Land Rover Defender Recalls & Complaints by Model Year
NHTSA lists 20 safety recalls and 309 owner complaints across 16 model years of the Land Rover Defender (1990–2026). The most-complained-about year is 2023.
Pick your Land Rover Defender model year
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Land Rover Defender | 3 | 6 |
| 2025 Land Rover Defender | 1 | 13 |
| 2024 Land Rover Defender | 7 | 26 |
| 2023 Land Rover Defender | 9 | 82 |
| 2022 Land Rover Defender | 6 | 75 |
| 2021 Land Rover Defender | 9 | 42 |
| 2020 Land Rover Defender | 7 | 55 |
| 2003 Land Rover Defender | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 Land Rover Defender | 0 | 3 |
| 2001 Land Rover Defender | 0 | 1 |
| 1999 Land Rover Defender | 0 | 1 |
| 1995 Land Rover Defender | 2 | 1 |
| 1994 Land Rover Defender | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 Land Rover Defender | 1 | 2 |
| 1992 Land Rover Defender | 1 | 0 |
| 1990 Land Rover Defender | 0 | 1 |
What Land Rover Defender owners complain about
Across all model years, owners have filed 309 complaints with NHTSA. The 2023 model year has the most, with 82.
All Land Rover Defender recalls (20)
Every NHTSA safety campaign that lists a Land Rover Defender, most recent first, with the model years each one covers.
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Stitching (seat belts)
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.
Remedy: 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.…
Model years: 2024
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Dc/dc converter (electrical system)
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…
Remedy: 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…
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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.
Remedy: 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.…
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Tank assembly (fuel system)
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2026 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The fuel tank was improperly manufactured with walls that are too thin.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed June 19, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is D127.
Model years: 2026
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Dc/dc converter (electrical system)
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…
Remedy: 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…
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Critical fasteners (seat belts)
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2026 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The third-row lower seat belt anchorage bracket may have an insufficient weld stud.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the third-row lower seat belt anchorage bracket or the weld-stud on the bracket, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 19, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer…
Model years: 2026
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Software (back over prevention) and video (touch)screen/monitor/unit (equipment)
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…
Remedy: 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…
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Camera (forward collision avoidance) and camera (back over prevention)
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.
Remedy: 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.
Model years: 2024
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Filter/screen (engine and engine cooling)
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.
Remedy: 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…
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Critical fasteners (service brakes)
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.
Remedy: 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.
Model years: 2023
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Vehicle tether anchor (child seat) and mid/rear assembly (seats)
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.
Remedy: 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…
Model years: 2023
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Oil/lubrication (engine and engine cooling)
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.
Remedy: 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…
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Pretensioner (seat belts)
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.
Remedy: 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…
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Retractor (seat belts)
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.
Remedy: 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…
Model years: 2021
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Vehicle latch anchor (child seat) and owners/service/other manual (equipment)
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…
Remedy: 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…
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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.
Remedy: 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…
Model years: 2021
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Turn signal (exterior lighting) and 2 other components
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.
Remedy: 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.
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Software (electrical system) and power train: 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.
Remedy: 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…
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12v/24v/48v battery (electrical system)
The "hazardous substance label" warning was not installed on the batteries in these vehicles.
Remedy: Owners will be mailed a battery warning label with instructions for the placement of such labels and a letter informing them that they can also bring the vehicle to any dealer and have the label installed for them free…
Model years: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
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Axle assembly (power train)
At port of entry, a quality overcheck of the differential pinion shaft torque was performed. This check required the removal of the driveshafts. When the driveshafts were reinstalled, the wrong sized nuts were used.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the hardware on the involved vehicles with hardware of the appropriate specifications.
Model years: 1995
Other Land Rover models
- Range Rover961 complaints
- Range Rover Sport639 complaints
- Discovery543 complaints
- Freelander455 complaints
- Range Rover Evoque391 complaints
- Discovery II226 complaints
- LR2181 complaints
- Discovery Sport178 complaints
Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.