Freelander 2 (LR2) Prospective first time FL2 buyer needs guidance please

Hi there and hope you could help a prospective first time Freelander 2 owner.

Apologies in advance if these types of questions have been asked before.

We are looking to upgrade our 2005 Honda MK2 CRV. Budget it limited. Honda has been fantastically reliable and not cost a bean in 5 years of ownership (bar the usual wear and tear). I fear the FL2 won’t be the same but the wife is adamant she is bored of the Honda and loves the look of the FL2. She doesn’t care or think too much about reliability where as I do because I have to sort out the issues and pay for them.

Car in question is a 2009 TD4 HSE Auto with 128K on the clock. 4 owners in total and the last person owned it for 3 years. We are looking to buy the FL2 from a sales garage after the previous owner PX’d it against a new Kia Sorento.

Car looks very well looked after and apart from the occasional stone chip looks good for its age inside and out.
Vehicle comes with oodles and oddles of service history with nearly £3k having been spent in the last 2 years on:

05/03/2018 Brake clean and adjust
Brake fluid change
Replace Wheel hub
Replace front and rear bearings
825.66

30/01/2019 12 month service oil, oil filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, air con treatment
Replace Auto Gear box oil
Replace Transfer box oil
Replace read dif oil
504.25

06/03/2019 Clean up brake discs, fit new rear brake shoe, replace bulbs
404.49

02/05/2019 Fit new cam belt and aux belt
Fit water pump
445.42

18/10/2019 Fit new turbo intercooler hose and diagnostic tests
273.86

10/03/2020 Change oil and filter
Replace near side rear tyre
Replace rear brake pads
Diagnostic test to reset seat
254.03
Total: 2707.71

So I get the feeling it’s been well look after by the previous owner. We have contacted her and it sounds like she felt it was a bit of a money pit but they had to get rid of the car as they wanted something bigger and newer. She has no reason to lie to us as the car is no longer hers and she said that as far as she was concerned the car was sound with no known problems.

She suspected she had spent so much fixing all the things on the car the new owner would hopefully be trouble free.
We took the car for a test drive and all seemed good.

My main query relates to something I was told to check by a colleague who owns an FL2 and that was to put the car on full lock and accelerate and listen out for noises or knocking. I did this and there was the very slightest of judders (almost imperceivable.). I don’t know if this is in any way normal when on full lock, or if it should be completely smooth? The 2 rear tyres don’t have the same tread depth as one has just been replaced. Could that cause the diff any problems and could I be imagining things?

Obviously I’m trying to avoid buying a car with hidden problems that are about to cost me a fortune.
Looking at the service history all the items look like they have been done at the appropriate times. The garage that it has been serviced the last 3 years is excellent and I have all the receipts.
What do you guys think?

Also I’m a little confused from having read to many forum posts, so could somebody please tell me if this car will have a DPF and are they troublesome (I had a bad experience with a BMW 530D). And also does the car have swirl flaps? I can’t imagine it would, but some people have stated that the FL2 has. I thought the swirl flaps were only a BMW thing?

Many thanks.

Sounds like all the 10-year service stuff is out of the way. Should cost less from now on but make sure you follow the service schedule.

No swirl flaps, No DPF, belts have been done, I would check the power pipes going into the steering rack as they can corrode in that area and fail with pin holes, cost a couple of hundred quid to fix, make sure all tyres are the same make and have the same tread, other than that it sounds like a decent FL2 you & you wife will love it I think. Ho and make sure the A/C is really cold if not it may need re-gassing

Dont know about the full lock story, but some of them have a problem with the rear diff, (mine included) try and run it on a smooth road or motorway at varying speeds and listen for vibration or rumbling at the back end.
Had mine re built and changed it myself.

Was a money pit cos she got raped by the garage doing the work.

In my very limited experience, that little bit of judder at low speed full lock is common on four wheel drive. Not sure if it is normal or correct, but I used to get it on my Pajero Junior as well as my Freelander. As far as I am aware, it is from the differential. I could be very wrong on this.

paul99 said:

In my very limited experience, that little bit of judder at low speed full lock is common on four wheel drive. Not sure if it is normal or correct, but I used to get it on my Pajero Junior as well as my Freelander. As far as I am aware, it is from the differential. I could be very wrong on this.

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The FL 1 is a different story because of the way the four wheel drive works, the FL2 is a front wheel drive vehicle which has an electronically controlled clutch on the rear axle this engages 4 wheel drive when certain circumstances occur.

Thank you for the replies.

Stv123 said:

Sounds like all the 10-year service stuff is out of the way. Should cost less from now on but make sure you follow the service schedule.

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That's what i am hoping and that I will get some relatively trouble free motoring. The fact that they have bothered to do some of those bits I think is promising and from what I have tried to learn recently is in line with other owners good practice.

Arctic2 said:

No swirl flaps, No DPF, belts have been done, I would check the power pipes going into the steering rack as they can corrode in that area and fail with pin holes, cost a couple of hundred quid to fix, make sure all tyres are the same make and have the same tread, other than that it sounds like a decent FL2 you & you wife will love it I think. Ho and make sure the A/C is really cold if not it may need re-gassing

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Great to know there is no DPF or swirl flaps. I will try and check those pipes.

biketeacherdave said:

Was a money pit cos she got raped by the garage doing the work.

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There was some other work done than what I quoted in my original post. The individual breakdown looked fairly reasonable. I will have to use a mechanic myself as im not that way inclined.

raywin said:

The FL 1 is a different story because of the way the four wheel drive works, the FL2 is a front wheel drive vehicle which has an electronically controlled clutch on the rear axle this engages 4 wheel drive when certain circumstances occur.

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So do you thin there should be no judder at all, and be completely smooth when on full lock and accelerating?

Thanks once again

parxuk said:

Thank you for the replies.



That's what i am hoping and that I will get some relatively trouble free motoring. The fact that they have bothered to do some of those bits I think is promising and from what I have tried to learn recently is in line with other owners good practice.



Great to know there is no DPF or swirl flaps. I will try and check those pipes.



There was some other work done than what I quoted in my original post. The individual breakdown looked fairly reasonable. I will have to use a mechanic myself as im not that way inclined.



So do you thin there should be no judder at all, and be completely smooth when on full lock and accelerating?

Thanks once again

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Mine is pretty smooth at full lock and I have not heard of a common issue of shuddering, but if you look on forums you will see issues of the FL 1 juddering at full lock( I think in reverse)

There should be no juddering on full lock with any motor if it does it has a fault

You'll need to get the Haldex unit serviced if it's not been done, easy-ish DIY job.

potus said:

You'll need to get the Haldex unit serviced if it's not been done, easy-ish DIY job.

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Stupid question time, but a recent service receipt states that the engine oil, auto gear box oil, transfer box oil and diff oil were all changed (5000 miles ago).

Would one of those (possibly transfer box???) be the Haldex, or is that something different again?

And would a Haldex service just be an oil change, or is there more involved?

Thanks again to this very friendly community

The Haldex unit is an electronic clutch which sits just in front of the rear diff.
To service the Haldex requires the filter to be replaced and also the oil. Both are specific items, the Haldex in your 2009 F2 might be a 4th generation Haldex.
There's a few videos on Youtube which describe the task and enable you to identify them.
I used to have an occasional creak on tight turns, once the Haldex was serviced this disappeared.
Numerous other vehicles have also have Haldex units, AWD Volvo's for one.

potus said:

The Haldex unit is an electronic clutch which sits just in front of the rear diff.
To service the Haldex requires the filter to be replaced and also the oil. Both are specific items, the Haldex in your 2009 F2 might be a 4th generation Haldex.
There's a few videos on Youtube which describe the task and enable you to identify them.
I used to have an occasional creak on tight turns, once the Haldex was serviced this disappeared.
Numerous other vehicles have also have Haldex units, AWD Volvo's for one.

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Thanks. There is no mention of filters being replaced but I am going to phone the servicing garage tomorrow and ask exactly what they did, and if it involved a Haldex service.

I will watch those videos you mentioned.

Kind regards

parxuk said:

Thanks. There is no mention of filters being replaced but I am going to phone the servicing garage tomorrow and ask exactly what they did, and if it involved a Haldex service.

I will watch those videos you mentioned.

Kind regards

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Haldex is a strange story, LR do not have a service schedule for it, but Volvo who use the same unit do.
You can get the parts from Volvo, or a kit from Ebay, check that you get the right parts, and check carefully the re fill procedure its important to do it right.

Did yer buy the FL2?

Hi there.

No, we were mid negotiation on a deal and waiting to sort a couple of small issues out, and then the lock down happened and everything had gone on hold.

I believe the car is still available and we may well still buy it (subject to price) when things start getting back to normal (whatever that will be?).

In my world owning a Freelander is considered normal.

Look up the reg plate on the mot history site to see what it says.

Thanks to all for the help and advice.
I finally picked the FL2 up on Friday, and am for the most part very happy. There are a couple of small niggles that it will have to go back to the garage to be rectified (handbrake does nothing and rear passenger door only intermitently unlocks). Also the centre console rear 12v socket doesnt work, but hopefully that will just be a fuse. Other than that its a very nice drive.
We would like to put some side steps on the car. Can anyone recommend some good ones please?
Thanks

parxuk said:

Thanks to all for the help and advice.
I finally picked the FL2 up on Friday, and am for the most part very happy. There are a couple of small niggles that it will have to go back to the garage to be rectified (handbrake does nothing and rear passenger door only intermitently unlocks). Also the centre console rear 12v socket doesnt work, but hopefully that will just be a fuse. Other than that its a very nice drive.
We would like to put some side steps on the car. Can anyone recommend some good ones please?
Thanks

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If it came from a garage, presumably it had a new MOT - how did it get that with a hand brake that doesn't work!

From the service history, it looks like the hand brake is problematic on the car.

Don't skip getting the Haldex serviced - it could cost you a lot of dosh to fix if you don't.