Land Rover Defender reliability by year
17 recall campaigns and 51 owner complaints across 7 model years. Year-by-year sample sizes are too thin to call a best/worst yet — but the per-year breakdown still surfaces what to watch for.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 7 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 42, more than the 17 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Defender aggregated across 7 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Land Rover Defender?
Sample sizes across years are too thin to make a confident best-year call for this model right now. Check the year-by-year list below — recalls and complaint counts per year are still useful even when the rollup verdict isn't.
Which Land Rover Defender year should I avoid?
Not enough year-by-year data to call out a worst year confidently. Review the year-by-year breakdown for recall counts and complaint volumes.
Which years of the Land Rover Defender should I avoid?
No Land Rover Defender model year currently rises to an "avoid" or "high-risk" verdict on the NHTSA data — either the record is clean or sample sizes are still too thin for a confident call. The year-by-year breakdown below shows what's on file regardless.
How many years of the Land Rover Defender are tracked?
7 model years (2020 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 17 distinct recall campaigns and 51 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 42 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Land Rover Defender?
lighting is the most-reported category — 15 complaints across 1 model year. Average shop repair runs about $250.