US vehicle recalls and complaint patterns, explained
Land Rover Defender recall history and complaint patterns
Comprehensive recall and complaint data for the Land Rover Defender,
sourced from official National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) records.
Stats focus on model years from 1960 onwards.
Earlier years appear in the detailed table below where data exists.
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Land Rover Defender. Powered by AI, backed by NHTSA data.
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Important: This assistant provides context from aggregated NHTSA data.
Always check your specific VIN on
NHTSA.gov
for vehicle-specific recall information.
Key Takeaways
A quick scan of where recalls and complaints concentrate for the Land Rover Defender,
based on aggregated NHTSA counts and campaign metadata.
Coverage spans model years 1990–2025 with 27 recall campaigns and 217 complaints in NHTSA data.
Years with the most recall activity: 2023 (6), 2021 (6), and 2020 (4).
Years with the most complaint volume: 2020 (52), 2022 (49), and 2023 (48).
Top recall themes: Seats and restraints, Electrical, and Engine and cooling.
Most reported complaint areas (across all years): Visibility/wiper, Exterior lighting, Steering.
Complaints are not proof of a defect, but repeated themes can be useful signals when researching a used vehicle.
Always check your specific VIN for open recalls (open recalls are VIN-specific and can change over time).
Recall Themes
Instead of listing long campaign narratives, this groups recall campaigns into a few recurring areas.
Each theme links back to official notices as evidence.
Seats and restraints
5 campaigns · Years: 2020–2023
These campaigns relate to seats, belts, airbags restraint integration, or child restraint anchoring components.
Across all model years, the most frequently reported areas for the
Land Rover Defender in NHTSA complaint data are
Visibility/wiper, Exterior lighting, Steering.
Jump to Model Year
Year-by-Year Overview
Each row shows how often this model appears in NHTSA recalls and consumer
complaints for a given model year. These are counts of campaigns and
complaints, not risk predictions.
Model Year
Recalls
Complaints
Details
2025
0
2
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Fuel/propulsion system, Visibility/wiper.
2024
3
20
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Steering, Electrical system, Back over prevention: rearview system braking.
2023
6
48
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Visibility/wiper, Steering, Electrical system.
2022
3
49
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Visibility/wiper, Electrical system, Exterior lighting.
2021
6
33
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Visibility/wiper, Exterior lighting, Structure:body.
2020
4
52
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Exterior lighting, Steering, Electrical system.
2003
0
3
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Engine and engine cooling, Service brakes, hydraulic, Visibility:power window devices and controls.
2002
0
4
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Engine and engine cooling:cooling system.
2001
0
1
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Visibility:glass, side/rear.
1999
0
1
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Tires.
1995
2
1
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Engine.
1994
1
0
Recall campaign(s) issued; no grouped complaints in summary.
1993
1
2
Both recalls and complaints recorded.
Top complaint areas: Engine and engine cooling, Engine and engine cooling:engine.
1992
1
0
Recall campaign(s) issued; no grouped complaints in summary.
1990
0
1
Complaints recorded; no recall campaigns issued.
Top complaint areas: Visibility:sun/moon roof assembly.
What to Do Next
Check open recalls by VIN on the official NHTSA site (open recalls are VIN-specific).
If buying used, ask for proof of recall remedy completion (dealer paperwork helps).
If symptoms match common complaint themes, consider a mechanic inspection before purchase or long trips.
A compact evidence view of recall campaigns that include this model.
The default text is an original summary line, with official notice text available on demand.
Most common areas involved:
Engine and engine cooling
, Electrical system
and Seat belts
Show recall evidence by year
2024
Engine and engine cooling: Filter/screen:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Forward collision avoidance: Camera:
Safety recall involving the forward collision avoidance area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 rearv
Equipment: Video (touch)screen/monitor/unit:
Safety recall involving the equipment area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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,
2023
Seat belts: Pretensioner:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 pr
Engine and engine cooling: Oil/lubrication:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Child seat: Vehicle tether anchor:
Safety recall involving the child seat area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Service brakes, hydraulic: Critical fasteners:
Safety recall involving the service brakes area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Engine and engine cooling: Filter/screen:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Equipment: Video (touch)screen/monitor/unit:
Safety recall involving the equipment area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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,
2022
Exterior lighting: Turn signal:
Safety recall involving the exterior lighting area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Seat belts: Pretensioner:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 pr
Engine and engine cooling: Oil/lubrication:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
2021
Electrical system: Software:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Exterior lighting: Turn signal:
Safety recall involving the exterior lighting area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Seats:
Safety recall involving the seats area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Child seat: Vehicle latch anchor:
Safety recall involving the child seat area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 requiremen
Seat belts: Retractor:
Safety recall involving the seat belts area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 r
Engine and engine cooling: Oil/lubrication:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
2020
Electrical system: Software:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Exterior lighting: Turn signal:
Safety recall involving the exterior lighting area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Child seat: Vehicle latch anchor:
Safety recall involving the child seat area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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 requiremen
Engine and engine cooling: Oil/lubrication:
Safety recall involving the engine and engine cooling area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
1995
Power train: Axle assembly:
Safety recall involving the power train area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: 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.
Electrical system: 12V/24v/48v battery:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: The "hazardous substance label" warning was not installed on the batteries in these vehicles.
1994
Electrical system: 12V/24v/48v battery:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: The "hazardous substance label" warning was not installed on the batteries in these vehicles.
1993
Electrical system: 12V/24v/48v battery:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Summary: The "hazardous substance label" warning was not installed on the batteries in these vehicles.
1992
Electrical system: 12V/24v/48v battery:
Safety recall involving the electrical system area. See the official notice for the exact defect, risk, and remedy details.
Recall Explained provides independent analysis of official NHTSA data.
This site does not replace the official NHTSA VIN lookup and should not be
treated as legal or safety advice for your specific vehicle.
For any safety concerns: Always check your VIN on the official
NHTSA site and contact an authorized dealer.
