Owners have filed 52 complaints on the Land Rover Defender, covering 1993–2026. The system named most often is Exterior Lighting (15 reports). Worst years by volume: 2020, 2026, 1997; cleanest: 1993, 1995, 1997. 1 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire. On average the car was 3.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Land Rover Defender
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 52 Defender complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Exterior Lighting 15 Read
The LED daytime running light failed on my vehicle and the dealer needed to replace the entire headlight unit. The manufacturer wanted to charge $2,500 for the replacement. There must be something faulty in the design of these headlights as out of 156 people I surveyed with Defenders, I’ve heard of 55 who have had…
Daytime running lights stopped working with no warning signs or notifications, reducing visibility.. Has been confirmed by independent service center. Circuitry in headlight is known to fail causing the daytime running light to stop without warning
Daytime running light failure. Making vehicle difficult to see. Dealer lists and a knows issue and and flagged as a safety concern. But refuses to repair or rectify the problem. And wants to charge over $4000 for a safety item
Steering 7 Read
While using the heated steering wheel function on my 2020 Land Rover Defender, the steering wheel began to overheat significantly after being turned on for a short time. The surface temperature became so hot that it burned and discolored the leather, releasing a strong burnt smell. This overheating poses a serious…
The DC/DC converter is failing on the vehicles regularly. This results in the vehicle losing power and shutting down while driving. I own this vehicle and while it hasn’t happened yet, I constantly fear that it will. With the common knowledge and frequency of this occurrence, Land Rover should fix as a recall to…
While driving on straight highway, the vehicle's lane keep assist feature which was turned off (the default position) activated automatically without driver input or warning and caused the steering wheel to turn and abruptly moved the vehicle from side to side. This required the driver to take corrective action to…
Electrical System 6 Read
I own a 2020 Land Rover Defender and have experienced a failure of the LED halo ring/daytime running light within the headlight assembly. The LED ring stopped functioning even though the headlight assembly has not been damaged, modified, or involved in any accident. This failure affects the vehicle's visibility and…
The DC to DC converter for the Hybrid 48v Electrical system has failed. This puts the vehicle at risk of a fire. The part is backordered for a significant amount of time, and there are many others in this situation
While I was driving, the vehicle shut down unexpectedly. I was sliding sideways across the road on ice on the side of a cliff and luckily was able to stop the vehicle before going off the side of the mountain. I had to entirely restart the vehicle to begin driving again
Structure 5 Read
2020 Land Rover Defender with air intake snorkel was detached from the vehicle driving down the highway during a windy day. I see that Land Rover has recalled the snorkel for 2023 and 2024 models for that very reason. The recall should include 2020 models as well! I've noticed that there are many Land Rover Defender…
On august 3rd, while driving west-southwest at approximately 80 mph on interstate 90 in montana, the a-pillar cover became loose and the small cover at the base of the a pillar flew from the vehicle while moving. The two remaining pieces remained on the vehicle, one piece barely held on by a screw at the base, the…
On the 2020 land rover defender, a known problem is a rattling sound of the passenger side a-pillar. Land rover posted a bulletin on how to fix the issue and I brought it for a fix in november, but the sound persisted. Yesterday when driving at highway speeds there were heavy cross winds and the a-pillar flew off the…
Visibility/wiper 5 Read
We have had our vehicle for 3 years and had to replace our windshield twice from random cracks starting from the exterior windshield where it meets the body of the care. It has happened on its own, twice, which impact from any object. The cost of the windshield, as installed is over $2000 each time, and it is repeated…
My 2020 Defender has had three incidences of the windshield cracking due to the smallest pebble. The first two cracks, I had professionally sealed. The latest incident involved a pebble so small that I couldn't see it. In fact, the pebble was so tiny that a point of contact on the windshield can barely be observed.…
I was at a red light and could not turn on the windshield wipers during a rainstorm. I took a video of the incident but it is too large to upload to your website
Engine 3 Read
Oil lines rupture causing engine fires even following land rover maintenance schedule. My specific engine fire happened as I was entering a highway. I was lucky enough to look in my rear view mirror, see the huge cloud of smoke and stop on the emergency lane. This is a known issue and well documented issue with the…
I am reporting a systemic failure of exhaust manifold retaining bolts on the 2020 Land Rover Defender (L663, P400 engine). While removing the engine skid plate, I discovered a fractured exhaust manifold bolt that had fallen down. The bolt head had separated, leaving the threaded portion in the cylinder head. There are…
Hello! My 2020 P400 Defender is repeatedly not restarting itself at stoplights when the standard auto start/stop functionality engages. Upon removing my foot from the brake pedal to begin moving, what normally happens is thst the engine restarts itself and I drive off as normal. However, at least once or twice a day…
Power Train 3 Read
The transmission has failed twice while the vehicle was in motion, causing loss of gear control and, on one occasion, loss of parking brake function. Incident 1 — March 24, 2026: While driving on the highway, the transmission failed and the vehicle entered a "safety mode." The vehicle was in dealer service for 8 days…
Large clunking sound with shuddering of the vehicle during a turn at low speeds. Inspection revealed cracked transfer case and differential damage which could lead to loss of control of vehicle. Had part repaired at Land Rover, again malfunctioned after 1000 miles with shuddering and "skipping" of rear tires during…
My car does not fall under the VINs specified in recall N599 but is exhibiting the same unsafe conditions. At a rolling stop in traffic the car asks me to manually select a gear (while in Drive) and then shuts off the engine. The engine then will not restart and I am in unsafe conditions in intersections. I have…
Visibility 1 Read
The contact owns a 2020 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, she lost control of the vehicle and crashed into two mailboxes but the vehicle kept driving down a curved road onto the left lane. The brakes had failed to engage. The contact did not receive medical attention on the scene…
Defender years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Power Train,service Brakes,engine | — | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Electrical System,equipment | — | — | |
| 1995 | Engine | — | 1 | |
| 1993 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 42 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.3 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Defender?
By complaint volume, 2020, 2026, 1997 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Defender years are the cleanest?
1993, 1995, 1997 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Land Rover Defender have?
52 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1993–2026. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 3 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.