Freelander 2 manual gear selector problem

Second time I have had this problem with the detent on 5,6,Rev on the manual gearbox. I believe it is an electrically operated detent which fails to operate making it very difficult to select 5 & 6 and can also jam the stick if you do manage to get 5 or 6.
It was fixed under warranty first time but is now just out of warranty. Apparently there is a connector block somewhere under the centre console which came loose last time. Has anyone else had this problem?
Can anyone give me a clue as to how to take off the centre console? There are no visible fasteners, so I assume I have to prize off something to start with.

search on freel2.com and all is listed on there ref your problems.

freelance said:

search on freel2.com and all is listed on there ref your problems.

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He's right. Usually occurs because of a sloppily performed recall.

Courtesy of Althestan on Freel2 :-
First pull the gear knob off if you've got a manual box. No idea with an auto box.

The silver surround is held in place by 4 hidden from view (underneath) plastic clips: two either side in-line with the horizontal silver cross bar that runs flush with the back of the TR panel, and two (one at each corner) at the rear of the silver surround closest to the hand brake. And, there are 3 plastic "tongues" (the largest sits dead central in the middle) along the front leading edge of the silver surround that sits underneath the A/C control panel.

Do all this gently - it's plastic!!
Start at the rear by the hand brake and lift the right and left corners free.
Then move to the central silver cross bar and lift the two at either end.
Once those 4 are free pull back on the whole silver surround and at the same time press down on the front leading edge below the A/C controls to release the 3 front "tongue" clips. Easy if your gentle.

Refitting is the reverse of this procedure.

Have fun - and easy as you go about it.
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For those that have difficulty selecting gears there is a service bulletin.
This one courtesy of Alex on freel2:-

Special Service Message (SSM) 44149
Models: LF - Freelander 2
Title Freelander 2 Manual Transmission-Gears difficult/stiff to select
Last Modified 26-APR-2010 07:53
Category Driveline
Symptom 505200 - Manual Shift Lever/Linkage Concerns Content
Issue: Customer may report Gearshift linkage does not operate freely (stiff or partially seized)
Cause: Ball pin on transmission shift lever at the gearbox end may not be tightened to torque and could eventually work loose.When it works loose, fore / aft gear shift motion will become stiff (cable touches other cable and cast face) eventually the ball pin may work it's way out.
Action: For Vehicles within the range specified, if a customer reports the above described issue it may be possible the root cause is due to the Ball pin that the transmission cable attaches onto has not been torqued to the correct Value of 20 Nm (+/-3Nm) and has therefore worked loose. When investigating customer reports for Gearshift linkage does not operate freely, please consider this as a potential cause. Any vehicles found with this concern should be rectified following the relevant GTR procedures also ensuring the ball pin joint is secured to a torque value of 20Nm (+/- 3Nm).

I know it’s nine years old now but did you ever sort this?

Mine has started doing exactly the same thing

Hi I’ve got 07 freelancer 2 xs td4 has anyone else had the problem all gears are smooth no problem but have to judge 6th gear right or it’ll go to reverse , no safety gate cheers cs

Capt Slow said:

Hi I’ve got 07 freelancer 2 xs td4 has anyone else had the problem all gears are smooth no problem but have to judge 6th gear right or it’ll go to reverse , no safety gate cheers cs

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I'm not sure about the gear selector on the FL2 (mine is ok), but most remote selector mechanisms use a spring detent to prevent accident selection of the wrong gear. I'd start looking at the control cable mechanism, below the stick, as there could well be something wrong there.

wow - only last week i was sitting in rush hour traffic in a small town and moved the gear stick from side to side to confirm neutral before i took my foot off the clutch and it stuck over to the right, thankfully that moment of panic (stuck on a one way system with a caravan on behind) wiggle, returned normal service - hasn't done it again and as we are going to move the FL2 on in a week or so hopefully will never have to look at it..
so long story short - happened to me and i forced it out and back to normal

Nodge68 said:

I'm not sure about the gear selector on the FL2 (mine is ok), but most remote selector mechanisms use a spring detent to prevent accident selection of the wrong gear. I'd start looking at the control cable mechanism, below the stick, as there could well be something wrong there.

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Thanks very much for your advice I’ll try that. Cheers.