2022 Land Rover Defender problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (18) · Exterior Lighting (14) · Visibility/Wiper (13)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Land Rover Defender model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (7)
Electrical System:propulsion System:dc/Dc Converter 2026-09-17 · campaign 26V599000 · 23,677 vehicles
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 f
Risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Air Bags:frontal 2026-06-12 · campaign 26V389000 · 250,857 vehicles
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.
Risk: An air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: 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.
Electrical System:propulsion System:dc/Dc Converter 2026-04-17 · campaign 26V248000 · 170,169 vehicles
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 ove
Risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Equipment 2024-12-06 · campaign 24E102000 · 485 vehicles
Defect: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with Raised Air Intake (RAI) aftermarket accessory equipment, with part number VPLEP0543. The raised air intake may not be secured properly, which can allow the intake to detach from the vehicle.
Risk: A detached raised air intake can fall off the vehicle and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, remove and reinstall the RAI accessory, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed February 20, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N964.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/Lubrication 2023-02-02 · campaign 23V044000 · 6,724 vehicles
Defect: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Range Rover Sport, 2020-2023 Range Rover, Defender, 2022-2023 Discovery, and 2023 Range Rover Velar vehicles. The engine cam carrier oil channel may be blocked, which can lead to an oil leak.
Risk: An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the engine cam carrier and related components as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2023. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N763.
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2022-07-21 · campaign 22V523000 · 4,927 vehicles
Defect: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2022-23 Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport and 2022 Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Velar vehicles. The driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioners may be damaged, which can cause the seat belts to not properly restrain occupants.
Risk: Improperly restrained occupants have an increased risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the front seat belt assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 16, 2022. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N720.
Exterior Lighting:turn Signal 2021-06-08 · campaign 21V435000 · 2,622 vehicles
Defect: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Defender X vehicles equipped with smoked rear light assemblies. A voltage spike, triggered by a bright light shining on the rear of the vehicle, can cause the turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights to fail.
Risk: Turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights that fail to illuminate can reduce visibility to other drivers and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rear light assemblies, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 27, 2021. Owners can contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N598.
Service bulletins (463)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-09-25 · SSM76493 - 25SEP26 · Other
accessory wheel arch protection - gaps present between protection and vehicle body
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-21 · SSM76492 - 20AUG26 · Other
tcu activation failure and incontrol app inoperative after software update
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-21 · SSM76487 - 20AUG26 · Other
air conditioning inoperative / intermittent operation
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-22 · SSM76477 - 21JUL26 · Other
intermittent passive entry operation 24my or with new service smart key fob.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-20 · E002 - 20JUL26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
exhaust system oxygen (o2) sensors - extended warranty
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-06 · SSM76324 - 06JUL26 · Other
a low-speed ‘clonk’ type noise from the rear driveline, audible during low speed throttle inputs, often coupled with up/down gear changes. the noise is audible during normal road driving conditions.
Showing the 6 most recent of 463 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-23 · Electrical System“nothing has happened yet but my vehicle could stop working at any time due to there not being a fix available. i have been waiting for a fix for six months. …”
2026-10-01 · Electrical System“dc/ac error came up once, parked it and turned it off, the error message has not showed up since, i have contacted the san jose, ca, land rover dealer, 2 times already, have given them my information and they always say i will get a call back and its been 2 months and i have yet to receive any information on getting these recalls repaired, this veh…”
2026-09-30 · Exterior Lighting“this is a serious concern and safety condition. in several occasions while driving at a range from 45-70mph the engine loses power. to the point where it has felt like it will shut off. the inside lighting of the dash dims while the vehicle is in loss of engine power.…”
2026-09-17 · Exterior Lighting“halo lighting on front headlamps stopped working …”
2026-08-24 · Exterior Lighting“drl halo failure/driver side: i own a business, and am on the road driving throughout the day. i have had at least 3 incidents where other drivers have pulled out in front of me, in which i believe was due to the dlr halo failure. i was also stopped by a traffic officer because he thought it was a full 'headlight' failure. i had to explain to hi…”
2026-08-17 · Exterior Lighting“the drl a safety feature fails on the defender l663 models 20-23 and lr will not fix. i have 40k miles on my 22. they want $3200 for a headlight but to me its a safety offering for daytime running lamps. looks how many reporting it. …”
2026-08-17 · Exterior Lighting“component and system failure: the front headlamp assembly's internal led daytime running lamp (drl) circuit board failed prematurely. the component is not available for inspection upon request, as the failed headlamp assembly is currently still installed on the vehicle. safety risk: the sudden loss of the drl severely reduces the vehicle's forward…”
2026-08-14 · Exterior Lighting“left front running light is not working. this type of issue prevents car from passing a state inspection. issue is a halo drls failed. issue is due to a failed led module. the repair for this $40 module by the dealer is around $2,400. there were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms. a police officer stopped me in a parking lot and pointed it out.…”
2026-08-12 · Engine“1) exhaust manifold studs are loosening and/or breaking on i6 engine causing potential co2 exposure to passengers in the cabin and/or engine bay fire risk. 2) potentailly yes via co2. 3) yes - out of factory warranty therefore had independent service center replace all studs 4) no 5) not in my case but others on jlr automotive forums have heard ra…”
2026-07-22 · Exterior Lighting“my vehicle is losing power from the battery showing battery needs to recharge and its full charged have to turn interior lights off …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.