Is the Land Rover Freelander reliable?

On MOT evidence the Land Rover Freelander is about average. It passes 72.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Land Rover Freelander?

The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 14.0% of failed Land Rover Freelander tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Land Rover Freelander?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 26.1% of all Land Rover Freelander tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Land Rover Freelander usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 122,113 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Does a Land Rover Freelander get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 77.5% of Land Rover Freelander tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 59.3%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Land Rover Freelander models petrol or diesel?

Of the Land Rover Freelander cars tested, 97% are diesel, 3% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Land Rover Freelander MOT pass rate & common failures

From 110,156 recorded MOT tests of the Land Rover Freelander, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Land Rover Freelander passes 72.6% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is about average. Based on 110,156 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, which appears in 14.0% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 122,113 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

72.6%national average72.3%unadjusted65.0%range covered61%

The Freelander is 0.3 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is about average. The unadjusted figure is 65.0%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Land Rover Freelander tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play14.0%
4,513 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
2.The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired10.1%
3,250 occurrencesSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained
3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements10.1%
3,245 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
4.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning10.1%
3,237 occurrencesLamp not working explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn9.7%
3,118 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning8.7%
2,804 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
7.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.5%
2,734 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
8.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened8.5%
2,723 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
9.A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage7.5%
2,428 occurrencesShock absorber defective explained
10.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded5.6%
1,801 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Land Rover Freelander tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements26.1%
28,783 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured15.0%
16,491 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
3.A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded12.9%
14,245 testsSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained
4.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded11.8%
12,957 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
5.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn11.7%
12,882 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
6.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm9.8%
10,848 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
7.A tyre seriously damaged7.5%
8,314 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
8.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users7.5%
8,284 tests

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

9–11 yrs77%

12–14 yrs71%

15+ yrs59%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Freelander fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 122,113
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel97.3%
Petrol2.7%

Trim names grouped into this model (16)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

FREELANDER 130 XIMATSATSA
FREELANDER 2
FREELANDER 2 ED4
FREELANDER 2 GS TD4
FREELANDER 2 HSE TD4
FREELANDER 2 METROPOLIS
FREELANDER 2 SD4
FREELANDER 2 SD4 GS
FREELANDER 2 SD4 HSE
FREELANDER 2 SD4 XS
FREELANDER 2 SE TD4
FREELANDER 2 TD4
FREELANDER 2 TD4 GS
FREELANDER 2 TD4 HSE
FREELANDER 2 TD4 XS
FREELANDER 2 XS TD4

Check a specific Land Rover Freelander

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Land Rover models

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque — 82.3% adjusted
Land Rover Discovery — 80.1% adjusted
Land Rover Range Rover Sport — 81.1% adjusted
Land Rover Discovery Sport — 81.9% adjusted
Land Rover Defender — 74.4% adjusted
Land Rover Range Rover — 82.4% adjusted
All Land Rover models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Ford Ecosport — 72.4% adjusted, ranked 140
BMW 4 Series — 83.2% adjusted, ranked 28
Audi TT — 81.0% adjusted, ranked 48
BMW X1 — 79.5% adjusted, ranked 59

Common questions

Is the Land Rover Freelander reliable?: On MOT evidence the Land Rover Freelander is about average. It passes 72.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 61% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Land Rover Freelander?: The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 14.0% of failed Land Rover Freelander tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Land Rover Freelander?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 26.1% of all Land Rover Freelander tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Land Rover Freelander usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 122,113 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Does a Land Rover Freelander get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 77.5% of Land Rover Freelander tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 59.3%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Land Rover Freelander models petrol or diesel?: Of the Land Rover Freelander cars tested, 97% are diesel, 3% are petrol. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.