What breaks most · 1990 to 2026 model years
Land Rover Defender problems by year
Owners have filed 295 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Land Rover Defender across model years 1990 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2023 for electrical system complaints, 2022 for electrical system complaints and 2020 for exterior lighting complaints. The quietest years are 1990, 1995 and 1999.
- Years to check closely: 2023, 2022, 2020
- Fewest complaints: 1990, 1995, 1999
- Complaints on file
- 2951990 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 202381 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 35 fires · 2 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 32kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 45Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (1) | |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | Engine and cooling (2) | |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | Engine (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Tires (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (1) | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (3) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Visibility (1) | |
| 53 | 1 | 7 | Exterior lighting (19) | |
| 38 | 0 | 9 | Exterior lighting (12) | |
| 72 | 2 | 6 | Electrical system (25) | |
| 81 | 0 | 9 | Electrical system (39) | |
| 25 | 0 | 6 | Electrical system (14) | |
| 12 | 0 | 2 | Wipers and visibility (7) | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | Unknown or other (2) |
What fails on the 2023 Land Rover Defender
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 48% |
39 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Wipers and visibilityWiper motors and blades | 17% |
14 | 0 | Shop all wipers and visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 15% |
12 | 0 | Shop all engine parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 9% |
7 | 0 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 9% |
7 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Lane departure systemCamera sensors | 7% |
6 | 0 | Shop all lane departure system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 7% |
6 | 0 | Shop all exterior lighting parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Unknown or other | 5% |
4 | 0 | — |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Received a stop vehicle, "Electrical Fault". Diagnosed by certified mechanic to be DC to DC Converter fault needing replacement. Estimated 1-2 month backorder due to high demand for parts.
-
My vehicle is losing power from the battery showing battery needs to recharge and its full charged have to turn interior lights off
-
Daytime running lights on my car gave out. This has been an issue with 2020+ Defenders as the LED module burns out overtime due to a lack of sufficient cooling. Land Rover quoted over 5000 dollars for headlight replacements just for a simple LED bulb. This needs to be addressed.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Land Rover Defender years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2023, 2022, 2020 carry the most filings on the Land Rover Defender. The 2023 alone has 81 complaints, led by electrical system.
What is the most common Land Rover Defender problem?
On the 2023 model year, the most-reported component is electrical system with 39 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Land Rover Defender problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Land Rover Defender complaints that include mileage is about 32,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.