03 Freelander, purchased used with 74,000 miles. Engine had knocking noise, was told by dealer that was "normal", not even ninety days later fuel pump failed. Ok, no big deal. Towed car 90 miles to lr dealer for covered part. Was determined at lr dealer that there were serious issues with engine and vehicle was not safe to drive. Coolant mixing with oil, etc. Have read all of the issues I am experiencing in forums online. This is a defective vehicle and lr needs to be held responsible before someone gets hurt.

- Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA

I am having problem with the entire engine system. I spent $1000 repairing the timing belt, yet the timing belt persist with engine failure. Mass airflow meter keep blowing up, I am bought 3 at $325 so far. I have spent another $2000 to get the engine fixed still no solutions. Highlight keeps coming on every time I press the brake light. The car won't speed up check engine lights come on, SRS light is on everything in this car is bad as a result make it real unsafe. Please people try to do something for the people that drive this and hopefully get it off the market.

- Miami, FL, USA

When I purchase my car Jan 2009 it had roughly 56,000 miles on it. I did notice that when I started it in the morning it had a funny sound. I tried to bring back to the dealership several times to have it looked at, either no one was there to help me or the noise was gone since the car was warm. I notice some smoke a week ago and filled the antifreeze fluid back to max line, then I notice the antifreeze was down past the min line again, with no antifreeze on the ground"?" took it in the shop and he gave a list of this wrong, intake manifold valves always open, bank 1 & 2 lean, he replace my "T" connector, just to name some.. oh yeah and noise coming from three different places.. valve tran, water pump/timing belt and the alternator. No he told me it will cost thousand of dollars to fix it.

- Bigfork, MT, USA

Coolant has been leaking into the engine ever since I purchased about 18 months ago. Landrover finally acknowledge the problem but now there is not enough funds on my extended warranty to cover a new engine. For the past 18 months my vehicle has been at the dealership at least half the time. It just seems like a big cover up.

- Houston, TX, USA

Coolant leaks into the engine in the 2003 Land Rover Freelander. Problem started at 25,000 miles and was dismissed by the Land Rover dealer (frankel Land Rover- hunt valley) who I bought the car from. I bought it brand new. Eventually at about 60,000 miles they told me I would need a new engine after the warranty expired. I continued to fill the coolant chamber daily and drove it until it completely failed at 103,000 miles while I was driving on the baltimore beltway (695) at 60 mph. Freelander K-series engines have been known to drop the cylinder liners into the block. Because the liners are steel and the block is alloy, the liners being harder, work their way into the block. This is due to the engine block and cylinder head being composed of different materials that expand at different rates with heat generated during running of the vehicle. This can cause the head gasket to fail. The head gasket/cylinder liner design fault has not been classified as a recall.

- Rosedale, MD, USA

I am driving an SUV - Freelander SE3 of the Land Rover, and have a defect that is getting worse as the car get into highs miles. I can be driving over 50 miles per hour and the service engine light came up, followed by T/C and decent hill lights, them the car have a strong jump and the D (drive mode) change to a flashing "F" "4"- them suddenly the engine shotoff. I drive with the fear that one day I will not be able to pull over and I will be crashing. Another problem is that the vehicle loss total power and stop moving, no matter how hard I press down the gas pedal.

- Wanaque, NJ, USA

My lr Freelander 2003, has an overheating problem, the head gasket is blown and is in need of repair. There are now mechanics that will fix the problem except for the Land Rover dealer and they can not guarantee the work. There is a design defect with the heads in this vehicle know by the manufacturer but they refuse to make this a recall to the consumers and they have stopped making this engine. I need this repair done so I may at least trade the vehicle in for a new vehicle.

- Leland, NC, USA

Head gasket and engine problem. Car started off having coolant leak and progressively got worse and is now inoperable. It has been inoperable since September 2008. There are a number of forums that describe this same issue so it is well known within the lr organization. I do not have $3500 to replace my engine nor cover the additional $3K for labor to have it installed. Since lr knowingly manufactured this defective engine (made out of aluminum and iron cast which are not compatible), they should be liable for replacing this engine.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

In July 2004 I purchased a 2003 Land Rover Freelander hse with 25K miles. In the four and a half years of owning the vehicle we have had numerous problems. The sunroof failed twice and repaired under warranty and has since broke again. Three of the four window regulators have failed (2 fixed under warranty). I have just replaced the fuel pump @ 95K miles. Had to repair myself because the nearest dealer is 120 miles away and nobody else would work on it. Now it seems the head gasket or who knows what else has failed. We have to put a gallon of water in per week. Land Rover has discontinued the sale of the Freelander in the us. This does not surprise me because of all the complaints due to the overall poor quality of a "luxury SUV".

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Purchased pre-owned 2003 landrover Freelander May 07 and two weeks later check engine soon light came on intermittently. Car was taken to dealership and they said computer showed up nothing. Two weeks later light came on for several days. Was taken back to dealership and they replaced coil wire. Two weeks later happened again and they replaced coil pack. Happened again two months later and local mechanic changed head under the coil pack and car ran good. One month later the car ran hot, was towed to dealership once again and they replaced "something" (the guy I purchased the car from took care of the bill) fast forward ahead 5 months and the valves started clicking. Oil was changed and lucas oil added. Car ran fine for approximately two weeks and then my 16 year old daughter (whom the car was purchased for) got in it from her summer job from the local ball stadium and it would not crank. The car was towed to a garage and he tells me that one of the timing belts broke and warped the cams and a new engine was needed. He said he had all kinds of reports stated that this was a defective engine and should have been recalled. They tell me it will cost 3-7 thousand to repair and I will still be getting a used "defective" engine and will be facing the same potential problem. Thank you in advance for your help. 2/21/10 2003 updated 04/14/10.

- Mooresboro, NC, USA

Driving on freeway 65 miles an hour in the left lane attempting to pass a car. While accelerating, the car continued to lose speed. Had to maneuver my way to the right side of the freeway crossing 3 lanes of traffic in order to get to a safe place. Had the car towed to the dealership. We have been told that the engine blew up and it had to be replaced the cost of replacing the engine was more the replacement of the vehicle. The car only has a little over 60,000 miles on it and has been maintained on a regular basis. There was no warning that this might occur.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Land Rover Freelander: The vehicle is a time bomb, at some point early in the vehicles life it will die on you while driving....you then have a very short time to get of the road before it locks up. It then becomes a money pit!!!

- Greensboro, NC, USA

2003 Land Rover Freelander hse, head gasket failure diagnosed by auto technician at dealership service department after reported smell of burnt coolant and visible radiator coolant in the engine-oil. Technician advised me this is problem is engine defect in head gasket stress bolts and location of thermostat. Engine overheats and oil in radiator system due to head gasket failure. Vehicle no longer functional, overheated due to no head gasket/cannot be fixed. Mechanic just advised me to try and trade it in when I purchase a new vehicle, as manufacturer discontinued model and also engine, not under warranty nor is product repairable (engine & vehicle discontinued, manufacturer has refused to help in any way).

- Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Land Rover Freelander. The contact stated that the vehicle began smoking heavily underneath the hood. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and completely shut off. The dealer stated that the coolant was mixing with the engine oil and the engine needed to be replaced. The engine model in the contact's vehicle has been discontinued. The dealer stated that they could order the engine, but there is a long waiting list and they do not know when it would arrive. The failure and current mileages were 37,000. Updated 05/19/08. Updated 05/19/08

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

03 Land Rover free lander. 85K miles engine died with no explanation. Towed to Land Rover dealer and they said that there is nothing they could do except put me on a waiting list for a new engine that would cost over $8000 to fix and could not guarantee that I would even get an engine at all. The truck is a total loss and I still have a loan to pay off. I am in shock over the fact that I no longer have a vehicle and Land Rover could not care less! after reading on and on about this same problem with every other owner it appears to me that Land Rover should be punished for selling such a vehicle! we as the consumers should also be compensated or justified for such a loss after putting faith into a well known "high end" company. I am willing to be a part of a class action lawsuit and I know there are many others willing to bring Land Rover to justice.

- Hudson, NH, USA

I own a 03' Freelander with only 34,000 miles on it. At this stage in a vehicle's life, there should be very little mechanical problems. It has not been the case for me. I have had this car for 1 and 1/2 years and problems began occurring 1 year after ownership. There is the smell of burnt antifreeze inside the car and an even stronger smell outside the car once the engine is turned off. The smell is toxic and I'm afraid that the fumes could easily impact someone's driving ability if not have the driver go unconscious after a long road trip. I have read about this problem existing on many other Freelander vehicles on blogs and customer reviews. Something ought to be done. Also, for the past few days, I've been hearing a clicking noise coming from my engine. I immediately took my car to a repair shop to get checked out. The owner of the shop operated on my vehicle and discovered the engine manifold needed to be replaced ($970 part + $240 service). He contacted the lr parts dealer and the dealer notified him that this is a constant occurrence. In fact, dealer said that he had received 4 other phone calls the same day for the same exact part. This is ridiculous. Lr needs to take proactive steps in resolving these problems. This is a frequent occurrence and implies that there were problems with the manufacturing of these vehicles. As of right now, these frivolous repairs are costing Freelander owners lots of money, and in the future, as these cars become a bit older, they will cost people lives. I urge you to please take corrective action and help in orchestrating a recall on this part. Thank you, robert gleyzer

- Bensalem, PA, USA

Own a 2003 Land Rover Freelander SE, vehicle looses coolant into engine then over heats. Had head gaskets replaced at a cost of $1,700. Vehicle still leaking coolant into engine. I did some investigation into this matter found a chat room on edmunds.com it seems it is a common problem with this vehicle, the cause of the coolant leak is a poor design of the engine. It seems that the cylinder sleeve shifts inside the engine and the coolant burns internally. Land Rover is well aware of this issue but does not want to replace engine.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

Engine coolant disappearing into combustion chamber(s), engine overheating, due to engine sleeve. Requires replacement engine, either new or remanufactured. Problem: There are no replacement engines, anywhere. Vehicle has been in the lr dealership since 9/27/07. First estimate was repair by 10/5. then it became 10/22. Now I'm told it might be months before a replacement engine is available. This is an intolerable situation which Land Rover pretends does not exist. It is affecting owners of this model all over the country and Canada, which is part of the reason the engines are in short supply. The other part is because Land Rover made a huge mistake by selling the engine to a chinese mfg. Company and now can't meet demands for replacing what is really a poor design with a new poorly designed engine. In my opinion, Land Rover should be buying these failed vehicles back if they can't be repaired. These are not old vehicles, and the owners have been abandoned by Land Rover.

- Lima, NY, USA

Numerous large repairs needed for a 2003 Land Rover Freelander, current mileage approx 79,000 including: New engine Oct 2007, new radiator June 2007, new fuel pump May 2007, new thermostat April 2007, internal electrical fault September 2006, cooling system September 2006, broken sway bar April 2006, right rear window replaced February 2006, child safety lock recall November 2005, brake switch failure November 2005, heater core leaking coolant November 2005, coolant bottle replaced November 2005, driver door replaced December 2004, windshield washer broken December 2004.

- Los Gatos, CA, USA

Complete engine failure on 10/13/2007 at just over 34,000 miles. Two weeks prior car was serviced due check engine light on/car overheating. Service dept. Claimed due to fluid leakage and claimed it was repaired. Even though car is under warranty Land Rover has declined to cover engine replacement. They want me to pay them over $6400 to replace engine.

- Downers Grove, IL, USA