2007 HSE 168,5000

Had a doctors appt today so as usual popped in the garage to start the old car, starter spinning round for an age and no engine start, never had that before, tried it again, same effect . . . .weird, cranking away message on dash reduced engine performance, I am guessing due to lack of fuel.

So being the ace mechanic that I am not, I popped the bonnet open to just look at the engine , I then whipped out the dipstick, oil level okay put it back, got in the car, hit the button and it started.

I hate things like this, you know something maybe going on and will it return . . . ?

Car ran okay, got out and back no bother . . . .

Checked for error codes and got none. . . . .my thought is fuel pump, if it was the fuel pump, would there be an error message on its first jitter ?

Will it ever happen again I wonder, any other ideas from that simple description ? 2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)

My first thought would be the fuel cut off solenoid, as I've had that on previous cars. I don't know where it is in the Freelander, but I presume it will have a similar system.

If it is the solenoid it probably got a bit stuck. Or it could be an immobiliser fault. If it happens again, if be taking the keys out. Locking the car, unlocking and then starting again to see if it works.

I had a 300tdi where I had a faulty solenoid. I took out the plunger and it cured the problem. The only odd thing was that everyone warned me that taking it out would cause me to not be able to turn it off (difficult to stall with an auto). So I was ready to squash the fuel line to starve the fuel but it just turned off instantly with the key. I drove it around like that for a couple of months before fitting the new solenoid. It must have had some other way of stopping the engine. It was one of the first fly-by-wire ones though, so had a few more electronics (to fail).

That sounds feasible, again though it begs the question would there be a error message ? 2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)