Many people when they get a worn tyre will pop along to their local tyre fitters and replace maybe just the one tyre, or often at best two of them. With the Land Rover Freelander you need to BEWARE!
The Land Rover Freelanders are permanent four wheel drive. Drive is taken to the back wheels through the IRD unit (transfer box) along the prop shaft and into the rear differential. With this process it is crucial that all four wheels are of the same ratio – basically the same size and type.
A differing ration between the front and rear wheels causes excessive strain to be put down the transmission line. The ratio difference is caused by fitting different radius tyres to the front compared to the rear. This can be done by using incorrectly sized tyres; worn tyres on one end of the vehicle and new tyres on the other (don’t just replace two tyres, make sure you replace all four at the same time!); or running very low tyre pressures on one end of the vehicle.
So what happens if you have a differing ratio between the front and the rear tyres? Well, in a nutshell, you are liable to damage your rear differential. A radius difference of just 10mm can destroy a rear differential in just 5 miles!
The need to match tyre sizes between the front and the rear is mentioned in the Land Rover hand book, however they don’t highlight just how much damage it can cause!
Hi Sue,
I run a Freelander 1 and a Freelander 2 and both got a new set of four tyres some years ago.
Recently I have noticed that the the FL1’s rear tyres are more worn out than the front tyres but with the FL2 it’s the other way round, i.e. the front tyres are more worn out than the rear tyres.
Is this normal oder does it reveal any drive train issues?
Many thanks.
Stefan
Hi Stefan,
That is odd; we would expect the front tyres to wear quicker than the rears on both the Freelander 1 and the Freelander 2 – since the majority of the drive is in the front tyres – this is also a good reason for changing the tyres from front to rear on each service, to try and get a more even wear across all four tyres.
Given the Freelander 1 is getting more wear to the rear it is worth checking the handbrake cables and adjustment and the brakes, to make sure nothing is sticking.
All the best,
Sue
+44-780-9575-421
Hi,
I picked up a puncture on my 14 plate FL2 on Sunday when I was 250-ish miles from home. Put on the brand new spare to get me home.
So if the punctured tyre is not repairable I assume I am looking at x4 new ones? Also, should I have any other checks undertaken?
Thanks.
Hi Al,
Yes, ideally you need to replace all four of the tyres – or match three to the brand new spare wheel.
If your existing tyres are not very old (only down 1 or 2 mm) you could match the make and model exactly to those and replace just two, putting the two new ones on the rear; then take a trip round the block and make sure the differentials are not getting hot. There is no guarantee this would be fine, four new tyres are best.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
Thanks Sue, very helpful….
Al.
Hi sue. I’m thinking of rotating the tyres on MY FL1 TD4. They are all one year old but spare has never been used so want to rotate tgem to have even wear on all 5 in case I need to use the spare. Which is the best way to do so. The current difference in tread depth is the ones on the car are 1mm lower than the new one.
Tyres are BFg KM2s. What do you suggest please?
Hi Charlot,
Great idea, and the only way of making the spare useable on a Freelander.
With a difference in tread depth of just 1mm you should not have any issues, so just rotate the spare in and take one of the others out. It could be worth putting the spare on the front as these tend to wear quicker than the rear ones.
All the best,
Sue
Hi I am trying to find tyres for my freelander 2 and when putting in tyre size 215/75 16 it’s is giving me van tyres are these suitable for my vehicle? I will be replacing all 4.Any help appreciated very confused.
Hi Tina,
My apologies for the delay in responding but we have been on vacation and only returned to work today.
You could try searching for the tyre size followed by 4×4, however you should be fine with the van tyres provided they have a load index of at least 85 and a speed rating of R or above (these are the numbers followed by a letter that you get after the size of the tyre). Note that an R rating means you can travel at 105 mph for 10 minutes continuously without the tyre breaking into pieces; any letter above this will mean you can travel at a higher speed for the 10 minutes.
All the best,
Sue
+44-780-9575-421
Hi
I have a freelander 2 currently fitted with 215/75 R16 i need 4 new tyres but would like all terrain tyres, however the above size are coming up as comercial van tyres. Can amyone advise if i can use 235/65 R16?
Many thanks
Hi Becki,
Yes, you can fit the 235/65 R16’s to your Freelander. They are 2.33% smaller (17mm) than the original size so they fall within the +/- 2.5% difference which is recommended.
All the best,
sue
0780 9575 421
Hi Sue,
I’ve recently lost a tyre on my 2012 Freelander 2 and replaced the tyre with the spare (new condition). I’ve bought a used tyre to use as a spare. I obviously didn’t know that it is bad for the diff if all 4 tyres are not replaced at the same time. I did about 4000kms and had to replace the diff recently with a reconed one. Problem is that I still feel a shudder every now and then that seems to be coming from the left rear wheel / axle and I smell oil or tyres heating up. I do have 4 tyres with almost the same tread 40 -50% on the car now, Contis at the rear and Yokohama in the front. Last question, the mechanic that replaced the diff, also said that a sample of the gearbox oil showed that it is very black, however he is hesitant to flush the gearbox and replaced with new oil, because it can do more harm than good. What is your opinion and advice. I thank you in advance!
Hi JP Mellet,
Having a different make of tyre on the front and the rear is not good. Even though they are the same size tyre different makes can vary quite significantly and it sounds like you are still causing damage along the drivetrain – does the shudder from the wheel generally occur when you are cornering? Is the rear differential getting hot after a drive?
We would VERY STRONGLY suggest you change your tyres so you have four fully matching tyres – same make, model, size, tread depth remaining and air pressure. We would also recommend you service the Haldex, if you have not done so recently; that is change the fluid, the filter and clean the pump. If you do this quickly you may be able to halt any damage which is being done by the current mismatch of tyres.
With regard to the gearbox oil this can tend to go black quite quickly but there should be no harm in replacing the oil (it is due to be replaced every 10 years anyway), but a flush is possibly not necessary.
All the best,
Sue
+44-780-9575-421
Thank you Sue, I’m sitting at the retailer replacing the tyres as I’m sending this. The shudder is not when I’m taking a turn, but rather when I’m driving straight and decelerate.
Regards
Excellent to hear you have had the tyres changed.
With regard to the shudder check the brake calliper and brake shoe on that side, it sounds like something may be sticking.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
Hi,
Just to let you know, the car is back to its old self and the shudder is gone.
Amazing what impact different tyres can have on these vehicles.
Thanks for your forum.
Regards
Fantastic JP Mellet. Tyres do have a massive impact on these vehicles, look after the tyres and you are most the way there to looking after the drivetrain. The other main thing to do is to get the Haldex serviced at regular intervals, we would suggest every 2 -3 years.
All the best,
Sue
17.49 on a Friday, thats service.
I have Michelin Synchrone 215 / 65R16 still on my 11yr old Freelander from new with 48K on them. As they tend to deflate now and Synchrones aren`t available what would be your recommendation please?
Hi Dave,
It depends what type of driving you do and what is important to you in a tyre. There is a great piece of research which has been done that allows you to choose a good tyre for your situation. Check it out at https://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/MenuServlet?search=surveyComments, go to the “Light Truck/SUV Tires” section.
All the best,
Sue
Why do you recon 235/55/17 while the landrover manual sais 225/55/17? I wonder because the choice of 225/55/17 tyres is very limited. So your quote is interesting. And there are no good real offroad tyres in the 225/55/17 size, theyre more like road tyres…
Hi Keessie,
The Freelander 1 factory fitted tyres on a 17 inch wheel were 225/55 R17’s. However, as you noted they can be difficult to get and the 235/55 R17’s tend to also give a better ride quality, hence this is the size we would recommend.
All the best,
Sue
+44-780-9575-421
Hi my TD4 has just come out the garage after multiple problems with gearbox seals etc. They have now said theres a HDC fault so have unplugged the terrain response thing so it can be driven… will this damage anything driving it like this. apparently the diagnostic report shows faults on ABS, ATCM, BCM, PCM, RDCM, HVAC, ICM, any help would be awesome as alass no clue here. the car has had all four tyres changed too recently but with all same. regards DR
Hi DR,
What year is your Freelander? Is it the Freelander 1 or the Freelander 2?
Please bare with me if I take a while to reply, we are currently 4x4ing in a Freelander around the sand dunes of Morocco, so we do not always have internet.
All the best,
Sue
+44-780-9575-421
Hi I have a freelander 2 I have put 225 65 17 on the front axle and 235 65 17 on the rear is this ok
Thanks matt
Hi Matt,
We would strongly recommend you have the same size tyres on the front and the back. With the tyres you have there is a 13mm difference in the diameter of the tyres which is not a good idea when dealing with a 4WD vehicle.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
I recently bought a 2010 Freelander 2 and it came minus a spare wheel but with a foam repair kit. I’m wondering how effective the foam is at repairing a puncture and whether I wouldn’t be better off buying a spare wheel instead. Or would I risk damaging the VCU/rear differential/IRD by putting on a spare wheel even if the tyre is identical but has a greater amount of tread?
Hi Paul,
The repair kit is just to get you to the nearest tyre shop to sort the issue out, so we would not consider it suitable for any long distances.
Your Freelander does not have the VCU four wheel drive system. It has a transfer box at the front with a Haldex active-on-demand system connecting it to the rear differential at the back. Although this system is not as sensitive as the VCU system you can still do damage to the rear differential by running on mismatched tyres, so we would always recommend changing all four tyres at the same time. If you do change just two, or have to change just one due to a puncture, then it is worth driving a few miles then checking the temperature of the rear differential to make sure it is not heating up.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
This may be a stupid question but we removed the diff a few months back to prevent any damage to the 4×4 system. The MOT is due soon so does the diff need to go back on for the MOT?
Hi Paul,
No questions are stupid!
You will be fine with the MOT, it will generally be recorded as an advisory but it should not fail because of it.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
I would like to change all 4 of my tyres on my mk1 Freelander ,
My tyres are 225/55/17, but the ones l won’t are 235/55/17 can l change to these without any problems
HI Mike,
No problem changing from 225/55/17 to 235/55/17, there is only a 1.62% difference in diameter so the change will not cause any problems.
You can check out http://www.freelanderspecialist.com/freelander-problems/freelander-wheels-and-tyres for more information.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
hi thanks for info on ird my vcu has gone; only last month i replaced all 4 tyers but 2 on front are different make to the back 2 .the sizes are the same but the dealers did not have 4 the same could this have caused the problems
Hi Jimmy,
Yes, this could definitely have caused the problem. If your VCU is getting hot after a drive then this means your mismatched tyres are causing a problem and winding it up. This will then cause damage along th drive train to either the rear differential or the IRD. If the VCU has been wound up by mismatched tyres you will need to replace this, the IRD and the tyres. Not good news I’m afraid!
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421
replaced front tyres 6 weeks ago on my freelander,today payed £1450 when collecting car after transfer box rebuild,tyres were mentioned as being 20mm diferent from front to rear and should get changed,got 10 miles from garage and rear dif has failed and car back at garage so please take note of above post
Hio Stuart,
Really sorry to hear of your dreadful experience. Unfortunately the tyres on the Freelander are so important and many of the tyre fitters are not aware of this.
Thank you for sharing your story, hopefully it will help others to avoid the same problems and expense.
All the best,
Sue
0780 9575 421