The story starts back in April 2006 when we were looking to replace the Mrs car which we had owned since new and was just over three years old.

This is it, our Vauxhall Zafira GSi Turbo. Although it was externally standard apart from the 18" wheels, it had every option on the options list but was extensively modified mechanically and was 288bhp and 311lb/ft. That was about as far as you could take the Z20 LET engine at the time.

It was a perfect family car, but an absolute animal when you used the power.

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Then on August 20th 2007, we walked into our local LR dealership and this was sitting in the showroom :-

December 2006 Freelander 2 HSE TD4, in Stornaway Grey, Privacy Glass, Adaptive Xenon Headlights and a full size spare.
8 month old EX LR car with 10400 miles.







After a decent test drive, the deal was done and we PX’d the Audi. One good thing about the Audi, is that we only lost £3000 on it from when we bought it new.

We had agreed to pick the car up on the 1st September 2007 so we didn’t lose a months road tax.
So in the 11 days we had between buying and collecting, it enabled me to buy the first pile of parts and fitted them soon after delivery.

Clear side repeaters



Front & Rear Mudflaps



Side Steps



HST Exhaust Finisher



Bodyside Mouldings



Body Colour Door Mirror Caps



HST Grill



This was the end result of the first 6 weeks of ownership. I also had a genuine LR detachable towbar fitted as well within the first couple of months.

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February 2008

I decided to re-map the Freelander, basically to offer a little more torque when towing. So after a lot of research, I bought a Superchips Bluefin which was easy to use and works very well.



March 2008

I also decided to fit the i6 exhaust rear silencer along with the style pack exhaust tips. So the parts were ordered and I was only charged £35 to modify the existing centre section to match the two up.



Here is how it looked.

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Things stayed like this until around April 2010! When I decided to update the exterior of the car to HSE Premium spec which, as you know had fully colour coded body trim.

I didn’t want to paint over the original textured panels, so I ordered four new door panels, front wing panels, and rear bumper from a 2010 MY car.

I didn’t buy the front bumper though as the black sections were very small and as the whole bumper was being painted, it would all be smooth.

At the same time, the towbar electrics were change to 13pin Euro style.
Here was the end result!




November 2010

After a tip off from a fellow member on here, I was given a link on ebay to a lady selling 2011MY facelift front bumpers. So it had to be done, although at the time, knowone knew if the facelifting the older cars would be straight forward. So I thought, what the hell.

So I went and picked up the bumper and did a trial fit!

Strip down complete!





With the exception of one very small modification, it all went straight on and everything plugged in and worked fine!
So I then went to my LR dealer and ordered the following from the 2011MY car.

Both Rear Light Clusters
All three new style Land Rover Badges
Rear Boot Handle
Rear Third Brake Light
Front Bumper spat/splash guards

January 2011

All the parts arrived, so I took the front bumper and rear handle to the bodyshop to be painted.
Here is the facelift in pictures.

Apologies for the picture quality for the first few pictures, I forgot to take my camera and these are from my phone.

Front Bumper Assembly (TD4 or SD4, I have chosen the SD4 version)
Rear Lights
Third Brake Light & Rear Handle
New LR Badges
New 3rd Brake Light.

Firstly I changed the badges.





Here is the bumper all freshly painted.




Then onto the rear handle.

We Removed the rear handle by taking off the boot trim and removing the nuts from the handle studs, unplug the switch and remove from tailgate.



Then remove the switch and number plate lights from the original handle and re-fit into the new handle.

We then used special strips of plastic with a lug on them, these locate into the screw holes on the new handle and stick out top and bottom as you can see.

Only two of the original handle holes can be used, these are the two with the locating lugs for the new handle.



You then remove the handle and it leaves the plastic strips behind but in the right location for drilling.



Here is another view of these strips in place so you can see the lugs that you use as a jig for drilling.



I didn't do the drilling, so my friend John who works in the Vauxhall bodyshop I use did it for me as he has a very steady hand at this sort of thing!



For the two outside screws, we needed to make a new hole each side on the inner skin so we could fit the screws, so we used a hole saw and made new holes just big enough to fit the socket through. We then fitted grommets to cover the holes once the screws were in place, although the whole thing is cover by the boot trim. Then the new handle could be fitted perfectly.

I also used my touch up stick to paint around the new holes and allowed to dry.

These two pictures also show the new 2011 rear light clusters, and new 3rd brake light.




This completed the rear end conversion for the 2011 Facelift. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Last edited by Mav71 on 16th Dec 2012 6:37 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Then onto the front.



Simply remove the front bumper, and re-fit the new 2011 bumper, it is as simple as that, just make sure you remove the central locating lug behind the grill as it won't fit the existing slam panel.



The 2011 bumper still only has two screw holes for the splash guards, so the 3rd hole still needs to be drilled and screwed.
The finished pictures.




September 2011

Now the car looked exactly like the 2011MY facelift. I felt a little more tidying up was needed as the car was fast approaching 5 years old.

So it went in to have the stone chips taken out of the front wings, along with all the wheel arch trims replaced as they were suffering from the usual peeling away problem.

Once back, I gave the car a full detail both inside and out.











July 2012

I saw one of the lower st st bumper trims on ebay for silly money so I thought what the hell, so bought it and on it went!

 Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Last edited by Mav71 on 16th Dec 2012 6:38 pm. Edited 1 time in total

November 2012

4 Years of the 19’ shadow chromes and I fancied a change. So after a lot of thought I decided to go for a set of 20” wheels from the Evoque.

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December 2012

An interior upgrade was needed as the aluminium effect dash trim was looking very dated. So I decided to upgrade to the latest Piano Black dash and streering wheel trim.

I picked up the Piano black trim from my LR dealer and set about fitting it.

Just got to wait until the 7th December to collect the piano black steering wheel controls.
Anyway, here's a few pics with it all fitted.






I think it has bought the interior up to date, the silver trim that mine had was the original type from launch in 2006 and was starting to look very dated.

Then on to the steering wheel controls.

First, disconnect the battery for safety reasons.



Here is the old set up.



I now have a LR airbag removal tool, which helped alot!



Then simply insert the tool throught he slot in either side of the steering wheel until you feel the metal clips.



Then when you feel the clip, gently pull and that side of the airbag will release.



Then the other side.



Then pull the airbag away from the steering wheel. The plugs for the airbag can then be disconnected.



Then disconnect the white plug, which is the steering wheel controls.



As the FL2 doesnt have a spline on the steering wheel column, it's best to put a dab of paint on the matching sides to ensure the steering wheel goes on the same way it came off. this will ensure the wheel will be straight when driving along.



With the steering wheel removed, you will see two torx screws either side with hold in the control panels. Simply remove the screws.



The controls will then pop out of the steering wheel. The loom locates around the top of the steering wheel, so care should be taken when pulling them out. But it is unlikely you will damage the loom.



Here are the new controls along side the old ones.

The new controls have the later graphics on the switches for the cruise control settings which is another updated touch.



Then fit the new controls in the same ay the old ones were removed.



Then re-fit the steering wheel and re-build.



Job done!




I think it really brings the dash up to date, and this was easier to do than the dash trims!
All in all from start to finish, the job took about 25 minnutes.

Another few items were bought this week.

2013MY Front Fog surrounds & Bumper spat/splash guards

Fog surrounds are very easy to replace, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking.






The new bumper splash guards are quite a bit smaller than the 2011MY versions, but apparently they are more effective!






So complete, and this is how the car is now! I have some plans for the future, but I would imagine it will stay like this for a while.

But I will update the biography as time goes on.

So, after nearly 5 1/2 years ownership and the car itself being 6 years old this week, how have I found the car from a reliability point of view.

Well, it has never broken down so far so thats a good thing. All the above tells how things have progressed, but I thought I would right about what has needed to be done to the car from a service and maintenence point of view.

While it was under warranty, the following items were replaced.

Front Seat Belts due to the originals marking the B pillar trim, a common fault apparently on early cars.
The usual recall's that all Freelander 2's have had.
Both door mirrors. Not because they failed, but because the folding mechanism was juddering, and the dealer replaced them as a precaution.

I have had both keys replaced as the first failed and I took the decision to replace the second.

Since the warranty has expired, what I have I spent.

Boot latch failed to work which cost me £17.26 to replace.

Clutch was replaced in May 2011 due to the 1800rpm to 2200rpm clutch slip fault.

But that is it. I had a management light come on in August, but this has never been on since.

The car has just turned 56000 miles and has been a dream to own. She has never let us down, drives perfectly nd I would imagine will be with us for at least another couple of years to come.

I have always had her serviced at my local Land Rover main dealer every year on the dot, and ran on shell V-Power. Has all this helped with reliability? Who knows but it can't be doing it any harm.

Considering mine was one of the first 4000 cars built, it is not a bad record. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Last edited by Mav71 on 16th Dec 2012 7:05 pm. Edited 2 times in total

hi

Wow someone has had a afternoon off, great write up

now the 2013 model is out what changes do you plan? 1995 P38 now dead
2012 FL2 GS Fuji White
winter pack
arm rest pack

Not sure. The rear lights sound appealing but the fronts will be way too expensive to do as I have Adaptive Xenons.

I liked the idea of the 2011MY facelift as those not in the know, would not tell the difference. But if I went down the 2013MY route, you would only have to look inside to see it is a facelifted car.

Also, when we do change, it will be for a 2013MY car. So I would like to keep the 2013MY stuff for my next car so we have something that looks and feels new.

I like the new fog surrounds on mine, but that is probably it as far as big facelifts are concerned. The Dynamic bodykit may be added. But I may let her grow a little older gracefully now.

She looks fresh and way newer than a standard 56 plate, as I found out today when I parked next to one But she will look fresh for a couple more years. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

i think the 2013 model will only be around for 1.5 years then the FL3 will be out 1995 P38 now dead
2012 FL2 GS Fuji White
winter pack
arm rest pack

The Freelander '3' or what ever it will be called will be launch in spring 2015. Thats has come directly from one of the development guys at Gaydon. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Good write up Mav!

Overall I think it looks well

Also, fair play for having the patience and making it as individual as you have!

Do you have a private plate? To completely hide it's age? That would be the only giveaway now! Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

great write up Mav, and brilliant pictures.

Iain

The only downside is you have reduced the value of the car by at least half. I doubt if any dealer will actually want to take it in part exchange in the future as it would cost too much to restore it back to what it should be for that year.

Dealers prefer a car as built as it is easier to sell, even previous cars I have owned the dealerships have removed a tow bar to bring it into the correct spec.

Just one other thing you should inform your insurance company about the modifications as you may find your policy only covers the manufactures standards not any mods.

Realspeed Ex 2010 Freelander2 GS-e Diesel manual Silver owner

So you are saying that Mav's Freelander is worth about £6k
On a five year old vehicle it is not going to make a lot of difference, I buy a vehicle to suit my needs, not to what it's worth five years down the line. Residual value is not high on my priorities, if Mav wanted to sell it he won't have much trouble in getting at least £10 k for it privately, the local LR Dealer will not worry as he will probably not want it on the forecourt anyway at that age.