2023 Land Rover Defender complaints

The Defender is only 2 years old, with 59k miles. Outside of warranty. It is a mild hybrid. Received an emergency electrical fault issue. Car stalled out. Had to get it towed to dealership. Its been with the dealership for a month now, with another month anticipated for the part, a dc converter, which is on backorder with LR to be delivered. Battery is dead also. Total repair is estimated at $3100. I will be without the vehicle for atleast 2 months. Looking through the internet it appears this is an issue with LR. Filed a complaint with LR corporate. They are aware of this happening also to vehicles which would explain the backorder on the part. No recall yet however.

My car died on December 14, 2025 when I was pulling out of my driveway. It read “stop safely electrical fault detected.” And then shut down and would not turn on. Then it said “battery low. Please start engine.” But the car would not start. I had to get it towed to the dealer. They told me it was a the DC converter or the epic module. They said this is a company wide issue with the 2023 defenders and they do not have the part in stock and that it is on back order. Right now they are stating that the part may be in in mid February. Previous to this issue I also had issues two times with my car stating engine coolant issues and had to bring it to the dealer two times to get fixed.

We had a coolant leak like the one reported on recall N785, I called the Land Rover USA office and they said that they only have a "voluntary" recall for this problem and I need to pay for them to fix it. It's not faire that they refuse to fix something that is happening in the same car and model but different engine type. They know they need to recall all the Defenders. What you can do to protect us?

1.) Coolant turbo lines leak coolant. Causing the engine to overheat. It is recommended by the dealer to replace the two(2) o-rings and bypass hose assembly. 2.) This is a high risk this can cause risk of an engine fire in addition to major damage to the engine. 3.)The Land Rover Dealer (Annapolis, MD) has confirmed that this is a known issue. Further research online confirms from other customers with dealers that this is a known issue. 4.) The dealer performed diagnosis on the vehicle and confirmed the parts that need replacing. 5.) As the engine gets close to overheating, you notice the temperature gauge moving to red and a warning message that the engine is overheating. Initially, you will notice messages that the engine coolant level is low and as the problem progresses, you will see the message more frequently. I have personally gone through two full bottles of antifreeze in a day. The cost of repair is over $2500.

The door actuators are failing which is a very common problem on these vehicles. This fault makes it impossible to lock the doors and arm the vehicle. This is a significant safety issue. Based on the widespread complaints it seems reasonable that Land River should rectify the problem

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 windshield is very prone to splintering, chips and cracking from even small roadway impacts. I have had to replace the windshield twice in the last 6 months. This has been an ongoing problem with Defender 90 windshields from what I can read and the manufacturer is very aware of it. The windshields pose a danger to the driver at worst and an ongoing and expensive maintenance expense at best.

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason. No rock chip. Crack at upper middle of the windshield and goes towards driver side about 16 inches long.

Windshield issue having to replace Windshield twice in 4 months if rock hit it spread . Wondering if their an issue with how the windshield are made overseas

Windshield cracks easily.

Vehicle windshield spontaneously cracked with large crack extending across most of passenger side. Vehicle has 10K miles. No offroad driving. No rock or foreign object struck vehicle. Driven on smooth roads. Weather was not issue. This is clearly a SAFETY issue. Crack will likely extend and I will need to replace windshield in vehicle less than 1 year old. I will take a picture of it. It needs to be replaced immediately..I've arranged service but am worried that vehicle-specific windshield is inherently flawed, regardless of who installs it. This was common knowledge (frequent cracks) in this model through 2022 but I don't know what has been done to address the problem. thank you

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.

Windshield cracks. Minor chips causes major cracks that go across the windshield and reduces visibility. While driving, I watched the crack spread across my sight line which impaired driving. This is the second windshield I have had to replace in two months. Service center states that are having to repair many windshields for this vehicle.

Steering wheel is locked and does not turn the wheels

The steering column won't move. The car starts, you can drive forward and back but the steering column doesn't move. This has happened twice now and I am afraid if this happens while I'm driving unexpectedly, death or serious injuries are very possible.

Lane assistance and power steering failed. There was no warning light or alarm. The warning light in the dashboard came on reading “Lane assistance not available” and “power steering resistance reduced” immediately when both systems failed. We were able to safely park, no one was injured. The car has been at the service center at the dealership for 10 days.

Dec 6. Started vehicle and steering wheel would nor move. All functions of car worked. Fwd, rev, engine running , lights all worked. Turned off and restarted 3 times and steering wheel still not moving. All of a sudden wheel became free. I worry now if this could happen while driving. Light did come on saying "lain assist not available"

The power steering failed and the car was not drive-able. The warning light for no lane assist available also turned on. The vehicle was in-operable and left us stranded. This would have been a much bigger issue in the winter time, or if I was not at my home. I contacted Land Rover, who had me call LandRover road side to have the car towed to the dealership, since this occurred on a Sunday. They confirmed the issue of power steering malfunction. There was no warning that his was going to happen. It first appeared when we tried to start the car and it was not drive-able. Once at the dealership, I was made aware there was a service bulletin-not a formal recall- regarding this malfunction. It required two code updates (that I was unable to complete with attempt to update software prior to tow) and a battery reset. With this being such a significant issue, making the car in-operable, it was frustrating to hear it was a known issue that was not a recall. The dealership told me there were others in the area that had the same issue and were fixed, with out recurrent of the issue.

Sitting in my car warming it up and the windshield pops and the is a 2 foot crack in the windshield

Infotainment screen randomly goes black while driving. Does not come back on. This screen displays and controls everything for the vehicle. Maps, system info, music, etc. Instructions to "reset" the system consists of reaching toward the passenger side of the dashboard to hold down a power button for about 30 seconds. I have done this multiple times, it's not safe. You are stretched out across your vehicle, trying to pay attention to indicator lights, while you also need to pay attention to the road.

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason.

The cover over the ADAS sensors above the rear view mirror detached and fell into the driver area causing loss of control. This has happened before (without accident or loss of control) but I don't remember the date.

The lighting on the 2023 Defender 110 is not adequate, particularly at dusk and in the evening. The brightness control does not adjust for the brightness needed to see gauges. This is a safety risk.

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!

Heated windshield cracked spontaneously overnight while parked in driveway at home. Nothing hit it or caused any damage to windshield. Crack appears to have originated at base of windshield and come up and then curved over towards driver side

The 2023 Land Rover Defender said emissions fault and died in 4 lanes of busy traffic. This has happened since the first few miles but usually happens in a parking lot. The Defender also throws itself into neutral while in drive. This has happened multiple times and the car has less than $10k miles. I’ve taken it in before for the same issues, it’s getting towed again today.

- The windshield began to crack without anything impacting the car (No rocks, pepples, or debris hit the windshield.) - A cracked windshield can lead to several safety issues. - Not yet - Not yet - No

This vehicle is equipped with the "Interactive Driver Display" (IDD), which is a full digital dash. Myself and several other members of enthusiast forums have reported that with recent software updates (PIVI 4.0), this display autodims entirely too dim to see. This happens in bright, full-sun, and half-sun cloudy conditions which prevent the driver from seeing the dashboard. This presents a major safety issue, as there is way to see the speed, tachometer, fuel gauge, warning lights of any kind (including pressure, safety warnings, engine temperature, etc.).

The Centre Cluster dims a dusk and is not visible to the driver

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

Defective windshield. Windshield randomly cracked after no impact or visible damage.

Front windshield stress fractured after being parked in cold weather following a long drive with the windshield defroster on. It has been replaced and is not available for inspection. Safety was put at risk due to an obstruction in visibility Problem has not been reproduced or confirmed, but anecdotally seems to be a frequent occurrence based on internet forum posts Vehicle has not been inspected No warnings or other indications of failure

On several occasions my car has shifted from Drive into Neutral while I was at a light and the vehicle had shut itself off as part of the Intelligent Start Stop feature. I see that this same issue has been happening to several other Owners who have reported this to the NHTSA. Ironically it seems as though all these vehicles were purchased in Houston TX.

I have had to replace my windshield 3 times in a matter of a few months. In the case of my last two windshields, I was able to drive for only 2 days before it cracked. In all cases they started as small rock chips, always within a few inches of the exterior edge. I have had rock chips in the past with other vehicles but typically they would rarely crack. For some reason this vehicle can't take even the smallest of rock chips without cracking. Not sure if this is due to the shape of the windshield, the way it is installed or just bad glass. I wouldn't have made this complaint had I not noticed that there are several other Owners of this vehicle making similar complaints.

The media screen will randomly go blank so you can not see your navigation map, radio information or any other data that the screen should show. The dealer told us to press the door lock twice and wait several minutes before restarting. Very unsafe if emergency is occurring and you do not have access to navigation system. This has occurred several times since we purchased the vehicle new on March 18 at Buckhead Range Rover in Atlanta. the phone charger does not work and only heats up your phone after you lay the phone on it for a period of time.

When driving the new 2023 vehicle with 956 miles we got a lane keep malfunction dialogue box pop up on digital instrument cluster. At the same time the power steering ceased to work or the lane keep fought to keep it centered even when trying to make maneuvers to stay in lane of traffic, navigate turns or avoid other vehicle. It endangered the lives of my wife, 3 young daughters and lives of other drivers/passengers on the road. The vehicle was parked about a mile from it occurring and roadside assistance called. It was taken to Jaguar Land Rover Hunt Valley to be repaired. Where they duplicated same issue. They could not get the computer to flag any codes that something was wrong but witnessed it not being able to be steered properly. They proceeded to do a hard reset on the steering module as they could not communicate with it, they then downloaded new software and said it fixed the problem. We drove 3.5 hours round trip to go pick it up. It drove just like is should for trips but then at 1145 miles the exact same issue with dialogue box saying lane keep malfunction and power steering or it fighting my wife to stay straight and fighting her to navigate road turns, obstacles or other vehicles. This again put my family and other families on the road at extreme risk. It was then towed again. This time it went to Jaguar Land Rover Harrisburg. They too witnessed the same issue and I told them of what happened before and what they did to fix. It has been in the dealership service

Stopped on an uphill grade, start stop on vehicle activated, engine stopped. Upon brake release, engine started, vehicle made uncommanded shift from drive to neutral, rolled backward several feet before brake could be reapplied. Land Rover has been aware of the uncommanded shift to neutral issue for sometime. Local dealer has a bulletin on this issue, but Land Rover has no fix, instead advising to manually disengage auto start stop every time vehicle is driven. Unfortunately, sometimes I forget to do this. It’s a problem.

When stopped at stoplight engine gear slips to neutral without warning. When applying gas it becomes apparent it’s no longer in drive. Has happened 8 plus times and I’ve had this new car less than 2weeks. Reported to dealer who tells me 2 other customers have reported this as well. No one is sure why it happens.

Vehicle makes uncommanded shifts from drive into neutral when the engine restarts after stopping during an auto start-stop cycle. Driver has to manually re-engage drive after this happens.