Hello, I have a freelander2 2009 hse auto, 133.500 miles done 130000 since ownership March 2009, dealer serviced upto the hundred thousand mark then serviced myself every year since, oil,air,fuel,pollen filters, Castrol engine oil plus all the usual maintenance always genuine fitting parts from main dealer.

This year I put on the forum “ Poor cold starting no frost yet”. Well I recently purchased a high amperage cold crank Varta battery which was quite cheap really through the trade, 65 quid cheaper from euro car parts. The poor cold starting is now not an issue at all as in the summer I replaced the egr valve, removed and cleaned out the intercooler, fitted a oil catch can which has now in 1600 miles since I fitted the catch can has stopped approximately 150ml of oil entering the induction system also a recent replacement throttle body connector rubber hose, intermediate pipe/ intercooler part which had minimal oil residue during a caravan towing holiday in Cornwall mid October.

This fault/issue has returned and wondered if other freelander2 owners have experienced which is, Unlock the car either hot or cold, start the engine where the car ticks over lumpy, no fuel gauge, battery light on, no tacho, no lights when operating the switch, then in 5 to 7 seconds all normality is resumed.

I have carried out a total reset ie disconnecting the battery leads and shorting them together which seems to work for a couple of months then the fault returns, Any ideas?

Has been reported to the dealer in the past but no resolve.

Any response would be greatly appreciated

Dave Pointon.

I had very simmilar symptoms on our 2005 Jaguar X Type. Rough tickover , all manner of lights on dash, no gauges on startup ..... then voila, after a few seconds all was well......
Turned out to be a parasitic drain on the battery. The rear wiper was constantly drawing power leading to low voltage on startup. Loads of info on this on Jag forums.
I know that you have had a new battery but have you checked for parasitic drain?
All my cars are JLR and seem to suffer from all manner of issues with low battery status.
Just a thought.......

I had the same symptoms you've described on first (cold) start, plus awful clouds of smoke for a few moments as well. The original engine expired, caused by a valve breaking free and destroying the piston and block - the transplanted engine then had exactly the same issue, even defeating the workshop testing because the car was relatively warm in there, it was only when it came back home and stayed outside on the colder mornings that the problem came back with the exchange engine.

Eventually a cold start sensor was identified as the problem, it was replaced and the problem went away.

It was a bit disconcerting that a zero-timed exchange engine behaved the same way, and I remember it was a faff identifying the fault and fixing it, fortunately for me in my case under the exchange engine's warranty. Lexus RX450H - 500 mile a week commuter- I just couldn’t trust in a newer RRS or DS for that….
2009 Freelander 2 HSE... 155K miles, we’ve done 135k of those, has done brilliantly on the commute and staying firmly put as car two in the household
2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe... fun, fast, ours for 12 years and owes us nothing - so staying with us too…

Thank you Grimdog for replying, yes will check for a drain, it’s started me thinking now that during the lumpy tick over the dash panel flickers something like turning on and off the rear screen or front. Something with a heavy load.
Will wire up a spare digital multimeter to measure battery condition after starting net you it doesn’t appear
But will keep checking and report my findings.

Rgds

DaveP

Hello Deafender, thank you for your reply, any chance telling me the location of the cold start sensor please

Something to ponder over, building up courage to do the swirl flap job as I don’t want catastrophic engine failure mines done 140,000 miles now and reducing the inevitable.

Rgds

DaveP

Good Luck............Keep us posted......

Hi Dave P sorry I wouldn’t know- I didn't even know it had such a thing until the problem came up, and I left it to the workshop to sort out.

Can anyone even slightly more mechanically minded than me help Dave out here? Lexus RX450H - 500 mile a week commuter- I just couldn’t trust in a newer RRS or DS for that….
2009 Freelander 2 HSE... 155K miles, we’ve done 135k of those, has done brilliantly on the commute and staying firmly put as car two in the household
2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe... fun, fast, ours for 12 years and owes us nothing - so staying with us too…

davyboy wrote:

Hello Deafender, thank you for your reply, any chance telling me the location of the cold start sensor please

Something to ponder over, building up courage to do the swirl flap job as I don’t want catastrophic engine failure mines done 140,000 miles now and reducing the inevitable.

Rgds

DaveP