RoadVitals

2023 Land Rover Defender

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
81
+1 complaint in 30 days
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
10
Latest Sep 17, 2026
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0

Overview

Our database contains 81 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2023 Land Rover Defender, most frequently naming the electrical, visibility and engine categories. 10 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; and 403 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

10 campaigns cover this model year

View all 10

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
26V599000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:DC/DC CONVERTER

Sep 17, 2026
23,677 units potentially affected
The defect: 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 converter may malfunction due to an electrical overload that can occur during high power demand. Additionally, a software error can cause the DC-DC converter to stop functioning at vehicle start-up under certain circumstances. Failure of the DC-DC converter will result in the loss of 12-Volt system charging and can lead to complete loss of drive power and exterior lighting.
The risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The 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 available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is E008. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 26V248.
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLCManufacturer number E008View on NHTSA.gov
26V389000

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

Jun 12, 2026
250,857 units potentially affected
The defect: 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.
The risk: An air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.
The 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. Land Rover's number for this recall is D120.
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLCManufacturer number D120View on NHTSA.gov
26V248000

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:DC/DC CONVERTER

Apr 17, 2026
170,169 units potentially affected
The defect: 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 F-Pace, and 2021-2022 Jaguar E-Pace mild-hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). Insufficient electrical load balancing during times of high demand can lead to a current overload condition and malfunction of the DCDC converter. A failure of the DC-DC converter will result in a loss of 12-Volt system charging and can lead to complete loss of drive power and exterior lighting.
The risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
The 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 contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's numbers for this recall are D126 and H575.
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLCManufacturer number D126 H575View on NHTSA.gov

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

View all 81
Electrical
Filed Sep 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V248000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure

NHTSA ID
11761304
Incident
Sep 1, 2026
Airbags
Filed Aug 28, 2026

Airbag warning light is ON. Dealer states that this is caused by the wire harness under the seat getting caught when seat moves and breaks the wire continuity. Dealer states that several of these incidents have been observed in many vehicles as the harness design is prone to being trapped in the seat movement mechanism. Dealer states that the passenger side Airbag will NOT deploy if harness not replaced. Dealer states that this Airbag fault is not currently part of the known Airbag recall as that recall is for the driver side Airbag fault due to corroded terminals.

NHTSA ID
11760333
Incident
Jul 23, 2026
Powertrain (other)
Filed Aug 20, 2026

My 2023 Land Rover Defender is subject to manufacturer recall D126 / NHTSA Recall 26V-248 concerning potential failure of the DC/DC converter due to an internal fault in the boost control microchip. The recall remains incomplete and Jaguar Land Rover has advised that a remedy is not yet available. I have contacted Jaguar Land Rover and my authorized Land Rover retailer, but there is currently no repair that I can have performed to remedy the safety defect. This has created a significant problem because I recently relocated from Canada to the United States and need to import my Canadian-market Defender. Jaguar Land Rover will not provide the manufacturer compliance documentation required for the normal U.S. importation process while this recall remains outstanding. However, I cannot have the recall completed because Jaguar Land Rover has not yet developed or made a remedy available. I am therefore effectively unable to remedy the safety recall through no action available to me as the vehicle owner, while the unresolved recall is simultaneously preventing me from importing the vehicle into the United States. I have asked Jaguar Land Rover for assistance and am currently discussing a potential manufacturer buyback because there is no available recall remedy. I am requesting that NHTSA review whether Jaguar Land Rover is providing an appropriate and timely remedy for Recall 26V-248 and advise what recourse is available to an owner whose vehicle cannot be remedied because the manufacturer has not yet made a repair available.

NHTSA ID
11758371
Incident
Apr 17, 2026
Electrical
Filed Jul 27, 2026

Three days before leaving for a trip from [XXX] to [XXX] my Land Rover Defender gave me a Low Battery warning. There was no time to take it to the dealership so I bought a new battery and put it in myself, then drove the 700 miles to [XXX]. My family and I were traveling in a remote area 6 miles from our vacation rental, with no cellular service, when our Defender suddenly threw an electrical fault warning on the dashboard asking us to pull over safely, on XXX. We made it to the vacation rental, then I borrowed a family member's car and went into [XXX] to buy tools to see if the battery was charging and if I could safely drive it to the nearest dealer or even home. It was not charging. So I called the dealership (Land Rover Rocklin) and had the car towed to it, then rented a truck to finish my vacation and get the family and our gear home. At the dealership, Rocklin required a brand-new factory battery to run tests on the failed DC-DC converter. They confirmed the converter failed under Recall 26V-248 and replaced the unit with the same recalled part. To get through this ordeal, I incurred $3,036.13 in direct out-of-pocket costs (towing, rentals, batteries, tools). Despite written confirmation from Jaguar Land Rover Corporate Customer Care agreeing to reimburse these recall expenses, Jaguar Land Rover has since passed me between departments, applied arbitrary roadside assistance caps, and ultimately refused to issue a refund, imposing an illegal financial burden on me to remedy a federal safety defect. I can supply all receipts. Specific Incident Details Component / System Failure: The DC-DC Converter failed internally (NHTSA Recall 26V-248 / JLR Campaign D126), causing a complete loss of 12V charging. Safety Risk: The failure occurred on remote mountain roads without cell service. A complete loss of 12V power threatens power steering, braking assistance, and vehicle propulsion while driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11753125
Incident
Jul 3, 2026
Exterior lighting
Filed Jul 22, 2026

The Halo/daylight running light has burned out. I have found on the internet that this is a know issue. Mine burned out at 57,000 miles. The dealer wants over $3000 to fix it.

NHTSA ID
11752192
Incident
Jun 20, 2026
Visibility
Filed Jul 21, 2026

Front windshield is extremely fragile. The smallest rock will create a chip which will spider across the windshield within a couple days. I have an older Land Rover and there have been more rocks with only a few small chips and no spider. Cheap glass installed on the new Land Rovers.

NHTSA ID
11751772
Incident
Jun 1, 2026
Electrical
Filed Jun 17, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact received a recall notification, NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V248000 (Electrical System) however the parts were unavailable. The contact stated that the vehicle was a hazard and unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced any failure regarding the unrepaired recall repair.

NHTSA ID
11744833
Incident
Jun 17, 2026
ElectricalEngineFuel system
Filed Jun 17, 2026

The DC/DC converter failed and caused the vehicle to immediately lose all power at a main intersection. My wife was driving the vehicle when this happened with out two children in the vehicle as well (ages [XXX] and [XXX]. Luckily, she was able to somewhat get out of intersection of a very busy road. The vehicle had to be towed to the Land Rover dealership. The part was covered by a factory extended warranty. There is an active recall for this part; however, this vehicle does not show to be in the recall. Since this part did fail, I wanted to file a complaint since it is not in the recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11744806
Incident
Jun 1, 2026

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

D061 Defender 21AUG26

ENGINE

Turbocharger Coolant Feed / Return Leak

SSM76487 - 20AUG26

Air Conditioning Inoperative / Intermittent Operation

SSM76492 - 20AUG26

TCU Activation Failure And InControl App Inoperative After Software Update

D011 Defender 21AUG26

Coolant Bypass Hose Leak

SSM76477 - 21JUL26

Intermittent Passive Entry Operation 24MY Or With New Service Smart Key Fob.

D011 Defender 17JUL26

ENGINE

Coolant Bypass Hose Leak

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Land Rover Defender by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2026630—
2025132055.1
2024257160.9
2023Viewing8110057.1
2022737059.6
20214110055.7
2020558057.6
2019000—
2004000—
2003100—
2002300—
2001100—
2000000—
1999100—
1998000—
1997000—
1996000—
1995120—
1994010—
1993210—
1992010—
1990100—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.