of things here... first off I would get the car ECU checked for error codes (although very often they are not recorded).

The first thought I have is your crankshaft position sensor. These can give the symptoms you describe and can be intermittent, and often don't show a fault code. Word of advice though, get a proper OEM sensor and not a cheap aftermarket one. Often over looked is the reluctor ring that the crank sensor interacts with although if this is damaged the fault is more constant in nature.

It is possible that your fuel filter could be contaminated and for the cost of replacing that it's worth a try (don't worry so much about non original filters as they are all of a decent standard nowadays).

Incidentally, a 2007 model should not have a DPF.

Stick with it, you will get there  09 FL2 GS TD4e Current
16 DS HSE Black Current
13 FL2 GS TD4
11 FL2 GS TD4
10 FL2 XS TD4
56 FL1 TD4
72 S3, 6cyl 109 Truck Cab

Thanks LRJimmy.

I have asked the local garage whos a lovely chap and specializes in LR to check for codes.
He had one similar but a automatic FL2 and it turned out to be the fuel rail, they didn't realize until he replaced all you said and it was the last bit they replaced.

Is it possible to just get a bad egg? Don't get my wrong can't shout at wear and tear such as wheel bearing going but its been in the garage every couple of months since owning it 16 months ago.
 FL2 GS

LOL a bad egg indeed, but you did have one of the first and the model got better with less and less issues as the years went on. I think you have just been VERY unlucky (keep telling myself that!). You can't be far away from having everything right by now so if I were you I would be very reluctant to throw away all you have done on it so far just for the next owner to get the benefits?

Mine have all be pretty reliable and my current one has had a few issues but I like working on them, so have near replaced all normal service, and wear and tear items in the last 2 years. A lot were precautionary as a just in case because I have 140k on the clock. I bought it with 137k as I don't do many miles and it isn't the primary car either.

I wouldn't swap it for anything though, it was (in my opinion) the best one LR did and there isn't anything out there that comes close. So me for one will keep this thing going till either it or me give up the ghost

Jimmy 09 FL2 GS TD4e Current
16 DS HSE Black Current
13 FL2 GS TD4
11 FL2 GS TD4
10 FL2 XS TD4
56 FL1 TD4
72 S3, 6cyl 109 Truck Cab

That is what I keep thinking LRJimmy . oh I've replaced pretty much everything surely nothing else can go wrong!? Some is wear and tear understandably.. but I have friends with other brands of older/same age SUVs and they spend barely £100 a year on fixing it. They all laugh at me every time I need a lift or I'm stranded!

Since ownership Its had.. a entire new haldex rebuild, module as well as it was the worst Bell Engineering had seen. Intercooler needed replacing as well as air con unit. New power steering reservoir and steering fluid from LR. Wheel bearing but it needed a new sensor which made it pretty expensive plus new off road tires all round, all glow plugs replaced, service etc.

It needs its cam belt done ASAP but just haven't had the money to get it done. I also spent days under sealing it myself last year.

It still has issues.. a iffy fuel gage sensor, sometimes randomly says it has no fuel (and a few times put into limp mode) and I've been quoted over £400 to fix as its a big job but that hasn't been a problem for a few months now. It also has the clutch release bearing on its way out, occasionally making a noise when clutch is bought up so its not going to be cheap to fix apparently, the clutch isn't slipping yet so odd. Its pretty rusty underneath, even though I under sealed it well, so we think it was used to pull the boats in/out to sea and possibly why its had a few problems.

I went to view a CRV 2.2 2011 yesterday, a Rav 4 2009 and 2007 Mercedes ML80 thinking of trading it in, but still unsure what to do. Part of me loves my FL2 its great off road when i needed occasionally, can tow if needed, room for the dogs, drives nice etc (and a little emotionally attached to it sadly) but part of me deep down all I want is reliability. It let me down last winter when I needed it crucially we had 3ft of snow, meaning we were was stranded as we live in the countryside and It didn't get fixed until the snow had gone which was a absolute pain as I couldn't get to the horses etc and had to be rescued by a friend in their old tatty CRV a few times.

It seems as soon as its out of the garage give it a couple of months, its straight back in. Mechanic thinks either injector or fuel rail for the current misfire problem, either are cheap.. FL2 GS

I feel for you, thats a lot of pain and I don't have the answer to that.

What I can say is that both the tank issue and your timing belt are not too expensive.... IF you do it yourself. I would gauge both of them to be relatively easy jobs with a basic mechanical knowledge (although I may get shot down here for saying that). Get you dad on it and enjoy the experience doing it together - I wish my daughter would have the same drive, she thinks getting the hoover out on her car is hard enough!!

I read through your other posts and got a history of your misfire. The fuel rail is not a common failure point whereas the Crank Sensor is a high occurrence failure. And looking at all you have done, you have a nearly new car already with a bit of rust thrown in

I guess your test drives should convince you one way or the other on the road ahead... buying anything else won't necessarily guarantee trouble free motoring. You're maybe just an unlucky hahaha, got to smile!  09 FL2 GS TD4e Current
16 DS HSE Black Current
13 FL2 GS TD4
11 FL2 GS TD4
10 FL2 XS TD4
56 FL1 TD4
72 S3, 6cyl 109 Truck Cab

The tank issue is a job which needs the tank off, I have access to a old pit but we tried and the tank is far to big so need to have the car above you to do it and the correct tools. The timing belt is quite a big complicated job to do at home. Me and me dad enjoy playing with cars together, we done most ourselves but the big jobs we leave to the garage

True.. Keep smiling.. things are sent to test us!

All the best, thank you for your help! FL2 GS

 09 FL2 GS TD4e Current
16 DS HSE Black Current
13 FL2 GS TD4
11 FL2 GS TD4
10 FL2 XS TD4
56 FL1 TD4
72 S3, 6cyl 109 Truck Cab

My fuel gauge started with the random reading dropping to empty problem. It went to my local LR indy and cost £200 for them to replace the connector in the tank. They told me it a problem on all the LR range from that time and they only replace the connector and have never had one back. It sounds like you quote might include the senders. One week on at is been fine since.

Hi Aimeetess1
I came across this one on the fuel gauge by chance which explains Digdil's last post. There is a really good write up by
diverwally that has plenty photos and a very good explanation of the steps needed.

Thats assuming you still have your one and didn't go for the trade in

diverwally wrote:

Syptoms :- Fuel gauge drops to zero and range drops rapidly. Engine cuts out or goes into limp mode to protect engine. Sometimes fuel gauge will recover or will reset on re-start.
This is a well-documented issue and many on this forum have had similar troubles. In fact it�s not just the freelander 2, other Land rover models are affected to. The issue was first thought to be bad sender units and these were replaced under warranty. On closer inspection it would appear that the black & blue two wire connector that runs to sender no 2 on the nearside inside the tank is probably the culprit. This connector fails due to fretting corrosion and a poor signal is produced. LTB00566v6 details this issue and recommends cutting out the connector block and making a hard wire crimped repair.
The cost at an indie garage is roughly 4 hours labour totalling to around �300 so not the end of the world but you may have to sign a disclaimer saying that you didn�t want the senders replaced which seems to be the �safer� option.
I fancied having a go myself. I�m not a mechanic, just someone with decent practical knowledge and a good range of tools. I managed by rear differential overhaul in November so thought another day under the car wouldn�t hurt.
1. Try and get the tank as empty as possible, I started with around 60 miles left.
2. Place car on ramps, there is plenty of clearance to get the tank out once dropped. Disconnect battery.
3. Remove 6 propshaft bolts on differential end. I cracked these before it went on the ramps. By jacking up the front and rear wheel on the same side you can spin the prop for better access. Remove the two bearing support brackets and rotate to one side on axle stands. No need to remove front coupling. You should put new bolts back in.
4. Remove exhaust. I was lucky and once I�d loosened the centre joint bracket I was able to twist the exhaust in half and remove. This of course after removing both rubbers on each side at the rear and then using the width of the exhaust as a lever.
5. Disconnect handbrake cables from inside car and then pull through from underneath tucking the cables out of the way.
6. Find access hole under rear offside seat. Remove round rubber disc. Disconnect 6 wire connector and breather hose. Leave fuel lines in place.
7. Undo the jubilee clip on the filler pipe going to fuel tank. Give it a wiggle to loosen. When removing tank ease it off.
8. You may have a haldex wire loom attached to the heat shield, remove this.
9. At this point I removed the little access hatch to reveal the fuel lines from underneath. When I disconnected the supply line, larger of the two, a syphon started. Have a 10 litre container ready and let it flow removing the last bit of fuel. The fuel lines are easy to release by pressing the coloured catch.
10. Four bolts remain that secure the tank strap to the chassis. I supported the front of the tank with a jack and removed all four bolts.
11. A bit of faffing and I managed to get myself under the car with the fuel tank above me. You need to clear the rear tank strap over the propshaft coupling and then it�s free. It was very light and it was man handled to the floor.
12. Tank now in garage. Undo 5 plastic screws and remove foam protector to pump. Take off fuel lines now you have better access.
13. The locking ring comes off anti clockwise. It is torqued to 200nm I�m told. I used a blunt cold chisel and moved it enough to release. Mark ring before removal so you�re sure it�s back on okay. Be careful not to slip and puncture the tank.
14. Raise yellow lid slowly. Just inside and with very poor access there is another breather hose. It comes of the same way as the one you removed from inside the car. Release the 6 pin yellow connector from the underside and also a fuel pipe attached to the pump. Grasp the pump inside and give it a firm � turn anti clockwise. It will come free from its base. The whole assembly can now be removed from the tank.
15. The culprit of all your hard efforts is now in front of you. The blue and black wires that go to the nearside sender. Snip the connector block out and re-join wires. I chose to solder mine and use chemical resistant heat shrink to make a neat repair. Land Rover recommends a crimp.
16. I cleaned the other connectors but none of these need to be repaired. I did a quick resistance check once everything was back in place, you should see around 950ohms from both senders with the tank squarely on the floor.
17. I purchased a new large green o ring for the tank, and placed everything methodically back together. Reversal of taking apart, no real dramas. Replace fuel you syphoned off through normal filler.
18. Last job is to prime the fuel system which needs to be done at the filter under the bonnet. Disconnect fuel in pipe, the larger of the two, coming over the aux belt. I had one of those fuel primers with a short length of 8mm bore tubing on one end. A bit of heat with a gun and it slid over the incoming 10mm fuel connection. I squeezed for about 20 times and drew fuel up to the outlet, a small tub was used. Then I simply plugged the inlet back into the filter.
19. Re connect battery, start car.
I have been driving the car now for three days with no fault. Done about 80 miles. I�m convinced it�s fixed, it did it every day before. Thanks to Chris from 4x4 Adventure in Leeds for some valuable advice and Dick E for the info which confirmed my fix. All in all, 3 hrs to get out, 1 hr to fix, and 2 hrs to get back in. Total cost �3.27 +vat for a fuel tank �O� ring gasket

I'm not a mechanic, happy to be corrected on anything I have said, do your research and hope this helps. It was what I needed to have the confidence to have a go,

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The third from last photo has a connector on the floor thats the one they showed me ... It looked like it cost 25p new

Thanks all for your help!

Since posting I put some injector cleaner in my 1/4 of a tank I had left and it hasn't misfired since.. will see how it goes and if it does it again it will be going in to have the code red and going from there. FL2 GS