taztastic wrote:

the XF is very very nice, might be tempted.

Was up at GDEC on Wednesday getting a sneak preview of things that "don't exist". I was talking about why Russia got the XF Coupe 4x4 and the UK didn't, and we are finally going to see it in 2015, around the same time as the crossover Jag is launched. That may well change the goalposts for me as well, as I concur that the Jag is a stunning machine! Foraging near Gaydon....
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MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Rang the garage this morning to get an update on mine, haven't looked at it yet and there are a number of cars before mine, "no rush" I said...

No not in white Taztastic.
There are lots of lovely colours in the range and if I went down that route (downside they are sold through the same distributor and dealership network as LR here in CH) with the Sportsbrake it would be in a dark (not black) body colour. The interior trim is of a much higher quality than the FL2, but the clincher with the 4x4 model was the calm interior. Much less noise from engine/transmission/wind n tyres intruded into the cabin. In her Ladyship's FL2 with all the rear noise we have you need the audio entertainment on a setting of 15 or 16 to drown-out the rumblings. In the XF Elgar wafts through on serene yet punchy 7. Bliss.

Never been a fan of white, however, I quite like this XF

The Freelander....dealer rang today, the car has been driven, it has been on a rolling road, it has been on a wheel free ramp and 'driven', there is a whine but they cannot distinguish where it is coming from.
The problem could be either the rear diff or the transfer box at the front, either is very expensive and if they get it wrong they will have to foot the cost, the upshot is, I have been asked to run the car for a few more weeks to see what develops

It's not a gentle whine it's dreadful, they claim they have ruled out wheel bearings and the diff pinion bearing, here's waiting to see how it goes...

Oh Taz I empathise with you.
When qualified and LR trained workshop engineers at official LR dealerships um and ah around the source of a fault (or faults) and then ask the vehicle owner what they think is the problem you have to scratch your head and wonder what the heck does "qualified after sales service and premium warranty care" truly mean.

Then they go on to ask you to "test drive" your FL2 for a few more weeks and let the parts "bed-in". Unbelievable.

Well her Ladyship is road testing, and on odd occasions I drive her Freelander to take daughter to the stables and the rumbling and whining rear noise still there. Her FL2 is running on its 3rd rear diff., pinion bearing and it's 5th rear left wheel bearing. I think it is reasonable to claim that she has done enough "road testing" and parts' "bedding-in".

I wish you Taztastic a much shorter testing and bedding-in process that we have lived through. And, of course we'd be delighted to hear of a successful outcome of your problem, sooner rather than later

I will, of course, keep you posted, I hope it doesn't catastrophically fail as some have done previously.
I was amazed how 'agricultural' it felt after the Jag, it's still a good drive despite the noise.

Agricultural is fitting.
Svelte is the XF.

I'm having similar problems at the moment. My car (58plate GS) started making a noise in late November (about 72K) and was serviced by the local LR dealer, who was informed of the noise.

On collection, they said nothing, I asked and was told it was the rear diff bearings, about £400 to repair.

Booked it in, had the repair done, drove out still the same noise.

After I'd calmed down, I went back in and I took there junior service advisor out. We'd only gone a mile before he diognosed a wheel bearing failure.

Back to the dealers and they said they'd give me a ring and take into accunt the fact I'd had the diff work done. Eventually they did, we'd like £260 and we are busy for another 4 weeks. It's booked in, but I'm yet to get it done.

I'm fuming about it but not sure what to do? Get another dealer to do it and forget nearest one (assuming they have quoted me a standard price), or find an independent to do it, or go back to orginal dearler and demand money back for first botched repair?

Any ideas would be good, I've got another week and a bit before it is booked in.

Also, the car is being changed this year, so I don't want to spend a fortune on it, plus, it probably won't be another LR given the indifference of the dealer!

I also had a Jag XF for the day, the dealer sounded surprised when I didn't want the Freelander keys back

All sorted today...

Nearside rear wheel bearing and hub replaced this time and all is quiet again, lets see how long it lasts the warranty is up in September so a change may be on the cards?

We've had a few Fords in work (Focus and Fiesta) that regularly chew up one particular rear wheel bearing. Two bearings later we change the drum (that the bearing runs in) and the stub axle. They never come back after that. Close inspection of both, each time a bearing is replaced, have shown nothing untoward so I can only assume that it was a manufacturing defect. Perhaps FL's suffer the same fault - strange that it's always the nsr. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Could you guys cast your ears over my sound clip here:

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post221661.html#221661

Does that sound like a bearing?

Sounds very similar to the noise I had, one way to find out is find a long left hand bend and drive into it and take all the weight off the nearside wheels, the sound on mine disappeared completely when I did that.