Hi all. New Freel2 owner. Mine is a 2007 manual diesel.
I am struggling to get any grip retrieving a boat on a fairly gentle concrete boat ramp. I found the front wheels lost grip and span in normal mode. Which terrain mode should I use or is there another approach? Although the boat is heavy (2 ton) I had no problem at all with my previous vehicle (Toyota RAV4). I also was concerned at the lack of grip in any mode tackling steepish off road tracks. Maybe I have a problem with my terrain system - if so how would I detect that - no unusual warning lights etc. Any help would be appreciated.

May just be type of tyre fitted to your vehicle. Sounds like you have ordinary road ones and maybe for that kind of work more aggressive tyre treads are needed. Ex 2010 Freelander2 GS-e Diesel manual Silver owner

Thanks for that. Fitted with Cooper AT3's with plenty of tread. (Bit less after retrieving the boat though).

Maybe it's the tires?


(not sure if you are allowed to link, join text)

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Links to videos are fine, along as they are appropriate

Normal tyres = inappropriate tread = no friction = wheel spin

I'd try M&R under those circumstances. Note that in normal mode if the wheels are pointing away from straight ahead you'll have mainly front wheel drive. M&R will over-ride that and lock the coupling regardless. If you're getting the front wheels spinning when pointing ahead it sounds as though you may have a problem, as under those circumstances the coupling should lock and give you full 4wd.

Don't forget NOT to back off the throttle when the wheels start to spin. Allow the wheels to spin so that the electronics can transfer the power to the other wheels.

maybe too much power, try using the clutch very gently with no throttle, there should be enough torque if you are gentle enough.

Remember, once a tyre is slipping it gives no traction so keeping the tyre moving very slowly reduces the likelihood of slippage, as shown in the video, once all 4 wheels are spinning, no electronics in the world will cure it.  MY2014 SD4 XS
Ipanema Sand

MY10 TD4-e GS Manual
Lago Grey Now retired after 8 trouble free years

I had a 2011 RAV 4 Auto for a very short while, Did not like it at all, auto box was out of the ark, road noise terrible, engine noisy and fuel consumption poor added to a 55 litre tank which meant stopping to fill at motorway services. Basically old technology. One PLUS point, a diff lock button, which auto disconnects at 14mph, in some circumstances gave much better traction on muddy slippy ground. Still no comparison to a FL2 in any other way. 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.

Another point is the weight on the pin, to much and you lift the front, 150kgs is the Max. But would have gone with mud/ruts to start with, but need to get the revs up around 1800 to get the traction control to kick in.

My MY13 came with this supplement for towing. How I understand it, is one can put up to 250 kg, but reduce vehicle load by 100 kg. I'm not interested in a tow bar so it's not an issue for me.

Click image to enlarge

So you can add another 100kgs, the more weight you put on the back the less you have on the front, unless you put the weight in front of the rear axle, you cannot change that.

It sounds possible to me that there's a problem here.

Tonyd wrote:

... a fairly gentle concrete boat ramp ... the front wheels lost grip and span in normal mode ... no problem at all with my previous vehicle (Toyota RAV4) ... lack of grip in any mode tackling steepish off road tracks ... Fitted with Cooper AT3's with plenty of tread.

Quote:

the front wheels lost grip and span in normal mode

On the mud my front wheels spin for 2 or 3 seconds then the back wheels start to spin to
Mud and ruts

Hmm - I wonder if Haldex generation makes a difference here. I have the later Gen 4, with the electric pump, but 07/08 would have the earlier Gen 3. But in any case the terminal wheelspin the OP seems to be experiencing doesn't sound right!