2023 Land Rover Defender Problems

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)

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.

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.

Took my car to the dealership to have the windshield replaced due to a rock chip. Driving home on the freeway with the new windshield installed, I noticed a new crack moving across the windshield. I had on driven only 45 miles. Contacted Landrover and was told it was just an unfortunate chance event. I previously had a windshield replaced for the same reason. I now need my 3rd windshield in 1 1/2 years

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)

The vehicle experienced a sudden and complete electrical failure while driving, related to the DC converter. Warning lights did appear prior to the failure; however, I was driving down a mountainous road and do not recall the exact messages. Shortly after, the vehicle shut down and lost power, causing it to roll to a stop in active traffic. At the time of the incident, I was partially in the roadway and unable to safely move the vehicle out of traffic. The vehicle became inoperable and could not be restarted. I had two children and two dogs in the vehicle at the time. The vehicle had to be towed approximately two hours back home. The required part was on backorder for approximately two months due to so many vehicles having the issue, leaving my vehicle unusable for an extended period. This issue creates a serious safety hazard due to the sudden loss of propulsion and inability to move the vehicle out of traffic. Based on my research, this appears to be a known issue affecting multiple Land Rover Defenders. In attempting to locate the part sooner, we contacted several Land Rover dealerships, all of which indicated they had numerous Defenders awaiting the same repair due to part availability.

The DC/DC converter failed causing the generator not to charge. This caused the car to lose all power whilst I was driving the vehicle and come to a complete stop on an active road.

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH with no other vehicles or objects nearby, the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated with the Automictic Emergency Braking function drastically slowing the vehicle nearly causing a crash. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,000.

While driving the vehicle warnings alerted me that the battery was low and to start the vehicle ( it was running as I was driving) then the alert changed to pull over when possible. At this time the power steering and power brakes started to fail by the time I pulled into a parking lot the vehicle completely died and I had to push it into a parking spot. I called Land Rover they towed it to a dealership. The dealership in Orlando Florida said that the DC to DC converter failed and that it would need a new one (but the part is on a back order because it’s a common issue and they have no idea how long it will take to get the part) it will take at least 30 days or more to get a new part. Before I managed to pull over in a safe location the steering became very heavy and the brake pedal got very hard and barely stopped the vehicle ( almost had a collision) and steering into the parking lot was extremely difficult.

Steering wheel is locked and does not turn the wheels

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.

The front light **What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request?** The front passenger-side (right) headlight failed completely on my Land Rover Defender. The headlight assembly, including the bulb and/or associated electrical components, ceased functioning without any prior indication of a problem. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. **How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk?** The sudden loss of a front headlight significantly reduced visibility while driving at night, creating a serious safety hazard for myself, passengers, and other road users. Reduced lighting also diminishes the vehicle's visibility to oncoming traffic, pedestrians, and cyclists, increasing the risk of a collision. **Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center?** Yes. The failure was confirmed by an authorized Land Rover dealership, which inspected the vehicle and verified that the front passenger-side headlight had failed. **Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others?** The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Land Rover dealership, which confirmed the headlight failure. No inspection has been conducted by police or insurance representatives at this time. **Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?** There were no warning lamps, dashboard messages, flickering, dimming, or any other symptoms prior to the failure. The headlight failed suddenly and without any advance warning, providing no opportunity to anticipate or respond to the malfunction before it occurred.

SUPPLEMENTAL TO NHTSA COMPLAINT #11728718 (RECALL 26V248000) On March 2, 2026, my 2023 Land Rover Defender was at a dealership for approximately 3.5 hours for key fob programming. At that time, Jaguar Land Rover had an active service message (SSM76173) related to DC-DC converter failures. Within 24 hours of leaving the dealership, the DC-DC converter failed. The vehicle displayed a “Charging System Fault” warning and became inoperable, consistent with the failure described in my original complaint #11728718. I contacted the dealership immediately with information about the issue. They told me that what I experienced aligned with the DC Converter failures that have been reported. I asked if I could get my Defender picked up or if they could at least provide a loaner car if I could somehow get my Defender to them. The dealership declined towing assistance and did not provide a loaner vehicle, citing that I was beyond the mileage limit of the warranty. I was also told that loaner vehicles were reserved for customers who purchased their vehicle at that location. Because I live approximately 4 hours from the dealership and the vehicle was not safely operable, I arranged my own repair. Due to a national backorder, the vehicle was unusable for an extended period (about a month). I purchased a genuine replacement DC-DC converter and paid for expedited shipping. Total out-of-pocket cost exceeded $970. On April 23, 2026, Jaguar Land Rover issued Recall 26V248000 for this defect. Communication with JLR about this incident started on April 7, 2026. On April 23, 2026 at 8:05 am EST (following the announcement of the recall), I was offered a final settlement off of a $458 retailer credit. However, I was instructed that I needed to return to the dealership (4 hours away) for inspection of a vehicle that has already been repaired using an OEM part. I am submitting this update to document the failure, the repair, and the manufacturer’s response following the recall.

While driving on the freeway I recieved and elctrical fault detected please pull over when safe. The issue is the DC to DC converter failed resultign in the loss of charging for the car and relaince on stored elctricity in the battery to drive systems. I was on the highway at freeway speeds and had to exit the highway quickly to avoid the vehicle completly shutting down on the freeway. The dealer has verified the issue. There is significant discussion on owner boards about the numerous failures across all years of the mhev defender resulting in owners being stranded on the side of the road. Land Rover needs to issue a recall to replace this defective part.

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)

The vehicle experienced an electrical fault and shortly after receiving the warning on the dash, the vehicle completely lost power in the middle of traffic. The dealership has told me that the hybrid battery and DC converter both need to be replaced, but the DC converter is on indefinite back order. Based on information I’ve learned from others and I’ve heard from the dealership, Land Rover has been aware of this issue for about a year, but parts have been unavailable for several months. My dealership alone has several of the same vehicle suffering from the same problem, get Land Rover seems to have no path towards resolution.

I have a 2023 Land Rover Defender 90. The instrumentation lighting auto adjusts on its own sometimes causing a hazardous situation. The issue is at dusk when the instrument panel goes haywire and will dim to almost completely dark making it illegible. This is a common issue reported by owners of Land Rover Defenders. 2019-current. This needs to be fixed!

While driving the dashboard suddenly showed a message saying Battery Charging Fault error” a few minutes later the car stopped driving while I was on a busy freeway. It had no power and it displayed several messages saying suspension system is disabled, battery issue, cameras disabled. I had try to navigate my rolling car to a side lane to call roadside assistance. It was a very dangerous incident and needs to be addressed. Land Rover in White Plains NY, diagnosed my vehicle saying the Dc to Dc converter needs to be replaced and they don’t have any in stock. They also mentioned they have 30 customer cars all waiting for the same part. This was scary and I’m grateful my children were not in the vehicle at the time.

Took the vehicle out of the garage, drove 3 miles to the highway, got on the highway, traveling 65MPH, within 15 minutes of leaving home and no more than 5-10 minutes on the highway, the passenger rear tire blew out without warning, I did not hit any debris in the road. The vehicle veered with the sudden loss of pressure, no accident but occurred during rush hour. There were OEM on a 23.5yr Land Rover Defender. Continental CrossContact 275/45 R22