What Land Rover Defender owners have reported to NHTSA, the service bulletins the manufacturer sent dealers, and any federal defect investigations, by model year. See Land Rover Defender safety recalls or check your VIN.
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA, by the model year of the vehicle. A high count can also mean a popular year, so compare it with how many were sold.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injured | Deaths | TSBs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| 2025 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 190 |
| 2024 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 235 |
| 2023 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 406 |
| 2022 | 75 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 463 |
| 2021 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 514 |
| 2020 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 554 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 |
The vehicle systems named most often in Land Rover Defender complaints (one complaint can name several).
In the owners’ own words, as filed with NHTSA. Unverified reports; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
My vehicle has had a software update they will not push through to the vehicle. It says because of 11 volt battery not at sufficient threshold level to handle update. Said drive for 50 -60 minutes non stop to fully charge the AGM battery. I have do so 3 times still says battery threshold for update not at at sufficient level. So I checked the 12 volt AGM battery and it was fully charged. Still said same thing battery too low to handle update. So I called Land Rover they instructed me to put an AGM charger on batter leave it until fully charged and in matience mode. I did that still note say in the vehicle update not complete due to I sufficient battery charge. So I called Land Rover back tol…
DC/AC error came up once, parked it and turned it off, the error message has not showed up since, i have contacted the San Jose, CA, land Rover dealer, 2 times already, have given them my information and they always say i will get a call back and its been 2 months and i have yet to receive any information on getting these recalls repaired, This vehicle was not cheap and they seem to not care to fix the issue.
This is a serious concern and safety condition. In several occasions while driving at a range from 45-70mph the engine loses power. To the point where it has felt like it will shut off. The inside lighting of the dash dims while the vehicle is in loss of engine power.
My 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 X Dynamic is less than four years old and recently passed its 50,000-mile new-vehicle warranty limit. A LED daytime running light (DRL) should not fail this early. The integrated front daytime running light "halo" LED module inside the sealed premium headlamp assembly failed and is completely dark. Low/ high beams and turn lights still work, but it's not a replaceable component; the LED module's built into the sealed housing, so repair at the dealer means replacing the entire headlamp, while 90% still functions, costing ~$3,000 USD. DRLs exist to make the vehicle more visible to other drivers in daylight, dusk, rain, and glare. A burned-out halo DRL makes the…
The failure of the Daytime running light on Defenders is a known issue caused by a design flaw. It is not covered by warranty and costs over $3000 to replace.
The signature halo LED ring on the front headlight stopped working and has now failed completely, impairing headlight performance. Land Rover previously replaced one of these units when under warranty, but now refuse to fix the second one unless privately paid for (I am now out of warranty). This is a known and common issue and is clearly a safety concern and a consequence of a Land Rover design flaw. In my opinion, this should be a safety recall.
My instrument cluster will dim to a nearly unreadable level at random times during the day. This appears to be a common and documented issue with Land Rover Defenders. I have seen a multitude of forum posts going back several years about this issue. There are no settings in the system that allow me to adjust this or prevent it from happening.
Driving along when electrical warning light came on and car died. Coasted into safe parking space. Would not start. Dash controls would not respond. This is the day after we bought it. It had been on trickle charge at the dealership and drove fine the evening we bought it. It was fine driving in the morning. So the battery should have been fully charged.
Repair instructions and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about known issues. A TSB is not a recall, and the repair is usually free only while the car is under warranty; ask your dealer for the bulletin number.
Diagnostic Trouble Code stored in the Powertrain Control Module(PCM). The DTC may be unable to be cleared and may return to a confirmed status after three drive cycles.
Accessory Wheel Arch Protection - Gaps Present Between Protection And Vehicle Body
The engine coolant temperature amber warning is not enabled and not displayed on the instrument panel cluster.
Turbocharger Coolant Feed / Return Leak
Jump Start Information Label Missing
Coolant Bypass Hose Leak
Vehicles on display e.g. in a showroom whilst being supported by a showroom 12v support unit, these vehicles require an additional fuse to be removed to prevent the MHEV (48v) battery draining and causing the cells to drop to a non recoverable level. Failure to follow this process will void the warranty cover on this battery.
Quality defect may be present on the Stitching of the Rear Seatbelt Assembly.
Engine coolant temperature amber warning is not enabled and not displayed on the instrument panel cluster. The engine coolant temperature amber warning gives the vehicle driver more warning and time to react to the engine getting hot. If the engine coolant temperature amber warning is not enabled the first warning for engine overheating is a red warning displayed on the instrument panel cluster, this then leads to engine power restriction to protect the vehicle.
Turbocharger Coolant Feed / Return Leak
Jump Start Information Label Missing
Coolant Bypass Hose Leak
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens these when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Many end in a recall.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 1 complaint stating that a rear row seat belt became detached in a model year (MY) 2024 Land Rover Defender. Photos of the seat belt received with the complaint show that the stitching of the webbing of the seat belt appears to have not been properly formed. An improperly stitched seat belt can become detached during a collision. Detachment of the seat belt increases the risk and severity of injury in a collision. This is especially concernin
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation public data (complaints, manufacturer communications, investigations), model years 2010 and later. Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA.
In complaints filed with NHTSA for model years 2019–2026, owners most often name: electrical system, exterior lighting, visibility/wiper. 299 complaints are on record.
No. A complaint is an unverified report from an owner. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is the manufacturer telling dealers how to fix a known issue; it is not a safety recall and is usually covered only under warranty. A recall is a formal safety action, and its repair is free.
File a vehicle safety complaint at NHTSA.gov. NHTSA reads every report, and patterns of complaints are what open defect investigations and, eventually, recalls.