Land Rover Freelander

Sound positively beastly.......is there an information bulletin of some sort somewhere on this ? .......I don't drive one, but the techno babble would make good reading.......

I might add that the problem applies only applies to the 1800 petrol engine and the problems also apply to other car makes such as Rover (remember Rover and Land Rover are different companies) that use the same engine.

The issues do not apply to to the diesels or V6 engines which are BMW sourced engines - oh and by the way has Nissan recalled all their diesel engines that blow up just out of warranty - I think not!

No car company recalls for poor design or failures etc - Recalls are only made if there is a safety related issue.

That's right. The flawed design in the cylinder liners applies to all 1.8 K Series derivatives regardless of the vehicle. This engine type has also been used in the KIA Carnival. I can't comment on the response from other manufacturers, however according to Land Rover Customer Care, Land Rover Australia continues to supply this engine without modification, to it's dealerships for replacement of failed engines. Having paid Land Rover Australia over $5000.00 for an new 1.8lt engine I would expect that the design fault would have been addressed. I would also expect to get either written or verbal assurance that I have NOT purchased exactly the same engine with potentially the same defect. Instead I was advised that the Technical department of Land Rover is not available to the public, and I would have to get that information from my local dealership. My local dealership said they have no advice from LR regarding any corrective modifications to the new engine and referred me back to LR. The LR representative's response was that there has been no modification, there is no product recall in place and there is “no problem with this engine”. Call me crazy, but from a consumer's point of view I find this trading practice is incredibly dishonest given that the problem is so widely known. If I have paid over $5000.00 for a replacement I need to know if the defect has been rectified. Those interested in this matter might care to read related posts at http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-824.html

The last Pommie creation that existed in my family was a 1958 Hillman Minx which required regular complete engine rebuilds, caused primarily by the elbow which fed oil from the pump to the rockers had a little hole in it, which allowed the oil to pump directly back down the nearest pushrod hole and starve the rockers of oil. The hole in the elbow also caused a lower oil pressure throughout the rest of the engine. Hence many burned valves, run bearings, worn out rings and cracked pistons.

However, the rest of the running gear was OK.

Sounds like the oil feed elbow design engineer still has a job - now at LR, and they have allowed him to design componets for the rest of the car as well........

So, since 1962 members of my family have owned numerous cars including the legendary Fiats (1100D, 1300, 1500, 124, 124s, 125), then Mazda, Torana, Jackaroo, Daihatsu.

The most soulful were the Fiats, the most reliable the Japanese models. None of the Japanese vehicles over the last 15 years have required anything other than a clutch, and Mum's Mazda 626 needed rear shockers at 145,000k.

The Jackaroo has 105,000k and hasn't even needed brake pads yet. I did change the shockers at 80,000k to allow the lifted coils, but they were still good, just not long enough.

Why do people buy Pommie bleep when they can buy Japanese? I'll never know.

I know that the Japanese vehicles have their moments - the Nissans with engines, Toyotas have flimsy diffs now, the Isuzus have had some transmission issues, and so on, but the wise buyer would still have to avoid the Pommie stuff or accept with pleasure the consequences....

My 2c worth

I could'nt agree more.

looks like poor ole Gerdi has his own issues and agendas with Poms. Get over it mate.