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Comments
RD
That knocking noise was a symptom of the Head Gasket Failure on my 2003 Freelander, it knocked because of the oil and coolant emulsification (or gooked up as I called it, became a paste inside the engine). I know still owing money on the vehicle has you thinking you are better to keep paying and keeping the vehicle, but trust me! when the engine goes (& it definitely/absolutely/positively will), you are better off trying to trade it in as part of buying another vehicle before that happens.
My advice... TRADE IT IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, before you are stuck without a functioning vehicle and still have that payment. There is nothing worse than paying a payment for a vehicle that is dead.
Sry...I'm a loyal L.R. fan...I will never trade it in for any thing, my family had seven different L.R. before, I'm not giving it up.
I dont think enough people have filed complaints to even get consideration by the NHTSA for a recall. We have a better chance of someone filing a class action lawsuit (under assumption this vehicle is a luxury vehicle and would have potentially some owners with deep pockets)---- against the automaker, but probably wont see more than a few hundred $ after waiting five or ten years for the matter to get settled. I hate this friggin vehicle and dont expect anything from Land Rover, I just hope by posting these comments can possibly alert/avoid other people from ending up with a dead vehicle & just a payment book to show for it.
I recently received a notice in my email about the class action moving forward with a new law firm and one with the information as to how to file a complaint with NSTA and have lost them due to computer troubles.
I have replaced my engine and... so
could the senders email me again with the information so I can contact the atty and NSTA.
much appreciated.
Kim
Without boring you all with too much detail, it took two months of fighting with Land Rover and with Primus to finally get a new engine installed. It cost me about $1000 out of pocket, even though I had an extended warranty. (Primus is getting very good about finding things not to pay for).
A (reputable) local car dealer was cool enough to take a trade-in on my Freelander while it was still in the shop. I lost a lot of money in negative equity on this car. I made the investment hoping that I would have this car long-term. But I figured that it is better to spend the money to get out of it now rather than spend 7-10K on a new engine a few years from now when the second engine dies and I'm out of warranty.
My advice is to trade in this vehicle at the first sign of a coolant leak. Don't feel as though you're passing off the problem on to someone else -- you'd be surprised at the number of people who love these cars and are willing to put up with the trouble they cause.
Land Rover is very aware of this situation, and they are very prepared in how to fight customers that are facing this. They will not help you. Cut your losses and buy a more dependable car -- a Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, or Subaru. I went with the Subaru Forester, and I'll agree with the Rav4 owner in a previous post, it was the best thing I ever did.
What disappoints me most is that Land Rover is not accountable to anyone for the cars that they manufacture. They supposedly discontinued the Disco and the Freelander in favor of the 'improved' LR3 and LR2. If you do a bit of research you'll find that these cars are money pits just as their predecessors.
If you've had a similar experience, write your state Attorney General, Land Rover North America, and your local Land Rover dealer. Let them know how disappointed you are with Land Rover products and service. :lemon:
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
They discontinued this vehicle and therefore there are no more of these faulty engines being produced by the Chinese manufacturer. Even if they were producing these engines, you would be better off buying a different car than wasting money on another one of this vehicle's engines with the same defect.
I agree that trying to get the media involved is futile, it ultimately doesnt get our vehicles fixed. Class Action Suit or NHTSA action might be our best options.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
landrover dealership RIPPPP OFFFFF!!!!!
If you notice a symptom, you can usually figure out the problem without paying the $100 + labor diagnostic, alot of the problems have been widely posted on this & other auto forums.
Just dont spend too much money on this vehicle, it's money better spent on a different vehicle that you will inevitably have to get, especially as the SUV reaches the old age of 80,000 miles (the vehicle typically is dead by 100,000 miles or thereabouts, from one of these many described critical failures: oil leak, head gasket leak, transmission leak/failure, or something else).
atty & I've yet to hear back from him, this was 3
weeks ago! I advise all of you to go to the FTC web
site voice your concerns on how unsafe this car is &
that it should be taken of the highways, streets, etc.
That is going to get us the help we need, seriously
does someone have to die before they will recognize
what a safety hazard this car is. I drove around for
months without brake lights, they had recalled the
recall on the brake switch. My back passenger window
dropped & shattered with my 2yr old niece in her car
seat right next to it. The cable to the motor that
sits inside the door wrapped itself around it the
motor & busted. That was $500 to replace. Not to
mention $6500.00 to replace the engine with a rebuilt
engine after 6 months of waiting for an engine only to
be told by LR that I was negligent & didn't follow the
maintenance rules. I have all of the paperwork to
prove it & they denied it & would not give me the car
back until I paid them in cash & then I got stuck with
a $4000.00 rental car bill. My credit sux now, I can't
buy a new car! Im stuck, but it does make me feel
better to know that Im not alone! So take an extra few
minutes to contact NHTSA & FTC, I wrote the atty
general in my state, they couldn't help but referred
me to the FTC!!! Power in numbers people!! We need
HELP!!!
Cyd
LR will appeal & I need to prove the oil change interval was NOT 6000 miles as testified by the Dealership's service manager. The dealership lost the Passport to Service & I need the page or pages that show the reccommended oil change milage. Can anyone copy & e-mail this info to me at trburton@comcast.net.
It show the Land Rover recommended 12,000 oil change frequency and we get that info straight from the manufacturer.
If the dealer lost your Passport to Service booklet, why not ask the judge to put the burden on the dealer to find it or they lose their claim that 6,000 miles was the interval?
I would say it is very likely your engine fluids hadnt mixed to a level where the engine was sputtering to a stall, and that is really why that light was coming on (due to stall rather than any way of knowing there was a gasket failure other than physical observation of the coolant overflow level or coolant in the oil observation).
Just my 2 cents.
I don't have the money and I still owe money... what do I do now? This Class action has been on and off for such a long time and I don't have the time to wait for this... I still need transportation and this just doesn't cut it.... help I am desperate at this point....
The Landrover dealer in Alaska went out of business but the certified mechanic indicated the only thing to to is replace the engine for $7,000+. We don't want to replace the engine when it appears that we might have the same problems.
Any suggestions on what can be done? Go to Landrover headquarters or Ford Headquarters with compliant? Sell the car as is? All I know is that I am without a car and still have a payment....(not with Ford Credit)...
ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED BECUASE IT WILL BE SNOWING SOON AND WE DON'T HAVE GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
:sick:
I would probably suggest buying a different car. If you owe a substantial amount on the 2003 Freelander, you may seriously want to think about whether to trade it and transfer the balance owed on the vehicle to the new vehicle you buy or whether you are better off buying the new vehicle and then let the 2003 Freelander just go behind on payments and let the credit company go and get it.
None of this is easy, it's as if you are trapped with vehicle and your credit is the most important thing you stand to lose. Just know that replacing the engine will only cost you money and another failure in the future, these engines are design flaws, just that simple. Its a shame no recall will ever happen to make us whole for the vehicles we have that no longer work.
You may want to speak to an attorney and see if they can offer a suggestion for possibly suing the dealership or any other option to breach the purchase agreement (if a lemon law or other had been violated with these vehicles).
Everyone please make sure your logging a complaint with NHTSA, this is how recalls happen! If we don't do it, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Trust me I know what everyone is going through. I have had my FL since June 06 and have driven it maybe 6 months of the time. I pay my car payment and insurance every month on a truck I cant drive! Its either I screw my already screwed up credit even more or suck it up.
I have been dealing with this for 2 years! I cant afford to fix it if I continue to make the payments. It just sucks!
Please use the address above and use it in every post you write so that newcomers can also see it. This is our best bet at this point.
Please, please, please make sure we keep telling everyone about it!
I truly feel sorry for all of you that are going through this. I will keep this situation at the top of my prayer list!