BE AWARE IF YOU DRIVE YOUR FREELANDER 2 IN TEMPERATURES REACHING 20-30C BELOW!!
On Saturday we were driving our LR2 (2007 TD4) when after 30 km the warning lamp for low oil pressure was lit. I pulled over as soon as possible (appr after 200m). I opened the bonnet and the whole engine room was covered in oil. It looked as if a volcano had erupted. I called road assistance and they took the car to the nearest garage. It turned out that the crank case ventilation had been blocked, it had frozen!. Then the pressure in the crank case had risen sharply and the dipstick had been blown out and the oil had shot out as a fountain. Today I called the nearest LR dealer (Tromsø 450km away) and after they had checked with the agent for scandinavia which is in Denmark they told me it was not covered by the warranty. The reason I was told was because the car had been used under extreme conditions as the outdoor temperature was 28c below. I protested as 28 below not in anyway is extreme conditions in northern Finland, Sweden and Norway (probably not in Russia, Canada and the northern USA either). Also I pointed out that the owners manual does not mention anything about the car not suitable for driving in what is normal winter conditions where we live. I called the rep in Denmark but he didn´t listen to my arguments. NO WARRANTY!! . After some calls forth and back with the LR dealer in Tromsø and the agent in Denmark I was told to let the local garage (not LR authorized) do the job. The local garage and the garage at the LR dealer agreed what should be done. The local garage made sure it was no more moisture in the crank case and ventilation, filled up with oil (4.5 litres!!) and washed down the engine room. The car started and appeared OK. No strange noise, running smoothly on idle. I picked up the car at the garage but after only 150m I realized something was not OK at all. The engine was very weak, it was more like 16 hp not 160 hp!. When I looked back I saw thick smoke coming out from the exhaust. I stopped immediately and called the garage. The guy came and told me it probably was because engine oil had been sucked through the engine and into the whole exhaust system. I´m also concerned that the very low oil level may have caused some serious damage to the engine. Anyhow I don´t dare to drive the car now and I will contact LR tomorrow. If they´re still stating that this not is covered by the warranty this can become extremely expensive for me. IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE DRIVING A LAND ROVER IN A PART OF THE WORLD WITH PROPER WINTER CONDITIONS - PLEASE LET THEM NOW!!

Last edited by Berra on 23rd Feb 2010 9:59 am. Edited 1 time in total

Ouch, what can you say? You seem to have donwe all the right moaning.

I'm sorry to hear about this. I would agree that unless it is clearly stated by the manufacturer that the car is not suitable for use in those temperatures then it should be a warranty issue. If a Landrover can't deal with the harshest environments then what can?
As long as you've had the required servicing with the approved fluids etc. then they should be dealing with your problem.
As regards the engine power problem - it could be that the ECU has detected a problem with the exhaust gases (due to oil being where it shouldn't be) and has engaged the 'limp home' mode. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of engine damage and when the oil is cleaned out all will return to normal. The ECU needs you to drive 3-5 miles before it resets to normal, but I don't blame you if you are nervous about doing that right now.

i am sure there is some LR press blurb saying the says are tested to +50c and down to -40c somewhere

so you would think they would be fine

Also if your selling to colder climates then you would either state the working parmimetres of the car in the manual or at least have a leaflet inserted into the manual

either way LR should be dealing with this, so maybe you need to phone LR UK head office etc Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Thanks for support Today I spoke to another LR owner here in Kautokeino and he told me that some 10 years ago he had a delegation of engineers from LR UK staying at his farm while they were testing several cars in cold climate. They then experienced the exact same problem with one of their cars and he told them what had happened since he earlier had had the same problem with his Disco. He both showed them photos, video and drawing for his solution to the problem. He had installed a kind of heater around the hose/pipe from crank case to the top of the engine. He has never had any problems afterwords, using his Disco in temperatures as low as -40C. A third LR owner here has also had the same problem. LR is informed but have obviously done nothing about it and they don´t even inform us drivers in Scandinavia about the possible danger. Because of the big pressure that builds up in the crank house it´s more or less already to late when the warning lamp is lit. The oil has already been shot out in a cascade! The local garage told med that Peugeot has now heating on that pipe/hose in their models.

out of interest, and not trying to detract from whats happened

you say it happen after 30KM, where and in what conditions was the car parked in prior to the journey was it outside or in a heated garage? etc

I know its been talked about previously on the forum, but do you have any parking heater, that heats the engine up prior to travelling or plugged to the electricity in to stop it freezing over night Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

It was parked outside. It´s fitted with a auxiliary heater (Webasto, running on diesel), I think every Freelander 2 sold in Norway and Sweden has that as standard equipment. In addition the dealer that sold the car to me fitted the car with DEFA warm up system (http://www.defa.com/heating.php3?lang=3) which is a electrical engine and interior heater and battery charger. It´s fully automated and we always use it as soon as temperature go below zero. In addition the engine had been running on idle 5-10 min before we left home. I really had taken every precaution possible...

Last edited by Berra on 23rd Feb 2010 8:10 pm. Edited 1 time in total

it definitely sounds like everything was in order  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I think your warranty argument should be based on that LandRover should not sell their vehicles in a particular Country, unless they can deal with the weather.

Good luck.

Current Freelander 2 brochure: page 22 "Land Rover has been producing world leading 4x4 vehicles since 1948-many of which are still in use around the globe.
Today we continue to design vehicles that fulfil a specific role and are FIT FOR PURPOSE THE WORLD OVER"

There edneth the case for the defense!!!

Just browsing brochure and reading small print!!!! new one coming on monday. 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.

It's a common thing PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) freeze, to many vehicles.
During heat up period, the water vapours inside the crankcase will condense during their travel along the colder pipes of the recirculation system and because of the lower temperatures, they'll quickly freeze.
The continuous added ice will eventually plug the hose(s) and pressure will build up inside crankcase, resulting in what you've experienced.

If that happened, then at least could be said that it is a small design flaw. So, they can't do anything, even if they want. For this reason the story with "no warranty" and "extreme conditions".
Anyway, it's better on FL2 than on many other cars, because the routing of the PCV hoses is made pretty near to the engine block and the PCV valve is on top of the exhaust camshaft, so in a warmer zone. The warmer engine zones will try to melt the eventual ice plug(s).

It's good that you've stoppeed in time. Fill again the engine with oil and enjoy your FL2.

Still, when very cold, avoid small trips and try to make longer ones in order to let the condensed water vapours to evaporate from the inside of the hoses and in this way to prevent "ice plugs".

I've uploaded the advert for FL2 extended temperature range usage here:

See the final of the clip for the "surprise"...

Now you could say the freeze the car to breaking point, but that advert say the engineer it to -40c

so again the arguement is in your favour Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Excellent! Thanks alex_pescaru Well that would really shut the mouth of the LR agent. When I saw the text at the end I recalled seeing the same text in print in some marketing material before we bought the car. LR have a lost case, it´s absolutely no doubt that the warranty should cover this

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Interesting to note what you said about peugeot fitting a heater, since the 2.2 diesel engine is made by PSA (Peugeot/Citroen) for use in PSA, Ford, Jag and LR cars (ironic?). Definately sounds as though LR are bluffing their case  Freelander 2.2e HSE , Privacy, Fully debadged, 19" Chrome SHadow alloys

Berra wrote:

The car started and appeared OK. No strange noise, running smoothly on idle. I picked up the car at the garage but after only 150m I realized something was not OK at all. The engine was very weak, it was more like 16 hp not 160 hp!.

The same thing happened to me back in my Audi A4 2.0 TDI. There was a warning light for exhaust system and the car would drive very poorly. It happened with 1000 km on the car, so I went to the dealer and was fixed with a software reset. The same thing repeated twice in a week.

They solved it with a software update (recall) to disable the crankshaft ventilation. After they disabled, the car would put out some dark fumes accelerating uphill, and consumed a fair bit of oil (up to 1 L / 2000 km). But performance all was ok, and the car was running like a champ.

I dunno the g/km CO2 though.  2010 Freelander 2 Select TD4 auto....gone
2011 Freelander 2 TD4 auto ...current