SimonTemplar

That's really great, thank you very much. As I soon hope to be running two Land Rovers I can see myself spending a lot of time on this forum lol... ST

Or perhaps there were a couple of list intermarriages, so entries were merged..?! I am looking to buy a Freelander once the sale of another car goes through (it is funding the purchase) so will add myself as no. 87 to the list when that goes through. We're in the Peak District (Derbyshire bit).

Paul, that's very kind of you, thank you very much indeed. Confess I had never even heard of RAVE before this post, so thank you for expanding my LR horizons! ST

Thank you for the tip - I'm going to pursue option in order of expertise etc. I'll start out trying to retro-fit original heated seats (assuming I can't buy a decent car with them already in), then if I fail at that try the Ebay link option kindly supplied by MrKev earlier in this thread, then if I make a hash of that I'll try the Aldi option, thank you very much had not heard of that. We have sold another car (boring people carrier!) to fund this purchase so have a bit of a parts kitty. Part Numbers Forum? Had missed that one, will have a root around, thank you. Presumably the wire you have noticed is not just a redundant feed for electric seat adjustment? Am assuming not, so will cautiously take this as very encouraging news! Anything that takes the pressure off my limited spanners skills would be welcome news. The vast majority of my experience comes from working on an old 1275cc A Series, so lots of stuff (for instance heated seats!) remains beyond my experience. Thank you very much for the ideas. That would be great... but unfortunately we will be buying a FL1. Hopefully this means that they did the same on those, that would be great... will explore part numbers with fingers crossed! Thanks for all the ideas, guys. ST

Yes, worrying stuff. Apparently a couple of months ago three Range/Land Rovers were stolen overnight from a petrol station forecourt in Bakewell, Derbyshire. They sell nearly new vehicles there and left them out overnight (might have been mentioned on here, I only joined this week). I seem to hear of some sort of Land Rover being pinched every few weeks, sad stuff. I garage the Defender overnight every night, I think the neighbours think I'm a bit overly attentive but better that than lose it. It's like part of the family! Does anyone know whether Freelanders are particularly bad for theft, or is it more the Defender/Series/Range Rovers etc? Asking as we are looking for a Freelander and wondering whether I need to be as cautious about that as I am the Defender? Really sorry to hear about one stolen on here, not that far from Sheffield myself, will keep an eye out for it. ST

What a bizarre coincidence! It would be great to hear how this goes, thank you. From the fact that you have bought the seats, you must be moderately optimistic that it is doable? I would be very interested to hear progress, yes, and thank you very much for the heated relay part number. To be honest I just feel that if it is possible to retrofit then I will get a better job - and less fire risk, perhaps - if I use original factory parts. So I just feel more comfortable (no pun intended!) fitting original Freelander kit into the car if it is to be hooked up to the battery and installed into the seat fabric. I'm probably being overly cautious, and thank you very much for the link, but I would rather explore whether standard seats would retro fit and go from there. Thank you for the responses, both of you, this looks a great site. ST

Not sure if it helps as it is a different vehicle, but I run General Grabbers on my Defender and love them, great balance of road and offroad. My local specialist swears by them, thinks they give good mileage better than many options. They were on when I bought the 110 and I have put 12k on them, seem a great tyre imho. But I have never tried anything else on a LR... I know, I know, I'm new.

Thank you - I figured that I would have to trace back to somewhere behind the dash to run a feed for it, that doesn't scare me too much (although it could take a while lol) just wondered if it was ever going to be possible to make a decent job of it or if I should just park the idea. It is obviously massively cutting the number of cars we can consider if I have to go with a factory-fit heated seats. ST

Hi teaandbiscuits, Hope you don't mind the question but I am new here (under 24 hours in!) and am planning on buying an FL1 hopefully this side of winter, so just wondered if I could ask whether you are still happy with yours now that you have had a chance to drive it around a bit? Any surprises (good or bad!)? Thank you in advance, ST

Hi, first post on the Freelander forum so please go easy! I have searched the archive and learned some things about seats but could not find an answer to this particular question so apologies if this has been asked before: We are looking to buy a Freelander 1 as a second car. My wife will use the car for runs to London about once a month, and needs to have heated seats. My question is simple: do I need to buy an F1 that was originally fitted with heated seats, or is it possible to retro-fit heated seats (from a breaker, Ebay etc) into an F1 that did not originally come with them? Perhaps letting a new switch into the dash where there might be a blanking plate so it gives my wife stock ease of use? Obviously it is possible to buy an F1 with heated front seats, but it widens the market much more if I can buy any vehicle and then fit them afterwards - I'd rather buy on one condition, mileage etc rather than on whether it comes with heated seats but we have to have them unfortunately! (Separately and not as importantly, is it possible to retro-fit a heated windscreen or should I just park that idea now - this one is just for convenience as we live in a very exposed spot rather than because it is necessary!) Thank you in advance for any responses and apologies if this has been asked previously - I did look but am something of a forum novice. ST

Hi, This is my first post, I joined the forum yesterday and am not an expert on the oily bits so please go easy! We have a 2003 LR Defender 110 TD5. I have owned it for just over a year, love it and have had no serious issue despite putting on a fair few miles. Now have a niggle that I will have a look at but thought I would post it on here, too, in case it is something common that others have experienced. At the outset I should stress that I know that this is not a major issue, it's just something annoying that I want to sort if I can! A few weeks ago the driver's door stopped closing all the way. It would catch on the initial latch, but would not do the final close, so while okay to drive with it would not stay flulsh with the bodywork and blasted my leg with cold air when driving. I could not see an issue with the rubber, or anything fouling it, so assumed that I would need to look at the lock. Then a couple of weeks ago, suddenly the door would close fully, under normal pressure. However, I think that this is because something broke, somewhere, as now the door makes a rattling noise. It is pretty loud, but I do not think that it is the door rattling in the aperture, I think that it is something inside the door rattling around. It is pretty loud and annoying when driving (I know how that makes me sound lol but my wife keeps complaining about it, as do the kids!!). It sounds as though it is coming from the top of the frame, ie. next to my head, but I can't see that it can be so guess it must be something behind the door card. Also, since the rattle developed, the driver's door no longer activates the interior courtesy light, although other doors still do. So I am still confused by what initially stopped the door from shutting flush, but I think that in slamming it shut I have finally broken something that I now need to replace, which will hopefully resolve the rattle and breathe new life into the courtesy light. I will strip down the door, remove the door card and have a look around, but as I am no expert, and particularly as the 110 has electric windows, I thought I would ask on here in case this is something common and you kind folk could give me a nudge in the right direction. Apologies if this is a lame first problem to raise on the forum!! I joined yesterday as we have the Defender and are looking to add a second car (probably a Freelander). (And apologies for leaving the 'Topic Tags' box empty, was not sure what was supposed to go in there) Thank you for reading. ST