Hi guys,

This is my first posting on the Forum having just bought a Freelander 2 (yesterday), although we are not new to LR as we have previously owned a Freelander 1 and 3 Disco’s! The model we’ve bought is a 64 plate SD4 Metropolis Auto.

Went to see the Freelander 2 yesterday, but just as we went to view it the alarm went off on it, the salesman couldn’t switch it off at all, (I think it turned itself off in the end as it may have just run out of battery power). Anyway, the salesman explained the battery was very low as it had been standing a while as they hadn’t been able to move the vehicles during lockdown, and this caused the alarm to go off? After they jump started it was fine for the inspection and test drive, we went ahead and bought it and drove it the 30 odd miles back home.

On returning home the low battery icon appeared! We attempted an engine start about an hour later and it just about started. Today we decided to take it out for a good run as we thought with all the messing about with the settings, having the radio on, ac on etc had prevented the battery from getting a good charge. Again the battery low icon was showing but it just about started, so we drove for 30 miles and stopped for about 15 minutes to have a look at some caravans, went back to the car and it started really well, the starter motor turned quite normal. Cracked it we thought! 2 miles up the road though we stopped to go for a walk, we went back half hour later and the battery was almost completely dead, just struggled to turn over at all but not fast enough to start the engine. Luckily there were other people about, I’d taken some jump leads along with us just in case and a guy very kindly assisted in jump starting it, so we were able to get home safely.

Tomorrow I’m going to phone the garage we bought it off to tell them what has happened, are they obliged to sort the issue out for us? The warranty that came with it seems to say that batteries are not covered as they are essentially a wear and tear item, but the fact that the problem was evident before we bought it from them are they liable to replace the battery?

I hope someone is able to advise on where we stand on this?

I haven’t checked the voltage of the battery but a cheap plug in device I have seems to indicate that the battery is low but charging is normal.

Cheers.

I wouldn't frig about. It's the garage liability to sort it out so get on phone first thing tomorrow. I am sure they will sort it for you. Good luck. MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

Just take it back and ask for a NEW battery.

The salesman was obviously mistaken in thinking that the long period of inactivity had not damaged the battery.

The FL2 has a good 'Battery Management System' and normally keeps you with enough power to start, even if it has to shut down alarm and locking! FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 76k+ miles) (MY2015)

Thanks for your replies guys, I’m going to phone first thing tomorrow to take it up with them.

I’m not quite sure how they would do this, as they do not have any workshop facilities, they are purely car sales?

Ianmetro, I notice you also have the Metropolis model, what are your thoughts on it?

At least you dont an expensive AGM battery as the SD4 auto doesnt have stop/start. The battery is big and heavy though but apart from that its not difficult to fit and usually the only thing needing to be reset is the electric windows IIRC.

I had to buy a new battery for my 2014 auto last year. Just so you know the cost of these things; I got a Varta F19 battery from Tayna for £95 Jules

Worth considering Jules if I end up buying a new battery myself.

Are these better than the Kwik Fit batteries they sell for this model at £145 fitted?

The sales office should replace the battery ASAP.......FLs are battery finicky and low batteries cause lots of issues you don't want like corrupting the data in critical electronic modules. Make sure they replace the battery with a fresh one that's less than a month old.

Once you get that done, search this forum for FL battery issues and learn all the tricks to minimize electronic drain on these over technical vehicles and enjoy a great LR!

Baker69

My original XS SD4 was my wife's idea, until then I had run a series of 2 ltr Vauxhall company cars, and then owned a Vauxhall Signum 2 ltr turbo petrol for 8 years.

The appeal of FL2 to my wife was it's perceived solidness and safety, for my part I just checked that it was reasonably swift (sub 10sec 0 - 60 mph) and a good driving position. Also because diesels have a limited rev range I wanted an automatic, so the SD4 fitted the bill.

I was so impressed by my original FL2 XS (which came with quite a few extras fitted) over the next 5 years and 70k miles that I started looking for the best equipped and latest FL2 I could find to replace it.

3 years ago I found the Metro on line, in a Land Rover Main dealer, some 200 miles away. Because it had a low mileage and a 2 year LR Warranty, I bought it over the internet/phone (unseen), and it was delivered to my home in exchange for my old XS.

I believe that the Metro is quieter and smoother than my XS, and it is extremely well equipped. (you will have to wait until the winter to experience the joy of the heated steering wheel)

I now have done 3 years and 32K miles and I am still very impressed, the 'command' driving position makes it very easy to drive as you can see well ahead and anticipate problems. I find that it eats up the miles on a long journey, and gives me about 33 mpg overall. I have tried several Discovery Sports, but still prefer my FL2 for driving position and comfort. In fact out of all the cars I have driven lately the only other I would consider is a RR Sport.

My FL2 just does its job and gets me there whatever the weather.


Metro SD4



XS SD4

Click image to enlarge

Batteries are on borrowed time after 4 years. Starter batteries loose roughly 20% of their capacity a year for heavy loads. Lead acid batteries have a longer life if keep charged. If it's unused charge it once a month with a Victron charger or similar. Freelanders have a lot of electronics so it doesn't take long to reduce a battery to it's knees. One should have a 85ah 800 CCA battery in the car. 30 minutes fiddling with the hi-fi & you will get a low battery warning. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

As Lightwater says, batteries are on borrowed time after a few years, although there are ones that will do longer for some unknown reason. Just replaced my five year old Varta F18 battery with the same. (Now Sold). 2008 Freelander 2 (Nazca Sand) SE TD4 Auto. Statutory write off & on WOVR for hail damage but still road legal.
171037Km as of 09/05/22
Superchips Bluefin Flash
Nanocom Evo II (also sold)

I still have the Land Rover (Exide) battery, use it for testing things. Have lent it & a spare set of jumper leads to a neighbour who was having problems starting his car. Later we found 1 cell had died.

Its Murphy's Law that the battery will fail at the worst possible time. A few years ago a neighbour was in a frantic state. They came to me knowing I had jumper leads. Got the car going so they could get up to the hospital so she could give birth!

£150 amortised over 4 years. £37.50 per year. Is it really worth the stuffing around & inconvenience? I doubt it! & Hell will look like a better option when you can't get to a hospital in time! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Baker69 wrote:

Worth considering Jules if I end up buying a new battery myself.

Are these better than the Kwik Fit batteries they sell for this model at £145 fitted?

Generally most batteries are similar and have the same construction for their type, the differnce between a 1year warranty and a 4year warranty is zero except for the price, the difference in cost is just the insurance cost to the supplier or manufacturer should it fail during warranty, even then in is not always a 1 for 1 replcement, with a 4 year warranty and a failure after 2 years you may have to pay 50% of the cost or receive a battery with a 2 year warranty. Regarding Kwik Fit, if they are just changing the battery for £150 then not worth it, if they are resetting all the windows, sunroof and any other settings lost then possibly ok, but I wouldn't hold my breath they get it right. I used a small 12v battery attached by a couple of lengths of wire to the battery cables to retain the settings during the change over.
To check for a dead battery, turn on the headlights and check the battery holds 12.5v over 5 mins, if its dead it will drop to 12v or less. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Last edited by Dartman the one on 15th Jun 2020 11:41 am. Edited 1 time in total

I had a battery fitted at Kwik Fit last year and didn’t lose any settings on the car. I think they sort of piggy back the existing battery while fitting the new one so the vehicle is never totally without a battery so you don’t lose any settings that way.

Hi all.... sounds about right. I had the original battery on my Nov '14 Metropolis die on me last year at 4.5 years old. Fitted a new Varta (many thanks to others on this forum for that advice - great battery). Had no issues with data or settings loss either.
All the best... get a new battery and enjoy one of the best cars you'll ever drive. Smooth, quick, very versatile and very reliable.  I've decided to stop being a good example and will now just be a terrible warning.....
2008 TD4HSE - gone but much loved.
2014MY SD4 Metropolis - very much loved.