Land Rover Defender 2020: Fix rear lights to prevent crash risk
Land Rover is recalling 2020 Defender models with smoked rear lights that may fail during bright conditions, risking crashes. Owners must get free light assembly replacements.
Use caution until it’s fixed
Turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights that fail to illuminate can reduce visibility to other drivers and increase the risk of a crash.
Contact the company
What happened, in plain English
Land Rover is recalling 2020 Defender vehicles with smoked rear light assemblies that can fail when exposed to bright light, causing turn signals and brake lights to stop working. This could lead to crashes by reducing visibility to other drivers. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/79834-land-rover-defender-2020-fix-rear-lights-to-prevent-crash.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/79834-land-rover-defender-2020-fix-rear-lights-to-prevent-crash · Updated September 23, 2026 · Official notice: NHTSA #21V435000
Cite this page
“Land Rover Defender 2020: Fix rear lights to prevent crash risk.” GovInfoNow, updated September 23, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/79834-land-rover-defender-2020-fix-rear-lights-to-prevent-crash. Based on NHTSA recall #21V435000 (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=21V435000).
Why it’s dangerous
A bright light shining on the rear of the vehicle can cause a voltage spike that makes turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights stop working. This reduces visibility to other drivers and increases crash risk.
Who’s affected
Owners of 2020-2022 Land Rover Defender X vehicles with smoked rear light assemblies are affected. Drivers using these vehicles in bright conditions are most at risk.
How to tell if you have this one
Check if your 2020-2022 Land Rover Defender X has smoked rear light assemblies. The issue occurs when bright light hits the rear of the vehicle.
- Brand
Land Rover- Category
Vehicle
What to do — step by step
Contact Land Rover
Call 1-800-637-6837 to schedule a free replacement of the rear light assembly.
Get light assembly replacement
Dealers will replace the rear light assemblies at no cost to fix the issue.
What NHTSA says to do
Dealers will replace the rear light assemblies, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 27, 2021. Owners can contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N598.
How this recall unfolded
Recall timeline
Owners were mailed letters 52 days after NHTSA received the defect report.
- NHTSA received the defect report
- Owner letters mailed
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
Contact Land Rover
We’ve drafted a message you can send Land Rover to request your refund or repair — edit it as you like.
Subject: Recall 21V435000 — Land Rover Defender 2020: Fix rear lights to prevent crash risk Hello, I own a Land Rover Defender 2020: Fix rear lights to prevent crash risk that is covered by recall 21V435000 from Land Rover. The official recall notice states: Dealers will replace the rear light assemblies, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 27, 2021. Owners can contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N598. I’m writing to arrange the remedy described in the recall (a refund, repair, or replacement as applicable). Could you please tell me the next steps to resolve this? Thank you.
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Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official NHTSA recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: NHTSA Recall #21V435000 (August 6, 2021)
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3:4b on September 23, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the NHTSA notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official NHTSA recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.