Land Rover Freelander: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Land Rover Freelander fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 6.1 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 120,556 individual Land Rover Freelander tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 70.6% first-time pass rate means roughly 29 in every 100 Land Rover Freelanders presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Land Rover Freelander tested had covered 118,185 miles and was built around 2009.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. The Land Rover Freelander sits 6.1 points below the national average, ranked 1,742 of 2,005 models. On one bought as repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Land Rover Freelander rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see the median recorded closing bid for a damaged Land Rover Freelander: £250 at UK salvage auction, from 17 ended listings, not independently confirmed sales.

Most common MOT failures on a Land Rover Freelander

1. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.4% of tests (3.4x the national rate for this defect)
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 repaired, 2.8% of tests (2.96x the national rate for this defect)
3. Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.2% of tests (2.95x the national rate for this defect)
4. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3.4% of tests (2.59x the national rate for this defect)
5. A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage, 2.1% of tests (2.17x the national rate for this defect)
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 2.2% of tests (2.04x the national rate for this defect)
7. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.7% of tests (1.95x the national rate for this defect)
8. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 2.2% of tests (1.78x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 3.1% of tests (1.71x the national rate for this defect)
10. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 2.9% of tests (1.31x the national rate for this defect)

From 120,506 DVSA-tracked Land Rover Freelander tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.26% of these flagged Land Rover Freelander defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories on a Land Rover Freelander

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. A different list from the failures above: what testers are noting on a Land Rover Freelander before it actually fails on it.

1. Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements, 4.8% of tests (3.53x the national rate for this advisory)
2. Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced, 4.3% of tests (3.47x the national rate for this advisory)
3. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 17.5% of tests (3.37x the national rate for this advisory)
4. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.4% of tests (3.32x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
5. 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 repaired, 4.5% of tests (2.97x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
6. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 13.2% of tests (2.14x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
7. Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users, 8.7% of tests (1.56x the national rate for this advisory)
8. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 17.9% of tests (1.34x the national rate for this advisory)
9. Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured, 14.3% of tests (1.17x the national rate for this advisory)
10. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 28.4% of tests

From 120,506 DVSA-tracked Land Rover Freelander tests, 2024.

Land Rover Freelander pass rate by model year

From its 2000 to its 2014 model year, the Land Rover Freelander's first-time pass rate has risen 19.1 points, from 63.6% to 82.7%, the usual pattern: a newer model year is a younger car today, so it fails less. First-time pass rate for each Land Rover Freelander year:

• 1998 Land Rover Freelander - 63.1% first-time pass, 203 tests
• 1999 Land Rover Freelander - 54.5% first-time pass, 257 tests
• 2000 Land Rover Freelander - 63.6% first-time pass, 429 tests
• 2001 Land Rover Freelander - 58.5% first-time pass, 1,108 tests
• 2002 Land Rover Freelander - 61.7% first-time pass, 2,202 tests
• 2003 Land Rover Freelander - 59% first-time pass, 2,939 tests
• 2004 Land Rover Freelander - 59.5% first-time pass, 4,739 tests
• 2005 Land Rover Freelander - 58.6% first-time pass, 5,719 tests
• 2006 Land Rover Freelander - 59.5% first-time pass, 6,217 tests
• 2007 Land Rover Freelander - 66.2% first-time pass, 13,747 tests
• 2008 Land Rover Freelander - 67.6% first-time pass, 10,792 tests
• 2009 Land Rover Freelander - 71.2% first-time pass, 9,898 tests
• 2010 Land Rover Freelander - 71.9% first-time pass, 13,987 tests
• 2011 Land Rover Freelander - 76.9% first-time pass, 12,260 tests
• 2012 Land Rover Freelander - 77% first-time pass, 10,443 tests
• 2013 Land Rover Freelander - 78.4% first-time pass, 13,176 tests
• 2014 Land Rover Freelander - 82.7% first-time pass, 11,577 tests

Land Rover Freelander by fuel type

The Land Rover Freelander's two most-tested fuel types split by 8.5 points: diesel passes first time 71.3% of the time (116,036 tests) against 62.8% for petrol (3,713 tests).

• Diesel Land Rover Freelander - 71.3% first-time pass, 116,036 tests
• Petrol Land Rover Freelander - 62.8% first-time pass, 3,713 tests

Other Land Rover models

• Land Rover Discovery - 75.6%
• Land Rover Range Rover Evoque - 84%
• Land Rover Range Rover Sport - 82%
• Land Rover Defender - 73%
• Land Rover Discovery Sport - 84.8%
• Land Rover Range Rover - 79.9%
• Land Rover Range Rover Velar - 86.7%
• Land Rover Range Rover Evoque R-Dyn S D A - 87.8%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mazda Rx-8 - 70.7%
• Volkswagen Motor Caravan - 70.7%
• Rover 216 - 70.7%
• Hyundai I30 - 70.5%
• Citroen C3 - 70.4%
• Fiat 500c - 70.4%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
• Do you need an HPI check on a car you know is a write-off?

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate