Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Land Rover Freelander 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 68 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2011 Land Rover Freelander were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Individual sidelight or tail light (front).

Summary

The 2011 Land Rover Freelander follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 11,546 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
68 in every 100
Did not pass first time
32 in every 1003,650 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
14 yearsabout 117,450 miles
First tests counted
11,546

What failed most often

  1. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)12 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Shock absorbers (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Track rod end (front)10 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2011 Land Rover Freelander vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 33 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,649 of 3,650 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)

Failed on 267 first tests33 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is graded Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. This check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake has not already been tested as the secondary brake.

Handbrake performance (roller test)

Failed on 91 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

Three faults. The strongest is the anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear): 8.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 177 first tests8.7 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 139 first tests, 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 378 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Suspension mounting area (rear)

Failed on 120 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

The load bearing structure within a set distance of a sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting is a prescribed area. Major applies when its strength or continuity is significantly reduced or it is inadequately repaired. Dangerous applies when it is so weakened that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 85 first tests, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 79 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 143 first tests, 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Transmission oil leaks (rear)

Noted on 52 first tests12 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake cable (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests7.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Power steering pipes and hoses

Noted on 37 first tests5.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Noted on 31 first tests4.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Brake light (rear)

Noted on 86 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Structural sub-frame condition (rear)

Noted on 27 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
68in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
26in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 68.4% of 11,546 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 73.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 26 not fixed make the 32 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100200020052011Older carsNewer cars
40608010020002011Older cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 72 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200057 in every 100311
200153 in every 100806
200254 in every 1001,590
200353 in every 1002,128
200452 in every 1003,403
200550 in every 1004,169
200652 in every 1004,699
200759 in every 10011,611
200859 in every 1009,318
200963 in every 1008,950
201064 in every 10012,962
2011 This car68 in every 10011,546
201271 in every 1009,941
201373 in every 10012,621
201477 in every 10011,171

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2011 Freelander.

Of 2011 Freelander vehicles with under 89,000 miles, 81 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 149,000 miles or more, 59 in every 100 did.

Under 89,0002,323 tests
81
89,000–109,0002,308 tests
71
109,000–127,000 Typical car2,368 tests
68
127,000–149,0002,261 tests
63
149,000 and over2,285 tests
59

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 89,000109,000–127,000149,000 and over
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)1.03.57.3
Shock absorbers (rear)1.43.83.7
Track rod end (front)1.82.84.5
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.13.34.3
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)0.82.53.4

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

38in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

35in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2011 Land Rover Freelander follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 12 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 68.4% of 11,546 first MOTs on the 2011 Land Rover Freelander passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 73.5%. Among 3,650 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) appears more often than on similar cars (7.3% of those tests; 267 observed failures; about 33× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2011 Land Rover Freelander at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (12.1%), Shock absorbers (rear) (10.4%) and Track rod end (front) (9.7%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) (7.3% of those tests; 267 observed failures; about 33× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.3% of those tests; 267 observed failures; about 33× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2011 Land Rover Freelander include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), Shock absorbers (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2011 Land Rover Freelander (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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