What breaks most · 1999 to 2004 model years
Land Rover Discovery II problems by year
Owners have filed 226 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Land Rover Discovery II across model years 1999 to 2004. Three years stand out: 2003 for engine and cooling complaints, 2000 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints and 1999 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints. The quietest years are 2001.
- Years to check closely: 2003, 2000, 1999
- Fewest complaints: 2001
- Complaints on file
- 2261999 to 2004, all trims
- Worst year
- 200363 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 3310 fires · 33 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 64kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 32Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 5 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (11) | |
| 40 | 5 | 10 | Brakes (hydraulic) (15) | |
| 31 | 12 | 6 | Brakes (hydraulic) (8) | |
| 34 | 4 | 4 | Engine and cooling (14) | |
| 63 | 5 | 3 | Engine and cooling (27) | |
| 22 | 2 | 2 | Engine and cooling (6) |
What fails on the 2003 Land Rover Discovery II
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 43% |
27 | 0 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 17% |
11 | 3 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 8% |
5 | 0 | Shop all engine parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 8% |
5 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 6% |
4 | 2 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Unknown or other | 5% |
3 | 0 | — |
| Traction Control System | 5% |
3 | 1 | — |
| Latches and locksDoor latches and actuators | 5% |
3 | 0 | Shop all latches and locks parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
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.
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I have experienced what appears to be the same oil pump symptoms others have complained of. Despite reading "full", my truck seems to have difficulty adequately lubricating. So, some days it's sounded like a tank!!
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ABS, hill decent control (hdc) and traction control (tc) warning lights came on simultaneously. Web search indicates that a lot of people with 1999 and 2000 land rovers have this problem. Land rover says there is no recall. *nm
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1999 land rover discovery series ii the ABS modulator unit on these vehicles needs to be recalled. The vehicle can suddenly lose its ABS capability as well traction control. This has been a well documented fault in these vehicles. Please issue a recall so customer's can feel assured. *jb
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 Discovery II years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2003, 2000, 1999 carry the most filings on the Land Rover Discovery II. The 2003 alone has 63 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Land Rover Discovery II problem?
On the 2003 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 27 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Land Rover Discovery II problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Land Rover Discovery II complaints that include mileage is about 64,000 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.