Land Rover

Land Rover Defender

The Land Rover Defender (introduced as the Land Rover One Ten, joined in 1984 by the Land Rover Ninety, plus the extra-length Land Rover One Two Seven in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They have four-wheel drive, and were developed in the 1980s from the Land Rover series which was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in April 1948. Following the 1989 introduction of the Land Rover Discovery, "Land Rover" became the name of a broader marque, no longer the name of a specific model; thus, in 1990, Land Rover renamed them Defender 90, Defender 110 and Defender 130 respectively. The vehicle, a British equivalent of the Second World War derived (Willys) Jeep, gained a worldwide reputation for ruggedness and versatility. With a steel ladder chassis and an aluminium alloy bodywork, the Land Rover originally used detuned versions of Rover engines. Though the Defender was not a new generation design, it incorporated significant changes compared to the Land Rover series, such as adopting coil springs front and rear. Coil springs offered both better ride quality and improved axle articulation. The addition of a centre differential to the transfer case gave the Defender permanent four-wheel-drive capability. Both changes were derived from the original Range Rover, and the interiors were also modernised. Whilst the engines were carried over from the Series III, a new series of modern and more powerful engines was progressively introduced. Even when ignoring the series Land Rovers and perhaps ongoing licence products, the 90/110 and Defender models' 33-year production run were ranked as the sixteenth longest single-generation car in history in 2020. In 2020, Jaguar Land Rover introduced an all new generation of Land Rover Defender Land Rover Defender (L663) switching from body on chassis to integrated bodywork and from live, rigid axles to all around independent suspension.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UK fuel mix: —. Records from the VCA fuel & emissions archive.

Model years

UK vehicles on the road

65,310 licensed and 4,419 SORN (69,729 total) at 2025 Q4.

DfT/DVLA VEH0120 vehicle licensing statistics, source ↗, Open Government Licence v3.0. Small counts are rounded or suppressed at source.

US safety recalls

• 26V615000 2026-09-24 · model years 2024 SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:WEBBING:STITCHING

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2024 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The second-row seat belt may be improperly stitched.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect the second-row seat belt serial number, and replace the seat belt, as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed November 20, 2026.…

• 26V599000 2026-09-17 · model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:DC/DC CONVERTER

  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…

  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…

• 26V389000 2026-06-12 · model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

  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.

  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.…

• 26V263000 2026-04-23 · model years 2026 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2026 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The fuel tank was improperly manufactured with walls that are too thin.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed June 19, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is D127.

• 26V248000 2026-04-17 · model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:DC/DC CONVERTER

  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,…

  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…

• 26V163000 2026-03-18 · model years 2026 SEAT BELTS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2026 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The third-row lower seat belt anchorage bracket may have an insufficient weld stud.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the third-row lower seat belt anchorage bracket or the weld-stud on the bracket, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 19, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service…

• 25V016000 2025-01-16 · model years 2023, 2024 BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Discovery Sport, 2023-2024 Defender, and 2023 Range Rover Evoque vehicles. The touchscreen in the center console may go blank at vehicle startup, resulting in the rearview camera image not displaying as intended. As such, these vehicles fail…

  Remedy: Dealers will update the touchscreen software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 3, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall…

• 24V678000 2024-09-12 · model years 2024 BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2024 Defender, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, and Range Rover Sport vehicles. The Near Field Sensing Module (NFSM) may overheat and cause the 3D surround camera images, including the rearview camera image, not…

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the NFSM, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 24, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N927.

• 24V450000 2024-06-17 · model years 2023, 2024 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION:FILTER/SCREEN

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Defender, 2024 Discovery, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover Velar vehicles. The oil filter housing can crack and leak oil into the engine compartment.

  Remedy: Dealers will replace the filter housing, oil filter, and o-rings, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 27, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's…

• 23V789000 2023-11-22 · model years 2023 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:CRITICAL FASTENERS

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 vehicles modified for the TRek Off-Road Competition. The brake calipers may not be reinstalled properly, allowing the brake calipers to detach.

  Remedy: Dealers will reinstall the brake calipers, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 18, 2024. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N848.

• 23V137000 2023-03-02 · model years 2023 SEATS:MID/REAR ASSEMBLY

  Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 vehicles equipped with third-row seats. The third-row seatback latch may not latch properly, reducing the strength of a child seat installed to the top tether.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the third-row seat frame and components, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 24, 2023. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at…

• 23V044000 2023-02-02 · model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:OIL/LUBRICATION

  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.

  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…

NHTSA recalls database (US government, public domain). Recalls apply to US-market vehicles; check the manufacturer for your country.

US EPA fuel-economy records

US EPA test figures (US MPG, US test cycle), fueleconomy.gov ↗, US government public domain.

Sources

• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_DefenderCC BY-SA 4.0 · Intro text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1373611514 · retrieved 2026-10-03
• UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) fuel & emissions data — https://carfueldata.vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk/Open Government Licence v3.0
• DfT/DVLA VEH0120 licensing statistics — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tablesOpen Government Licence v3.0
• US EPA / DOE FuelEconomy.gov — https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ws/index.shtmlUS Government public domain
• NHTSA recalls database — https://www.nhtsa.gov/recallsUS Government public domain
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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