Land Rover Freelander problems, recalls and best years (1997

Complaints by model year

Each bar is one model year. Highlighted: 2002. The most recent years are still collecting complaints.

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026

Year by year

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Bulletins	Crashes · fires
2007 Freelander	0	0	1	0 · 0
2006 Freelander	0	0	3	0 · 0
2005 Freelander	16	3	33	0 · 0
2004 Freelander	69	3	34	2 · 1
2003 Freelander	140	5	34	1 · 6
2002 FreelanderMost complaints	226	3	32	4 · 4
2001 Freelander	3	0	11	0 · 0
2000 Freelander	1	0	11	0 · 0
1999 Freelander	0	0	11	0 · 0
1998 Freelander	0	0	11	0 · 0
1997	0	0	11	0 · 0

A model year gets its own page when it has enough data for at least three sections

Most common problems

Engine and engine cooling271
Power train123
Electrical system61
Visibility48
Service brakes, hydraulic39
Fuel system, gasoline39
Exterior lighting26
Engine17

NHTSA ODI complaints, all model years

Fuel consumption by year

Official Canadian test results for 3 model years, best variant per year. Combined consumption ranges from 13.7–14.2 L/100 km.

Year	Variant	Engine	Transmission	City	Highway	Combined	CO₂ g/km
2005	Freelander 4X4 · Sport utility vehicle · Regular gasoline	2.5 L, 6 cyl.	AS5	14.9	12.3	13.7	315
2004	Freelander 3-Door 4X4 · Sport utility vehicle · Regular gasoline	2.5 L, 6 cyl.	AS5	15.4	12.7	14.2	327
2003	Freelander 3-Door 4X4 · Sport utility vehicle · Regular gasoline	2.5 L, 6 cyl.	AS5	15.4	12.7	14.2	327

Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada

In New Zealand

1,304 Freelander cars are on the New Zealand register; 38% arrived as used imports.

Model year	Registered	Sold new in NZ	Used imports
2016	1	1	0
2015	16	13	2
2014	106	84	21
2013	65	53	10
2012	77	42	33
2011	95	47	46
2010	121	73	44
2009	87	46	39
2008	186	67	115
2007	212	78	124
2006	17	11	4
2005	39	31	7
2004	79	55	17
2003	42	32	7
2002	47	43	2
2001	57	38	17
2000	23	20	2
1999	16	14	1
1998	18	17	1

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

In the Netherlands

2,258 Freelander cars are on Dutch roads; 24% arrived later as imports, and 6 still have a recall open. Open a year for APK defects, odometer checks and colours.

First registered	On the road	Imported	Median list price
2014	56	20%	€57,630
2013	124	31%	€60,100
2012	111	48%	€59,370
2011	128	20%	€53,383
2010	136	24%	€51,810
2009	98	27%	€49,228
2008	209	28%	€66,705
2007	281	27%	€61,420
2006	144	12%	—
2005	183	8%	€44,580
2004	215	13%	€35,300
2003	126	16%	€38,273
2002	169	26%	—
2001	103	32%	—
2000	84	30%	—
1999	60	47%	—
1998	31	61%	—

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles (CC0) · list price is the manufacturer's catalogue price when new

Road collisions in Great Britain

From 2021 to 2025, 1,458 Freelander cars were involved in road collisions in Great Britain that injured someone and were reported to the police. 22 of those collisions were fatal and 357 caused serious injuries. As with any count, models with more cars on British roads appear more often.

Year	Cars in injury collisions	Fatal	Serious
2025	241	3	67
2024	244	3	60
2023	318	6	66
2022	332	5	83
2021	323	5	81

Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data 2021–2025 · Open Government Licence v3.0 · how we count

In the United Kingdom

101,626 Freelander cars were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, by year of manufacture.

Built	Licensed	Off the road (SORN)
2016	25	—
2015	42	—
2014	11,331	193
2013	12,773	282
2012	9,989	300
2011	11,467	470
2010	12,806	842
2009	8,671	761
2008	8,763	1,286
2007	10,871	2,159
2006	4,079	2,428
2005	3,562	3,146
2004	2,948	3,810
2003	1,773	3,447
2002	1,322	3,111
2001	660	2,689
2000	257	1,733
1999	154	1,298
1998	133	1,110
1997	0	9
1991	0	1

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124) · Open Government Licence v3.0

MOT test results in Great Britain

129,548 Freelander cars took their annual MOT test in 2023; 66% passed first time, against 61% for all cars of the same ages. Older cars fail more often, so compare a year with the same year of other cars.

First registered	Tests	Passed first time	All cars that year	Average mileage
2014	11,686	79%	72%	79,700 mi
2013	13,293	76%	68%	90,400 mi
2012	10,528	75%	66%	97,000 mi
2011	12,437	74%	63%	107,200 mi
2010	14,292	68%	60%	114,800 mi
2009	10,221	68%	59%	120,900 mi
2008	11,555	63%	57%	131,200 mi
2007	15,104	62%	57%	137,300 mi
2006	7,508	53%	56%	125,600 mi
2005	7,173	51%	56%	124,600 mi
2004	6,180	52%	56%	125,400 mi
2003	3,977	53%	57%	130,200 mi
2002	2,906	54%	58%	133,800 mi
2001	1,477	54%	59%	125,400 mi
2000	582	54%	61%	117,700 mi
1999	354	50%	63%	119,100 mi
1998	275	53%	64%	116,000 mi

Why they fail

Share of all first tests that ended in a fail because of each part of the car (one test can fail on several).

Area	Freelander	All cars, same ages
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	15.3%	17.5%
Suspension	12.2%	14.6%
Brakes	10.7%	10.1%
Steering	5.5%	3.0%
Body, chassis, structure	4.5%	6.0%
Tyres	4.3%	7.1%
Visibility	3.9%	6.1%
Noise, emissions and leaks	2.0%	5.0%

DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 (Department for Transport) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · first tests of cars only; a fix made at the test station within the hour still counts as a fail

New registrations in Europe

100,353 new Land Rover Freelander cars registered in the EU, Norway and Iceland between 2010 and 2019, from the European Environment Agency's CO₂ monitoring of every new car. In 2019 the largest markets were Ireland (1).

Year	New cars	Largest markets	Mass kg	CO₂ g/km	Power kW
2019	1	Ireland	1,958	174 (NEDC)	110
2017	6	Slovakia, Portugal, Italy	1,894	173 (NEDC)	124
2016	28	United Kingdom, Italy	1,968	—	118
2015	266	Germany, Austria, Belgium	1,923	—	115
2014	16,202	United Kingdom, Italy, Germany	1,965	—	118
2013	19,229	United Kingdom, Italy, Germany	1,958	—	119
2012	16,308	United Kingdom, Italy, France	1,960	—	118
2011	21,152	United Kingdom, Italy, Spain	1,958	—	117
2010	27,161	United Kingdom, Italy, Spain	1,972	—	—

Averages are weighted by registrations; CO₂ is the type-approval value (NEDC until the WLTP switch). European Environment Agency, CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars · re-use permitted with acknowledgement

EU safety alerts

Safety Gate, the European Union's rapid alert system, names the Freelander in 4 alerts. European versions can differ from the North American car.

A12/1253/15 · Fire16 Oct 2015 · Freelander

The Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heater may short circuit causing in some cases smoke and flames which could lead to a fire.

A12/0569/14 · Injuries18 Apr 2014 · Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Freelander 2

There is a risk of one or both of the suspension link arm fixings fracturing. If this should happen, the Stability Control System (SCS) may not be able to control the lateral vehicle motion causing an increased risk of a crash.

A12/1901/12 · Injuries28 Dec 2012 · Evoque and Freelander

One or both of the brake caliper fixings may become sufficiently loosened to detach from the vehicle. Should both fixings become detached, the brake caliper may detach from the rear suspension knuckle and impact with the rotating road wheel, leading to loss of…

A12/1131/12 · Fire3 Aug 2012 · Freelander

Fluid for the power assisted steering may leak. If it comes into close proximity to a heat source it may combust.

Safety Gate (European Commission) · CC0

Recalls

6 campaigns cover the Freelander.

07V041000 · Exterior lighting9 Feb 2007 · 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE BRAKE LIGHTS MAY REMAIN ILLUMINATED EVEN WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT DEPRESSED. HILL DESCENT CONTROL (HDC), TRACTION CONTROL (TC) AND CRUISE CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS MAY ALSO BE ILLUMINATED.

05V300000 · Latches/locks/linkages28 Jun 2005 · 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

ON CERTAIN FIVE DOOR SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, IT IS POSSIBLE TO OPERATE THE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE TO OPEN THE DOOR WHEN THE CHILD SAFETY LEVER IS IN THE "ON" POSITION.

04V489000 · Structure7 Oct 2004 · 2003

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, AN INCORRECT WELD NUT WAS INSTALLED. LACK OF THIS BOLT COULD EVENTUALLY CAUSE THE SUBFRAME TO CRACK OR BECOME DEFORMED.

04V347000 · Structure12 Jul 2004 · 2002, 2003, 2004

CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 201, "OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN INTERIOR IMPACT." DURING TESTING, THE FREE MOTION HEAD FORM REGISTERED A MEASUREMENT MARGINALLY ABOVE THE PERMITTED 1000 HEAD IMPACT CRITERIA. AT THE LEFT AND RIGHT HAND A-PILLAR TRIM AREA.

04V207000 · Latches/locks/linkages5 May 2004 · 2003

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE CHILD DOOR LOCK ON THE LEFT HAND REAR DOOR CAN BECOME DISENGAGED.

04V510000 · Air bags28 Jan 2004 · 2005

CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 208, 'OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION.' THE DEFLECTOR PANEL CONTAINED IN THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG MODULE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN BUILT TO SPECIFICATION.

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Land Rover Freelander

Complaints by model year

Year by year

Most common problems

Fuel consumption by year

In New Zealand

In the Netherlands

Road collisions in Great Britain

In the United Kingdom

MOT test results in Great Britain

Why they fail

New registrations in Europe

EU safety alerts

Recalls