I've recently exchanged my Freelander for another, as some of you may know. The one that went back was shod with Nexian Roadian HP on the rears and Arrowhead (I think, or something similar) on the fronts. All four tyres were new or near as dammit.

My 'new' Freelander is shod with Goodyear Wranglers all round. I was initially pleased with this as they're the OEM tyres, I believe. These tyres aren't new but have 5.5mm on them.

I do find them very different sounding particularly on the motorway - a lot noisier.

At least I hope it's the tyres and not something more sinister - I don't think my blood pressure could handle any more problems..

Could you knowledgable chaps listen to the following clip - it's only 30 seconds long. From 10 seconds in you can hear 'the sound', rising in pitch as I move from 60 to 70 mph. I'm sure I didn't get 'that sound' with the other car / tyres.

Is that tyre noise? I must admit to being a little paranoid now but would rather know if it's the sound of a dying Haldex, for example... Car has done 31k miles.

https://soundcloud.com/le-bouch/car

Last edited by le bouch on 9th Apr 2014 5:17 pm. Edited 2 times in total

Listening to that I can't really say - doesn't sound good but then I'm pretty deaf and don't listen to my car on headphones!
Two things though - yes the Goodyears do get noisy when they wear, and the noise at the start of your clip sounds familiar - and I'd suggest you try to find a road with changing surfaces. The tyre noise is very dependent on surface and you'll definitely notice the difference. Goodyears vary from howling on raked concrete to virtually silent on a smooth surface. A Haldex or bearing noise should remain the same.

Thanks. I'll try and find such a surface.

Basically any stretch of motorway or dual carriageway that has been patched should do the trick. You will certs notice the difference in tyre noise - it's just a question of whether there is any other noise which stays the same, if you see what I mean.

I have wranglers on mine with 4k on them and they are noisy and as said it does depend on road surface.
Your noise from 10s does sound odd. Suggest you get it to a dealer and get it checked.

Those comments about wranglers are surprising. On tyre labels, Wranglers have a lower Db rating than most. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

The car is going to a LR dealer later this afternoon for a road test. They have 'telephone diagnosed' it as a pinion bearing...

Steve D wrote:

Those comments about wranglers are surprising. On tyre labels, Wranglers have a lower Db rating than most.

le bouch wrote:

The car is going to a LR dealer later this afternoon for a road test. They have 'telephone diagnosed' it as a pinion bearing...

You might not want to name the dealer, but a clue as to your location would be interesting (and might stop someone buying a car with a rusty engine...)

I have chosen not to name the dealer so far but my patience is wearing mighty thin.

The dealer is located in Carlisle.

Just FYI, I haven't personally used the dealer in question (it's pretty obvious who it is!) beyond a casual browse of their stock, but I know others who have and they're the nearest dealer to where I live. Generally they seem to have a good reputation - certainly better than the next nearest dealer whose name ends in 'stone'! But you certainly do seem to have been unlucky!

I agree - their reputation seems sound. However, I cannot believe their lack of quality control over both these cars. They either didn't notice the faults (but should have) or noticed them but chose to ignore, which is probably worse.

You read of some on here 'having enough' with persistent bearing faults (axle and wheels), chuck in the towel and decide to get rid of the car. I hope you haven't bought one of those. Can you check the previous LR service/repair/warranty history on that vehicle? With your luck, I'd be tempted to get the dealer to run a check and give you a print out.  Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Good idea. I do have the previous service invoices which confirm that it's been serviced at the dealer I bought it from. Those invoices don't show any additional work, warranty or otherwise.

Those invoices were emailed to me prior to collecting the car and I did have to make them do additional work, i.e. Change the brake fluid (wasn't done at 36 months) and give it a proper B service (they'd only done another A service at 48 months).

Funnily enough, the first car I had from them supposedly had a full LR service history (from them) but they hadn't changed the brake fluid at 36 months on that one either - they paid for me to have my local LR dealer do it once I noticed, after I'd had the car a couple of weeks.

Anyway, car number two is only 4 years old and done 31k so I would hope it hasn't suffered multiple diff issues but I guess it's possible.

I'm beginning to regret the whole sorry affair.