Hi Everybody...I’ve got an intermittent problem with my Land rover Freelander 2 2007 model that’s driving me mad. I apologise for the length of this posting but I think you’ll need to know the full details. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
In Feb 2016 my dashboard display started going crazy.
I got the following warning messages appear in the digital display panel. "HDC fault, system not available" + "Engine system fault" +"Terrain response fault, system not available" + “Transmission fault traction reduced” (which incidentally has been a constant message appearing 2 minutes after starting since we got the car 5 years ago, which we had checked out at the beginning and was told wasn’t a problem).
Warning lights (complete with warning bleeps) started coming on and going off randomly. Yellow DSC warning light + Yellow ABS warning light + Yellow Engine warning light + Red Seatbelt reminder light (when seat belts are plugged in) Red Airbag warning light.
Gauges started going mental as well. Rev counter and Speedometer needles randomly stopped working and then suddenly came on again. Temperature gauge went instantaneously from normal to max (complete with red warning light) then instantaneously back to normal again.
If I turned off the car when warning lights were activated and pulled the key out of the docking slot, then tried to re-insert it, the key would then draw into the slot very slowly as if lacking power. The car then wouldn’t start and the digital display panel would be dead. After a few minutes of pushing the starter, sometimes the car would start and everything would return to normal. I also noticed that sometimes if I depressed the clutch, then pressed the starter button (as normal) nothing would happen but if I then depressed the brake pedal as well, this would allow the engine to suddenly turn over and start.
I also noticed that when driving with the warning lights on, the car lacked power when accelerating and would not allow me to select 5th or 6th gear.
Last symptoms were, if I switched off the car with warning lights on the alarm would not switch on and lock the doors from the key activator and also sometimes the dashboard lights wouldn’t turn off, even with the key fob removed from the docking slot.
The car then might right itself if left and drive ok for another week without any problem and then the same thing would happen again.
My local mechanic said he couldn’t do anything as he didn’t have the Land rover diagnostic equipment needed to find out what was wrong, so I took the car to a Land rover dealer in Kildare who plugged it into their diagnostic computer. They were very vague about the results and couldn’t give me a satisfactory answer about what was actually wrong with the car. They basically said that they had upgraded the ECU software on the car, changed a parking light bulb, and that hopefully that should solve the problem. They also said that the “Transmission fault traction reduced” message meant that the transmission haldex unit and sensor assembly needed replacing to the tune of 1700 euro. I told them that it hadn’t caused a problem for the last 5 years and that I’ll leave it for now. I drove the car away and it was fine for the next 9 months.
The electrical problem started again in November, exactly the same as before. I couldn’t get a quick slot in the Kildare Land rover dealers so this time tried one in Enniskillen. I ran through the crazy dashboard symptoms with the guy on the front desk and told him the story from the previous garage. They plugged it into their computer and ran the diagnostics again. This time they said that they had found a fault with the throttle body and that that was the reason for the lack of power. I explained that 99% of the time there was no lack of power as the car was performing perfectly and that the lack of power only occurs when the electrical problem happens intermittently. They also said that they had found a fault with the brake pedal switch which I told them to replace. They also repeated the problem flagged up by the previous garage regarding the transmission haldex unit, only this time they said that only the pump needed to be replaced and not the whole unit (as I was told before) and that this would set me back 365 euro. They still seemed to have no idea what was causing the problem though and said that they could carry out all the work but that it might not solve the problem. I asked three times to talk to the chief mechanic to discuss all the problems and symptoms face to face, instead of going through the guy on the front desk but for some reason he or she didn’t want to show their face. I again was not impressed by the service. I haven’t got money to burn so I said that I would drive it away after having had the brake switch replaced to see if the problem had disappeared and then make a judgment on the other stuff. Car drove ok for two days and then the problems started exactly the same again.
I have to say that I wasn’t impressed by both the Land rover main dealers and was reluctant to go back to either, so then I decided to try an independent Land rover specialist in Mayo. This guy held on to the car for four weeks, test driving it to monitor what was happening and to try to figure out why. He has the Land rover diagnostic software and established the following.
1. A hard right fast turn will sometimes cause the electrical problems to start.
2. The engine control module (connected by three main clip on electrical connectors located centrally under the bonnet beneath the plastic cowling nearest to the dashboard) is working fine. He swapped this over with one from another working car and it didn’t solve the problem.
3. He checked all connections and wiring under the bonnet and the wiring runs to the central control junction (located in the passenger footwell) and the engine control module for signs of corrosion, couldn’t find any.
4. He updated the computer software, didn’t make any difference.
5. He found that when the electrical problems are activated and the car doesn’t start the relays are clicking in the central control junction but the engine does not turn over and that this means that there is no communication between the central control junction and the engine control module at this point.
6. He found that if the engine won’t start, disconnecting and then reconnecting the negative terminal on the battery sometimes clears the problem.
7. He found that if disconnecting and reconnecting the battery won’t work then disconnecting and reconnecting the three electrical terminals on the engine control module will clear the problem and allow the engine to start.
8. He also mentioned that there was a problem with the transmission haldex pump but in his opinion this wasn’t the cause of the electrical problem.
After checking all this stuff he drove it around for two weeks and the problem hasn’t re-appeared. He is at a loss as to what is causing the problem. He said that the next think to replace would be the central control junction. But that is an expensive bit of kit and may or may not be the cause.
I am at my wits end as to what to do. The car is now unreliable. I am driving around at the moment praying that the problem will not re-appear. The car is nine years old but is in excellent condition, so it’s too good to scrap, but by the same token I cannot keep throwing money at it.
Any ideas as to what is causing all this to happen would be greatly appreciated
Regards
Steve.
In Feb 2016 my dashboard display started going crazy.
I got the following warning messages appear in the digital display panel. "HDC fault, system not available" + "Engine system fault" +"Terrain response fault, system not available" + “Transmission fault traction reduced” (which incidentally has been a constant message appearing 2 minutes after starting since we got the car 5 years ago, which we had checked out at the beginning and was told wasn’t a problem).
Warning lights (complete with warning bleeps) started coming on and going off randomly. Yellow DSC warning light + Yellow ABS warning light + Yellow Engine warning light + Red Seatbelt reminder light (when seat belts are plugged in) Red Airbag warning light.
Gauges started going mental as well. Rev counter and Speedometer needles randomly stopped working and then suddenly came on again. Temperature gauge went instantaneously from normal to max (complete with red warning light) then instantaneously back to normal again.
If I turned off the car when warning lights were activated and pulled the key out of the docking slot, then tried to re-insert it, the key would then draw into the slot very slowly as if lacking power. The car then wouldn’t start and the digital display panel would be dead. After a few minutes of pushing the starter, sometimes the car would start and everything would return to normal. I also noticed that sometimes if I depressed the clutch, then pressed the starter button (as normal) nothing would happen but if I then depressed the brake pedal as well, this would allow the engine to suddenly turn over and start.
I also noticed that when driving with the warning lights on, the car lacked power when accelerating and would not allow me to select 5th or 6th gear.
Last symptoms were, if I switched off the car with warning lights on the alarm would not switch on and lock the doors from the key activator and also sometimes the dashboard lights wouldn’t turn off, even with the key fob removed from the docking slot.
The car then might right itself if left and drive ok for another week without any problem and then the same thing would happen again.
My local mechanic said he couldn’t do anything as he didn’t have the Land rover diagnostic equipment needed to find out what was wrong, so I took the car to a Land rover dealer in Kildare who plugged it into their diagnostic computer. They were very vague about the results and couldn’t give me a satisfactory answer about what was actually wrong with the car. They basically said that they had upgraded the ECU software on the car, changed a parking light bulb, and that hopefully that should solve the problem. They also said that the “Transmission fault traction reduced” message meant that the transmission haldex unit and sensor assembly needed replacing to the tune of 1700 euro. I told them that it hadn’t caused a problem for the last 5 years and that I’ll leave it for now. I drove the car away and it was fine for the next 9 months.
The electrical problem started again in November, exactly the same as before. I couldn’t get a quick slot in the Kildare Land rover dealers so this time tried one in Enniskillen. I ran through the crazy dashboard symptoms with the guy on the front desk and told him the story from the previous garage. They plugged it into their computer and ran the diagnostics again. This time they said that they had found a fault with the throttle body and that that was the reason for the lack of power. I explained that 99% of the time there was no lack of power as the car was performing perfectly and that the lack of power only occurs when the electrical problem happens intermittently. They also said that they had found a fault with the brake pedal switch which I told them to replace. They also repeated the problem flagged up by the previous garage regarding the transmission haldex unit, only this time they said that only the pump needed to be replaced and not the whole unit (as I was told before) and that this would set me back 365 euro. They still seemed to have no idea what was causing the problem though and said that they could carry out all the work but that it might not solve the problem. I asked three times to talk to the chief mechanic to discuss all the problems and symptoms face to face, instead of going through the guy on the front desk but for some reason he or she didn’t want to show their face. I again was not impressed by the service. I haven’t got money to burn so I said that I would drive it away after having had the brake switch replaced to see if the problem had disappeared and then make a judgment on the other stuff. Car drove ok for two days and then the problems started exactly the same again.
I have to say that I wasn’t impressed by both the Land rover main dealers and was reluctant to go back to either, so then I decided to try an independent Land rover specialist in Mayo. This guy held on to the car for four weeks, test driving it to monitor what was happening and to try to figure out why. He has the Land rover diagnostic software and established the following.
1. A hard right fast turn will sometimes cause the electrical problems to start.
2. The engine control module (connected by three main clip on electrical connectors located centrally under the bonnet beneath the plastic cowling nearest to the dashboard) is working fine. He swapped this over with one from another working car and it didn’t solve the problem.
3. He checked all connections and wiring under the bonnet and the wiring runs to the central control junction (located in the passenger footwell) and the engine control module for signs of corrosion, couldn’t find any.
4. He updated the computer software, didn’t make any difference.
5. He found that when the electrical problems are activated and the car doesn’t start the relays are clicking in the central control junction but the engine does not turn over and that this means that there is no communication between the central control junction and the engine control module at this point.
6. He found that if the engine won’t start, disconnecting and then reconnecting the negative terminal on the battery sometimes clears the problem.
7. He found that if disconnecting and reconnecting the battery won’t work then disconnecting and reconnecting the three electrical terminals on the engine control module will clear the problem and allow the engine to start.
8. He also mentioned that there was a problem with the transmission haldex pump but in his opinion this wasn’t the cause of the electrical problem.
After checking all this stuff he drove it around for two weeks and the problem hasn’t re-appeared. He is at a loss as to what is causing the problem. He said that the next think to replace would be the central control junction. But that is an expensive bit of kit and may or may not be the cause.
I am at my wits end as to what to do. The car is now unreliable. I am driving around at the moment praying that the problem will not re-appear. The car is nine years old but is in excellent condition, so it’s too good to scrap, but by the same token I cannot keep throwing money at it.
Any ideas as to what is causing all this to happen would be greatly appreciated
Regards
Steve.
