Model year record

2020 Land Rover Defender

7 recall campaigns on file for this model year. 75 owner complaints on file.

Land Rover Defender, 2020–2026 generation
Pictured: the 2020–2026 generation. DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Recalls

Recall campaignNHTSA 26V599000

Electrical system: propulsion system: DC/DC converter

Component
Electrical system: propulsion system: DC/DC converter
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
23,677
Reported to NHTSA
2026-09-17

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer 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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 26V389000

Air bags: frontal

Component
Air bags: frontal
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
250,857
Reported to NHTSA
2026-06-12
Owners notified
2026-07-31

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

An air bag that does not deploy as intended increases the risk of injury in a crash.

Manufacturer 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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 26V248000

Electrical system: propulsion system: DC/DC converter

Component
Electrical system: propulsion system: DC/DC converter
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
170,169
Reported to NHTSA
2026-04-17

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer 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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 23V044000

Engine and engine cooling: engine: oil/lubrication

Component
Engine and engine cooling: engine: oil/lubrication
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
6,724
Reported to NHTSA
2023-02-02
Owners notified
2023-03-29

Defect description

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.

Safety risk

An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

Manufacturer remedy

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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 21V584000

Child seat: vehicle latch anchor

Component
Child seat: vehicle latch anchor
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
7,027
Reported to NHTSA
2021-07-29
Owners notified
2021-09-23

Defect description

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The owner's manual incorrectly states that the third-row seating is equipped with LATCH child seat restraints with top tethers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."

Safety risk

Incorrect child restraint information may result in a child seat being improperly secured, which can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Land Rover will mail owners the correct information to insert into the owner's manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 23, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N601.

Recall campaignNHTSA 21V435000

Exterior lighting: turn signal

Component
Exterior lighting: turn signal
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
2,622
Reported to NHTSA
2021-06-08
Owners notified
2021-09-27

Defect description

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.

Safety 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.

Manufacturer remedy

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.

Recall campaignNHTSA 21V424000

Electrical system: software

Component
Electrical system: software
Manufacturer
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
163
Reported to NHTSA
2021-06-03
Owners notified
2021-07-28

Defect description

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with 6-cylinder engines. The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) may unexpectedly switch off while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in an engine stall with no warning.

Safety risk

An engine stall can increase the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

The Connected Diagnostic Services (CDS) and the Over-the-air (OTA) diagnostics functionality will be disabled, either by a dealer or through an OTA update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 28, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N599.

Owner complaints

A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.

ComponentComplaintsMedian mileage
Exterior lighting19155 mi
Electrical system121,297 mi
Steering8800 mi
Engine71,900 mi
Visibility/wiper6222 mi
Structure: body53,500 mi
Service brakes42,041 mi
Unknown or other4—
Power train3—
Back over prevention: rearview system braking1—
Engine and engine cooling140,000 mi
Forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking1—
Lane departure15,000 mi
Tires1—
Vehicle speed control1—
Visibility17,434 mi

The 2021 model has about 1.5 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.

Other Land Rover Defender model years

All Land Rover Defender recalls by year

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.