Freelander 2 acceleration issue

Hi all
I'm new to this community and new to the world of Landy. I just bought a 2007 Freelander 2 HSE automatic. It was a bargain and in fantastic condition and i love it.

It goes great in normal driving but seems really slow when I pull away from a standing start. There is kind of a pause where it goes dead slow for around 2 seconds when i pull away then it it picks up and accelerates fine.

I got a mechanic to look at it but he thought it was fine. He checked over everything on the turbo and said that was fine. Is this just the way these freelanders are? I can't really believe that it should be so slow pulling from still. I find it really dangerous pulling out into moving traffic.

I get exactly the same thing in manual mode. Tried pulling away in first and second gear. Same dead slow 2 seconds then revs pick up

Any ideas anybody, some clues would be a great help

Cheers
Scott

It's been topped up with petrol and the diesel fuel filter is gummed up.
Change the fuel filter, fill up with premium diesel and all should be okay.
Happened to mine . . . . . twice.

Rank Amatuer said:

It's been topped up with petrol and the diesel fuel filter is gummed up.
Change the fuel filter, fill up with premium diesel and all should be okay.
Happened to mine . . . . . twice.

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Thanks, I'll give that a go. Fingers crossed

have you checked any vacuum pipes if you have a hole in one then it will take a few seconds for the vacuum to build up to operate the vanes on the turbo

Hi Teddy

That sounds like a possibility. I'll add it to my list for the garage. Probably see if anybody else has any ideas and take it in on monday

FL2 doesn’t have a vacuum operated turbo - it’s electric actuator for the variable vanes.

Could be EGR valves, fuel filter, hole in intake pipe work, brakes binding or any number of things

A proper diagnosis needs to be carried out including smoke testing of the intake

Does the engine speed pick up quickly and the car hesitate or is it the case that the engine hesitates before the revs increase?
Mine is auto and i sometimes notice a very slight hesitation before the revs pick up then it accelerates prety quickly, i belive the haldex unit goes to four wheel drive when you accelerate quickly.

td4van said:

A proper diagnosis needs to be carried out including smoke testing of the intake

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Yes, thanks. I think I need to bite the bullet and take it into a proper Landy garage. My mechanic thinks there is nothing wrong with it but he doesn't know fl2s very well. I always think that Landy dealers are going to expensive. We will see

raywin said:

Does the engine speed pick up quickly and the car hesitate or is it the case that the engine hesitates before the revs increase?
Mine is auto and i sometimes notice a very slight hesitation before the revs pick up then it accelerates prety quickly, i belive the haldex unit goes to four wheel drive when you accelerate quickly.

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It seems to just go dead slow up to around 1500rpm then speed increases really quickly. Its as if first gear is really low then it goes into second and shoots off. But if I pull away in second I get the same thing. Gonna have to take it to a Landy dealer, see what they think.

Scottc3000 said:

Yes, thanks. I think I need to bite the bullet and take it into a proper Landy garage. My mechanic thinks there is nothing wrong with it but he doesn't know fl2s very well. I always think that Landy dealers are going to expensive. We will see

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Main dealers have the allegiance scheme which offers discounts to vehicles 3 or more years old. They also have a fixed price for 1 hour none intrusive diagnostic.

Scottc3000 said:

It seems to just go dead slow up to around 1500rpm then speed increases really quickly. Its as if first gear is really low then it goes into second and shoots off. But if I pull away in second I get the same thing. Gonna have to take it to a Landy dealer, see what they think.

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Please let me know when you're driving around my neighbourhood.

I dream of beating a car off the lights in my L Series

Hippo said:

Main dealers have the allegiance scheme which offers discounts to vehicles 3 or more years old. They also have a fixed price for 1 hour none intrusive diagnostic.

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Thanks, that sounds pretty good, I'll take it in. I just thought I would post in case this is a common problem. Over to the guys at LR

Scottc3000 said:

Thanks, that sounds pretty good, I'll take it in. I just thought I would post in case this is a common problem. Over to the guys at LR

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Let us know how it goes

Well, I finally found time to get my Freelander down to the LR dealer. After spending £500 getting two hoses replaced!! I still had the same problem so took it back again.
This time the guy came for a test drive with me. I showed him how if I am a standing start and I push the accelerator to the floor there is a lag of a second or two before it slowly gets going. Then once it is up to around 10 mph it picks up pretty well. I showed him how it is actually quicker at a standing standing start if you try to pull away slowly. He said it seemed normal. He then let me drive a new Disco with the same engine and to my horror it is exactly the same. So now I am reeling a bit, amazed that any modern car is incapable of a reasonably fast start, enough to get you safely out in a busy roundabout or to safely join fast moving traffic without a huge gap to pull out into. I feel really unsafe in this car knowing that it can not get me out of trouble in an emergency. I suppose I have to get used to anticipating the lag and accelerating a second before I want to go. This will take some getting used to. Thanks to everybody for their help

Yer not unsafe by not being able to power out of danger from a stand still at amazing speed.

If yer can't join a roundabout without flooring it then it's likely there isn't room for you to join safely.

I assume it's an auto. When yer put yer foot on the brake, then select drive, it will then take up drive, then take yer foot oft the brake and put yer foot to the floor on the accellerator... It is probably thinking yer may have put yer foot to the floor by mistake. Sometimes peeps do this to the gas by mistake instead of the brake.

What is the best 0 to 60mph yer can get out of it?

Im not talking about flooring it (although it would be nice to have that option) I just dont understand why there is a second or two lag if you try to take off at anything faster than slow. The guy at LR said that was the turbo lag . I dont know loads about engines but I dont see why the turbo needs to be engaged at under 10mph. Once you get above 15mph I am really happy with the performance.

I certainly dont expect 'amazing speed' either just regular speed would do me fine. My wife is a very cautious driver but she also feels unsafe in it joining fast moving traffic.

Dont get me wrong, I love the car, just love it a little less

Does sound strange.

They use variable vane turbo's so they spin all the time, but the vanes vary to change power output. Well sort of. If yer suddenly ask for more power when cruising int 3rd, it will change the turbo vanes to increase power. Engine revs will increase anorl.

There was a problem with the FL2 auto's where they're sometimes hesitant. It doesn't happen to all of them. Not sure if yours is possibly affected or not. There was never really a solution. The plan was to recalibrate them to see if it resolved the problem. Some did some didn't. It was a main dealer set-up and recal procedure. The hesitancy was intermittent. Occasional delay when pulling away.

What's yer 0-60mph time? Got a dash cam to record it?

Caution: Applying max acceleration to a vehicle is a bad thing to do. It puts max strain on it. Something may get broke'd or wear faster.

Hippo said:

Caution: Applying max acceleration to a vehicle is a bad thing to do. It puts max strain on it. Something may get broke'd or wear faster.

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The ECU's torque map will ensure you don't damage the engine by limiting throttle demand to a level that is safe. So from a stand still, if you push the peddle straight to the floor it will gradually increase the fuel injected as the revs rise to level where it is safe to inject 100%.

When I say "safe", if you are accellerating so fast your cheeks go all flappy and you can't see what's on the road - the ECU does not deem an old granny crossing the road "un-safe"

GrumpyGel said:

The ECU's torque map will ensure you don't damage the engine by limiting throttle demand to a level that is safe. So from a stand still, if you push the peddle straight to the floor it will gradually increase the fuel injected as the revs rise to level where it is safe to inject 100%.

When I say "safe", if you are accellerating so fast your cheeks go all flappy and you can't see what's on the road - the ECU does not deem an old granny crossing the road "un-safe"

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I disagree.

Apply full demand at the pedal when stationary... The protection from the computer is only momentarily untill it unleashes full power due to request/demand. That doesn't protect the engine. It gives the driver the opertunity to realise the mistake and remove request (foot).

When full power is demanded it's suddenly available. How long does it take a FL auto to hit max power output from the engine in 1st gear? Theres no measurable soft start effect. It unleashes power at an astonishing rate. The FL2 SD4 makes the FL1 v6 feel slow.

Sudden max power means high stress, regardless of it being within the spec of what the FL can mechanically cope with. Now add in gear changes at the top end of power output available... as speed increases... Thats not good for the FL, especially the auto. Its not good for any vehicle. Others like mercs are more able to cope with it but will still suffer the effects. Yer can do it but the more yer do, the more wear/pressure yer put it under. That's not good for any vehicle.

Sadly peeps read what I put on ere which is why I gave the warning not to do it as someone will assume they can drive it like it's stolen, at max performance, and get away with it. Yer can for a bit but then faults will appear. The long-term life of the FL is at risk if it is worked harder.

On this occasion I'm curious to know if the FL's performance is generally sluggish or the owner thinks it is. A one fast acceleration which doesn't need to be max acceleration.