The Lemon IndexAll cars · Land Rover
Land Rover Defender reliability: problems and recalls.
Owners filed 323 complaints about the 2001 to 2025 Land Rover Defender with the government, most about electrical.
No Lemon Index score yet: too few model years have finished our complaint window, so here's what YouTube owners say, next to the raw complaint counts.
YouTube rank and complaints, by model year
YouTube rank: we read 198 YouTube videos about the Land Rover Defender and ranked each year with 10 or more videos by how much they praise it vs. how much they talk about problems. It measures tone, not failure rates. Complaints are the raw number owners filed with NHTSA: popular years draw more partly because more were sold, and without usable sales figures we can't turn them into a per-car score.
What owners say on YouTube
2020–2025 Rover Defender · 196 most-watched videos
Owners praise
Owners complain about
Nothing stands out.
Before you buy, watch
Praise and complaints: the share of each generation's most-watched videos that mention a topic with a praise or trouble word next to it, in the title or what's said. YouTube rank: how positive owners and reviewers sound, compared with every car of the same model year. It measures tone, not failure rates. Videos belong to their creators; we link to them.
Complaints and recalls by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 60 | 8 |
| 2021 | 42 | 10 |
| 2022 | 79 | 7 |
| 2023 | 97 | 10 |
| 2024 | 27 | 8 |
| 2025 | 13 | 2 |
Popular years draw more complaints partly because more were sold. We don't have usable sales for this model, so these are counts, not a score.
What owners complain about
| System | Share of complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical | 27% |
| Lights | 17% |
| Wipers & visibility | 13% |
| Engine | 9% |
| Steering | 6% |
| Transmission & drivetrain | 5% |
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 2,041 and 40,000 miles. The middle report was at 15,000 miles, from 29 complaints.
How serious
| Crashes | Fires | Injury reports | Death reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA. Not verified.
In owners' words
The DC/DC converter failed causing the generator not to charge. This caused the car to lose all power whilst I was driving the vehicle and come to a complete stop on an active road.
2023 Land Rover Defender owner · NHTSA complaint 11712995
Easily cracked windshield. Less than 30 days owned and a small pebble cracked my windshield.
2022 Land Rover Defender owner · NHTSA complaint 11453301
Steering wheel locked and I was unable to drive the car. Tried to start and restart but the steering wheel is locked and a safety hazard for me.
2020 Land Rover Defender owner · NHTSA complaint 11446251
Recalls 17
26V615000 Sep 2026 Seat Belts / Rear/Other / Webbing / Stitching
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2024 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The second-row seat belt may be improperly stitched.
Fix. Dealers will inspect the second-row seat belt serial number, and replace the seat belt, as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed November 20, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is D130.
26V599000 Sep 2026 Electrical System / Propulsion System / Dc/Dc Converter
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2019-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Land Rover Defender, 2021-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Velar, Jaguar E-Pace, F-Pace, and Land Rover Discovery vehicles. The DC-DC converter may malfunction due to an electrical overload that can occur during high power demand. Additionally, a software error can cause the DC-DC converter to stop functioning at vehicle start-up under certain circumstances. Failure of the DC-DC converter will resu
Fix. Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed November 13, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is E008. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 26V248.
26V389000 Jun 2026 Air Bags / Frontal
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2026 Land Rover Defender, 2021-2026 Discovery, and 2022-2026 Range Rover vehicles. The driver’s air bag clockspring connector may corrode, which can cause the air bag not to deploy as intended.
Fix. Dealers will apply a protective lubricant gel to the driver’s air bag connector terminals, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed August 3, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is D120.
26V248000 Apr 2026 Electrical System / Propulsion System / Dc/Dc Converter
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery, 2020-2023 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, 2019-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Range Rover, 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Defender, 2021-2024 Jaguar F-Pace, and 2021-2022 Jaguar E-Pace mild-hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). Insufficient electrical load balancing during times of high demand can lead to a current overload condition and malfunction of the DCDC converter. A failure of the DC-DC converter will result
Fix. Dealers will update the central software, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed June 17, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's numbers for this recall are D126 and H575.
25V016000 Jan 2025 Back Over Prevention / Software
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Discovery Sport, 2023-2024 Defender, and 2023 Range Rover Evoque vehicles. The touchscreen in the center console may go blank at vehicle startup, resulting in the rearview camera image not displaying as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Fix. Dealers will update the touchscreen software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N972.
24E102000 Dec 2024 Equipment
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with Raised Air Intake (RAI) aftermarket accessory equipment, with part number VPLEP0543. The raised air intake may not be secured properly, which can allow the intake to detach from the vehicle.
Fix. Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, remove and reinstall the RAI accessory, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed February 20, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N964.
24V678000 Sep 2024 Back Over Prevention / Sensing System / Camera
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2024 Defender, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, and Range Rover Sport vehicles. The Near Field Sensing Module (NFSM) may overheat and cause the 3D surround camera images, including the rearview camera image, not to display.
Fix. Dealers will replace the NFSM, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 24, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N927.
24V450000 Jun 2024 Engine And Engine Cooling / Engine / Oil/Lubrication / Filter/Screen
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Defender, 2024 Discovery, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover Velar vehicles. The oil filter housing can crack and leak oil into the engine compartment.
Fix. Dealers will replace the filter housing, oil filter, and o-rings, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N908.
23V789000 Nov 2023 Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Critical Fasteners
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 vehicles modified for the TRek Off-Road Competition. The brake calipers may not be reinstalled properly, allowing the brake calipers to detach.
Fix. Dealers will reinstall the brake calipers, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 18, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N848.
23V137000 Mar 2023 Child Seat / Vehicle Tether Anchor
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 vehicles equipped with third-row seats. The third-row seatback latch may not latch properly, reducing the strength of a child seat installed to the top tether.
Fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the third-row seat frame and components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 24, 2023. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N768.
23V044000 Feb 2023 Engine And Engine Cooling / Engine / Oil/Lubrication
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Range Rover Sport, 2020-2023 Range Rover, Defender, 2022-2023 Discovery, and 2023 Range Rover Velar vehicles. The engine cam carrier oil channel may be blocked, which can lead to an oil leak.
Fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the engine cam carrier and related components as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2023. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N763.
22V523000 Jul 2022 Seat Belts / Pretensioner
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2022-23 Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport and 2022 Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Velar vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioners may be damaged, which can cause the seat belts to not properly restrain occupants.
Fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the front seat belt assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N720.
21V668000 Aug 2021 Seat Belts / Front / Retractor
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2021 Range Rover, 2022 Range Rover Sport, 2020-2021 Range Rover Velar, Discovery Sport, 2020-2022 Discovery, and Defender vehicles. The seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly.
Fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed October 20, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N630.
21V584000 Jul 2021 Equipment / Other / Owners/Service/Other Manual
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The owner's manual incorrectly states that the third-row seating is equipped with LATCH child seat restraints with top tethers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."
Fix. Land Rover will mail owners the correct information to insert into the owner's manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 23, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N601.
21V499000 Jul 2021 Seats
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2021 Defender 90 vehicles equipped with manually-adjustable front seats. The front seat track end-stop bracket may become deformed, which could prevent the seat from locking into place.
Fix. Dealers will replace the front seat tracks, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 28, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N609.
21V435000 Jun 2021 Exterior Lighting / Tail Lights
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Defender X vehicles equipped with smoked rear light assemblies. A voltage spike, triggered by a bright light shining on the rear of the vehicle, can cause the turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights to fail.
Fix. 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.
21V424000 Jun 2021 Power Train / Automatic Transmission / Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm)
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with 6-cylinder engines. The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) may unexpectedly switch off while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in an engine stall with no warning.
Fix. The Connected Diagnostic Services (CDS) and the Over-the-air (OTA) diagnostics functionality will be disabled, either by a dealer or through an OTA update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 28, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N599.
Recall repairs are free at any dealer. Check the exact car's VIN for open recalls.
Every Land Rover Defender recall, all years · All Land Rover recalls
Quick answers
What are the most common Land Rover Defender problems?
In owner complaints to the government, the top areas are electrical, lights, wipers & visibility.
How many recalls does the Land Rover Defender have?
17 safety recalls on record for the 2001 to 2025 models.
Source: NHTSA owner complaints and recalls, YouTube videos (titles and channels link to them). We don't give this model a Lemon Index yet: too few model years have finished the 3-year window we count complaints in. Newer years are still being counted (sales source). Complaints are owner reports, not proof of a defect.
Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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