Freelander Problems: Rear Tyre Abnormal Wear
st...@hoobears.co.uk
comments.
I purchased my 3dr Freelander XEi hardback in 1998 November from new.
While I have experienced about every problem imaginable with the car,
it has now visited my dealer in excess of 25 times since 98 (ask me to
list all the faults sometime), I am currently experiencing an
apparently insurmountable one.
At approximately 20000 miles (original tyres) I started to notice a
droning (bearing-like) sound while driving along. I had it investigated
by the dealer (Three Counties Land Rover, Stourbridge) who told me it
was in fact coming from the rear tyres, which were starting to wear
abnormally. This, they told me, was a problem on all Freelanders of
20000 miles and up, and that it was caused by the action of the 4WD
mechanism coming into play when the front wheels are fully turned on
normal roads. LR are aware of the problem but there's nothing my dealer
can do. They agreed when I suggested I should write to LR.
So a few months ago I did write to LR Customer Services. They replied
suggesting they were aware of an "excessive" wear problem and would
consider goodwill assistance in replacing the tyres, to anyone who's
tyres were exhibiting the symptoms below 24000 miles. This I assumed to
be a misinterpretation of my letter - as I had not referred
to "excessive" wear, only "abnormal" wear. In fact, while my tyres were
by now over 24000 miles old, they still had over half their tread depth
left... why should I pay to replace my tyres because of LR's problem?
I wrote back to LR Customer Services and pointed out I thought it
ludicrous that they should suggest that tyres over 24000 miles old
require replacing, regardless of the tread depth left. That was two
months ago, and they didn't reply. One month ago I sent another letter
(enclosing a copy of my previous one) and suggesting it would be nice
of them to have the grace to reply. They haven't replied to that either.
How dare LR treat me like this. I am appalled at their apparent lack of
concern for my situation. What does it take?
As far as my enjoyment of my car is concerned - I have none. The noise
is now very obvious and friends and family who have travelled with me
have queried what it is - to such an extent that I'm now too
embarrassed to take anyone in it. I am tempted to change the rear
tyres just so that I start to enjoy driving my "Best 4x4xFar" again -
but they still have loads of tread left and anyway, WHY SHOULD I??
Does anyone have any ideas what I can do?? DO ALL Freelanders have this
problem at 20000 miles? LR sell these cars by the thousand - shouldn't
prospective buyers know about this - or is it just me?? Am I being
unreasonable? Help!
Steve Oliver
Kidderminster
UK
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Patrick Manuel
I had a similar problem with my rear tyres but the noise went away when I
changed them for new ones - I moved away from the OEM Goodyear tyres mostly
on price grounds. I have been on Pirelli's for over 25K miles now and there
is plenty of life left in them with no sign of abnormal wear or noise.
Patrick
I did have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
<st...@hoobears.co.uk> wrote in message news:900evq$ofk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Dean Gale
Sorry to hear about your problems
I heard that Land Rover are replacing the IRD something to do with excessive
drive to combat tyre wear so ask your dealer.
Also please visit 3landerblue.com
my Freelander website for a bulletin board and an owners feedback page
cheers
dean
Mike Fielding
<snip>
>At approximately 20000 miles (original tyres) I started to notice a
>droning (bearing-like) sound while driving along. I had it investigated
>by the dealer (Three Counties Land Rover, Stourbridge) who told me it
>was in fact coming from the rear tyres, which were starting to wear
>abnormally. This, they told me, was a problem on all Freelanders of
>20000 miles and up, and that it was caused by the action of the 4WD
>mechanism coming into play when the front wheels are fully turned on
>normal roads. LR are aware of the problem but there's nothing my dealer
>can do. They agreed when I suggested I should write to LR.
<snip>
Sounds familiar.
I had 'assistance' from Landrover following the over-inflation of the
tyres 'problem' two years ago. Since then I have had the noise
problem you refer to. I was so convinced that I had worn bearings that
I took the car in the my local LR dealer twice to check them out only
to find that it is the tyres causing the problem. At 38000 miles,
the dealer suggested that since the front tyres were near the legal
limit, I should put the rear tyres on the front and put new on the
rear (actually dealer was the same price as KwikFit :-) ). This I
did, and the noise subsided but not entirely. Now at 45000 and the
noise is definitely becoming louder again. I gather that it is policy
to swap the rear left and right wheels as part of the service to try
and even out the wear.
I too would be very interested in what LR say, if you should ever get
a reply.
Mike (W.Sussex)
Mike Fielding
<patrick...@anoraks.org> wrote:
>Steve,
>
>I had a similar problem with my rear tyres but the noise went away when I
>changed them for new ones - I moved away from the OEM Goodyear tyres mostly
>on price grounds. I have been on Pirelli's for over 25K miles now and there
>is plenty of life left in them with no sign of abnormal wear or noise.
>
>Patrick
>
Patrick
Did you just take the plunge and buy 5 new Pirelli tyres (ŁŁŁ), or did
you just replace the rear to start with, and then the others. What is
is situation regarding the running of OEM Goodyear on the front and
Pirelli on the back or vice versa? Is it safe?
Mike
st...@hoobears.co.uk
"Patrick Manuel" <patrick...@anoraks.org> wrote:
> Steve,
>
> I had a similar problem with my rear tyres but the noise went away
when I
> changed them for new ones - I moved away from the OEM Goodyear tyres
mostly
> on price grounds. I have been on Pirelli's for over 25K miles now
and there
> is plenty of life left in them with no sign of abnormal wear or noise.
>
>
Patrick
Thanks for your reply. That's interesting - I would be grateful if you
could tell me how many miles your previous tyres had done before you
changed them, which model of Pirelli tyre you are using now, and like
Mike, whether you changed all 4 tyres at once. Are you aware of any
issues relating to the simultaneous use of two different types. I know
LR do not recommend swapping front to back and vice versa.
Unfortunately they don't recommend any alternative solutions!!
Thanks again for your reply.
Steve
Patrick Manuel
I replaced the tyres on the front at 27K miles, mainly due to the 'wrong
tyre pressure' problem (although LR declined to offer any assistance). I
was not happy about having a mix of makes on the car but it did not seem to
make any difference to the handling. I replaced the rear tyres and the
spare (anyone want to buy an unused Goodyear?) at 30K miles after a puncture
caused by a nail - they were getting close to the limit anyway. I am now up
to 52K miles in the car and there is plenty of tread left on all tyres.
Patrick
I did have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
"Mike Fielding" <mike.f...@rdel.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3a24f87f....@news.rrds.co.uk...
> On Tue, 28 Nov 2000 23:26:49 -0000, "Patrick Manuel"
> <patrick...@anoraks.org> wrote:
>
> >Steve,
> >
> >I had a similar problem with my rear tyres but the noise went away when I
> >changed them for new ones - I moved away from the OEM Goodyear tyres
mostly
> >on price grounds. I have been on Pirelli's for over 25K miles now and
there
> >is plenty of life left in them with no sign of abnormal wear or noise.
> >
> >Patrick
> >
> Patrick
>
> Did you just take the plunge and buy 5 new Pirelli tyres (£££), or did
Steve@Newsgroups
your vehicle.
A question though - what pressure did you run your OEM tires at? I'm
interested to know what pressure any Freelander drivers are running at on
the road.
Thanks,
Steve
<st...@hoobears.co.uk> wrote in message news:900evq$ofk$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> I think I'm running out of options on this one. I'd love to hear your
> comments.
>
> I purchased my 3dr Freelander XEi hardback in 1998 November from new.
> While I have experienced about every problem imaginable with the car,
> it has now visited my dealer in excess of 25 times since 98 (ask me to
> list all the faults sometime), I am currently experiencing an
> apparently insurmountable one.
>
> At approximately 20000 miles (original tyres) I started to notice a
> droning (bearing-like) sound while driving along. I had it investigated
> by the dealer (Three Counties Land Rover, Stourbridge) who told me it
> was in fact coming from the rear tyres, which were starting to wear
> abnormally. This, they told me, was a problem on all Freelanders of
> 20000 miles and up, and that it was caused by the action of the 4WD
> mechanism coming into play when the front wheels are fully turned on
> normal roads. LR are aware of the problem but there's nothing my dealer
> can do. They agreed when I suggested I should write to LR.
>
Patrick Manuel
I think my last post answered most of your questions re mileage. I changed
to Pirellis (Scorpion S/T 215/65 R16) partly because of the price - 75 UKP
each rather than 100 UKP for the Goodyears.
You may be interested to know that the Land Rover Freelander Workshop Manual
states "If new tyres are to be fitted ensure that they are fitted to the
rear axle only or to both front and rear axles. DO NOT fit new tyres to
front axle only." I was not aware of this at the time I had the front tyres
changed, and neither it would appear were the fitters who supplied the tyres
since they did not mention it. The tyre fitters are the one used by the
local Land Rover dealer! I would guess the reason for the warning is
something to do with the front/rear viscose coupling. My car does not seem
to have suffered from being used for a couple of thousand miles of wrongly
fitted tyres but it does leave me with a bit of a dilemma as to what to do
when the front tyres wear out again. Am I supposed to throw away the rear
tyres when they have still got half their tread left?
Patrick
I did have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
SNIP
st...@hoobears.co.uk
"Steve@Newsgroups" <steve_at_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Sorry to hear about your problems - it obviously sours your enjoyment
of
> your vehicle.
> A question though - what pressure did you run your OEM tires at? I'm
> interested to know what pressure any Freelander drivers are running
at on
> the road.
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
Hi Steve - this is steve (lower case "s")!
Thnx for reply. You're right about souring - my enjoyment is well and
truly soured. Right now this droning is worse than ever - and I'm about
to order two Pirellis because I can't stand it any longer. You can't
tell me there are no LR people reading this group - yet they stay so
quiet... Make yourselves known!!!
I originally ran the OEM tyres at the book pressure of 2.1 bar, and
reduced them all to 1.8 when I received the LR revision note about a
year later. I then subsequently had the front tyres changed by the
dealer when they were quite obviously more worn in the middle than at
the tread edge, and LR covered half the cost (for what it was worth:
once the dealer had added their markup I only saved about Ł50 on the
two!)
Regards
Steve
Steve@Newsgroups
Steve
<st...@hoobears.co.uk> wrote in message news:90h860$qcn$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> In article <3a2883a6$1$19431$7f31...@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au>,
> "Steve@Newsgroups" <steve_at_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Sorry to hear about your problems - it obviously sours your enjoyment
> of
> > your vehicle.
> > A question though - what pressure did you run your OEM tires at? I'm
> > interested to know what pressure any Freelander drivers are running
> at on
> > the road.
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Steve
>
> Hi Steve - this is steve (lower case "s")!
>
> Thnx for reply. You're right about souring - my enjoyment is well and
> truly soured. Right now this droning is worse than ever - and I'm about
> to order two Pirellis because I can't stand it any longer. You can't
> tell me there are no LR people reading this group - yet they stay so
> quiet... Make yourselves known!!!
>
> I originally ran the OEM tyres at the book pressure of 2.1 bar, and
> reduced them all to 1.8 when I received the LR revision note about a
> year later. I then subsequently had the front tyres changed by the
> dealer when they were quite obviously more worn in the middle than at
> the tread edge, and LR covered half the cost (for what it was worth:
> once the dealer had added their markup I only saved about Ł50 on the
> two!)
>
> Regards
>
> Steve
>
>
Mike Fielding
>Thnx for reply. You're right about souring - my enjoyment is well and
>truly soured. Right now this droning is worse than ever - and I'm about
>to order two Pirellis because I can't stand it any longer. You can't
>tell me there are no LR people reading this group - yet they stay so
>quiet... Make yourselves known!!!
>
Please post back and let us know how you get on with the Pirellis as I
am very tempted to do the same.
Mike
Ben Hale
I have had the low profile Pirellis on (17 in 3 spoke rims) for two years.
40 000 kms so far and they are all OK. They have been rotated, and there has
been no appreciable transmission noise. The only thing I have found is that
the steering is a little heavier due to the tyre width.
I have replaced one tyre because of a sidewall intrusion.
I am keen to know if anyone has had trouble with the engine belts. I have
had all replaced by Landrover. Excessivly worn power steering belt, and big
probs with wear on others. Any theories?
st...@hoobears.co.uk
mike.f...@rdel.co.uk (Mike Fielding) wrote:
> On Mon, 04 Dec 2000 23:08:53 GMT, st...@hoobears.co.uk wrote:
>
> Please post back and let us know how you get on with the Pirellis as I
> am very tempted to do the same.
>
> Mike
>
Well, I went for it the week before Christmas - THANK YOU for all your
advice. I now have two brand new Pirelli Scorpions on the back of my
car, and I think I have died and gone to heaven... "Silence is Golden".
The droning has stopped completely. It's such a relief. The tyres cost
me £138 for the two incl. balancing and valves.
I've kept the old two Good Years just in case I decide to get an expert
opinion of them, and then sue LR for something - perhaps "loss of
enjoyment" compensation and a proportion of the tyre cost?!? Does
anyone have ANY idea at all how to go about getting such an opinion
from a tyre company. Obviously I'm going to need a report that says
something along the lines of "... abnormal scuffing due to
irregularities in the vehicle's drive-train, causing premature
replacement ..." etc.
So I henceforth mostly enjoyed driving round the Durham Dales the week
before Christmas, except that a) the engine started making a funny
noise between 2500 and 3000 rpm - like a resonance noise while
accelerating in 3rd or 4th gear, and b) the
A/C has decided to only work when it feels like it, which is "rarely".
I noticed it because all of a sudden it wouldn't keep the windows
demisted... Answers on a postcard...
Time for visit no. 26 to the dealer. Ho hum.
Steve
Daniel Slade
Just a word of warning with your new Pirelli Scorpions. I have been told by
many a user that they are Fantastic, Great, Wonderful & MORE!!!! Then a few
weeks later (after an off roading day) FLAT! Just watch the sidewalls after
a day playing and check carefully before going home at 80mph (as should
everyone). Every person I know who has changed to them has had problems.
But have fun anyway!!!!!!
Happy New Year All
Daniel Slade
<st...@hoobears.co.uk> wrote in message news:92i180$7s0$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Patrick Manuel
And a Happy New Year to you too (any any other readers).
I have not had any problems with the Scorpions fitted to my Freelander which
have now done over 25K miles, still have loads of tread left (on the rear
anyway) and show no sigh of abnormal wear or tyre noise. I have not taken
them off-road though. I would be interested in problems that other people
have had with theirs - can you provide some indication of the type of faults
that have been had by others? Is there anything I should be looking out
for?
Patrick
--
I used to have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
"Daniel Slade" <dans...@stamford35.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:92irjh$eor$1...@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi,
>
> Just a word of warning with your new Pirelli Scorpions. I have been told
by
> many a user that they are Fantastic, Great, Wonderful & MORE!!!! Then a
few
> weeks later (after an off roading day) FLAT! Just watch the sidewalls
after
> a day playing and check carefully before going home at 80mph (as should
> everyone). Every person I know who has changed to them has had problems.
>
> But have fun anyway!!!!!!
>
> Happy New Year All
> Daniel Slade
>
SNIP
Daniel Slade
I have been told that the side walls of the tyres are prone to damage. This
can lead to a slow puncture or even a blow-out. Three separate vehicles with
the same tyres came to grief ON ONE DAY!!!
all the best.
Daniel
"Patrick Manuel" <patrick...@anoraks.org> wrote in message
news:92kvam$ij9$1...@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
Dragon
> Hi,
>
> I have been told that the side walls of the tyres are prone to damage. This
> can lead to a slow puncture or even a blow-out. Three separate vehicles with
> the same tyres came to grief ON ONE DAY!!!
Standard scenario over here - even on Hiluxes & 110s. You been to South Oz & not
drop around for a beer?
<Dragon>
Neil Oxborough
experiencing drumming noises from the rear of my 1998 freelander for a few
months so to in for a diagnosis. The mechanic said the problem appears to be
uneven wear on the inside tread of the rear tyres. They have agreed to check
the alignment of the rear wheels and contribute 50% for new tyres (after
they have done 17000 miles). Does anybody think this is a good or bad deal?
It also transpired that landrover revised the recommended tyre pressures for
the front tyres. I can't recall receiving this and hence the centre tread
has almost completely gone with nearly 10mm on the outside. Can this really
be due 2lb extra pressure?
"Patrick Manuel" <patrick...@anoraks.org> wrote in message
news:92kvam$ij9$1...@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
Steve@Newsgroups
applies to the tyres *you* want to put on the vehicle - do you have to buy
the tyres from the dealer? Are their tyre prices *inflated* beyond what you
might pay elsewhere? If so the 50% off doesn't mean much.
Good luck,
Steve
"Neil Oxborough" <neil.ox...@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:pgN46.49405$ca6.7...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
Nigel Fowler
article about Freelander tyres coming off their rims.
"Land Rover says that around 2,000 vehicles could be affected, and that
tyres will be replaced by dealers when customers complain about the fault.
The Pirelli tyre has been redesigned, which a Land Rover spokesman said
should solve the problem."
Hope this helps.
Nigel
"Neil Oxborough" <neil.ox...@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:pgN46.49405$ca6.7...@news6-win.server.ntlworld.com...
Patrick Manuel
in my earlier post but my tyres are fitted to 16 inch rims. Freelanders
also use 15 inch rims on some models. Was the side wall damage mentioned
earlier in the thread on any particular tyre size or is it a general
characterisitc of Pirelli's?
Patrick
--
I used to have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
"Nigel Fowler" <nid...@care4free.net> wrote in message
news:932f9v$q9f$1...@lure.pipex.net...
> I noticed in the new LRO (received today) that on page 18 there is an
> article about Freelander tyres coming off their rims.
> "Land Rover says that around 2,000 vehicles could be affected, and that
> tyres will be replaced by dealers when customers complain about the fault.
> The Pirelli tyre has been redesigned, which a Land Rover spokesman said
> should solve the problem."
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Nigel
SNIP
Daniel Slade
Did you also notice the same bit in LRO that says L/R now sugest a new tyre
pressure of 26psi for all Freelanders?
Would anybody be interested in a Low Box for the Freelander as I have found
a company that will design and make one on an electronic switch, cost for 10
units would be around £600 let me know if interested.
Also available soon is a full winch bar WITH airbag sensors built in price
to be arranged, I am not a selling but making inquires about mods for my own
Xedi
Daniel Slade
daniel...@btinternet.com
Patrick Manuel
months ago. Unfortunately this was not in time to save some very bad wear
on my front tyres.
--
I used to have a name but now I'm only an email address ...
... and a web site www.bonman.fsnet.co.uk.
"Daniel Slade" <dans...@stamford35.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:93aqb7$cb8$1...@news6.svr.pol.co.uk...