Freelander TD4: Black Smoke & DPF Issues Need Fixing

Hi there! I've got some experience working on diesel engines, and your symptoms sound very familiar. I had a similar issue with my 2011 Land Rover Discovery 4 TD4 last winter. The symptoms were almost identical to what you're describing, black smoke, hard starts, and that annoying glow plug light. After trying a few quick fixes, I took it to my trusted workshop. Turned out the wiring harness connecting the glow control unit to the digital diesel electronics was damaged. Cost me around 155 Euro to fix, but it solved all the issues at once. Before jumping to conclusions though, have you scanned for error codes? Does the problem get worse in cold weather? How many miles/kilometers are on your Freelander? This would help me understand if you're dealing with the same issue I had. These Land Rovers can be tricky, but usually, there's a clear pattern to these problems.

Thanks for sharing your experience! My Freelander has 84129 KM on the clock and had its last service about 4 months ago. Yeah, the problems definitely get worse in cold weather. I did scan for codes and got P0670 and P0380 which point towards the glow plug system. The wiring issue you mentioned sounds spot on, especially since I've noticed the symptoms are more pronounced on cold mornings. Was your repair a straightforward job once they found the damaged wiring? I'm hoping it's something similarly simple and not a major component failure.

Hey again! Yeah, I totally get what you're saying about those cold mornings, they really show up these issues! The repair on my Discovery was pretty straightforward once they identified the wiring problem. The mechanics needed about 3-4 hours to sort it all out, mainly because they had to carefully trace the wiring path to find all the damaged spots. Those error codes you got are exactly what I was seeing too. One thing I should mention, when they were fixing my car, they actually found that some rodents had gotten to the wiring (apparently they love the soy-based wire coating used in modern cars!). The mechanics ended up replacing the entire harness section rather than trying to patch it up, which was definitely the right call. Since then, I haven't had any of those issues, no more black smoke, cold starts are normal, and that annoying glow plug light hasn't come back. Given your mileage and symptoms, I'd bet you're looking at the same issue. Just make sure whoever works on it checks the entire harness thoroughly, there might be multiple spots where the insulation is compromised. Trust me, getting it done properly the first time saves a lot of headache later! Let me know how it goes when you get it checked out. I'm curious to see if it's the same problem I had!

Thanks so much for the detailed response! That's really helpful to know about the rodent issue, I'll definitely have them check for that too. I've actually booked it in for next week, and I'll make sure to mention the wiring harness specifically. It's such a relief to hear your repair was straightforward and actually fixed all the problems. 3-4 hours of labor sounds way better than having to replace major components. You're right about getting it done properly the first time, I'd rather they replace the whole section than try patching it up. These symptoms have been driving me crazy, especially on those cold mornings! I really appreciate you sharing your experience. Will definitely let you know how it turns out, but I'm feeling much more confident now about what the issue might be. Fingers crossed it's as simple as yours was!