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MOT fail rates

Land Rover Defender MOT fail rate by age

How often the Land Rover Defender fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 291,433 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 10 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 10 (n=20,497)24.5%
All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)30.3%
Median mileage at test53,270
All cars, median mileage75,043

102 of 309 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 10 years.

What stands out

  • At 6 years the Land Rover Defender fails 17.3% of MOTs (1,902 tests), about the same as the 17.8% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 35.8% (13,088 tests), about the same as the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 16 years: 9.9 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 10 years: Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush, at 5 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age, first used before 2020

6 years 25 years 47.6%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Land Rover Defender (first used before 2020): share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
6 years17.3%1,90217.8%−0.5 pts22,796 miles
7 years19.8%8,52920.6%−0.9 pts33,856 miles
8 years21.3%14,24423.8%−2.5 pts40,941 miles
9 years22.1%18,53927.1%−5.0 pts46,682 miles
10 years24.5%20,49730.3%−5.8 pts53,270 miles
11 years27.6%17,89633.3%−5.6 pts61,884 miles
12 years29.5%16,01636.0%−6.5 pts69,539 miles
13 years31.1%15,28138.3%−7.1 pts75,504 miles
14 years31.7%15,08040.3%−8.6 pts81,801 miles
15 years32.4%15,05741.6%−9.2 pts87,062 miles
16 years32.6%14,74242.6%−9.9 pts92,442 miles
17 years33.4%15,54843.1%−9.7 pts98,643 miles
18 years34.1%16,02243.3%−9.2 pts104,156 miles
19 years34.9%16,51943.2%−8.3 pts110,705 miles
20 years34.8%16,71842.8%−8.0 pts116,802 miles
21 years36.5%15,68242.1%−5.5 pts121,058 miles
22 years36.1%14,45041.0%−4.9 pts125,175 miles
23 years36.6%12,96039.6%−3.1 pts128,658 miles
24 years36.0%12,66337.8%−1.8 pts130,692 miles
25 years35.8%13,08836.3%−0.5 pts133,826 miles

Most common fail items at 10 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush Major5
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded Major4.3
Reversing lamps: inoperative Major1.3

Out of 20,497 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major5.6
Brake light not working Major3.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major3.3
Headlamp aim: too low Major2.6
Headlight aimed too high Major2.3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous1.8
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major1.5

Out of 20,497 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 10 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque21.4%61,25530.3%
Land Rover Freelander23.0%35,68330.3%
Land Rover Range Rover Sport20.0%32,66330.3%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
199825 years in 202334.0%3,55036.3%
199925 years in 202436.1%2,99236.3%
200025 years in 202535.0%2,90436.3%
200124 years in 202534.6%3,02937.8%
200223 years in 202533.7%3,74039.6%
200322 years in 202534.3%4,26841.0%
200421 years in 202535.3%4,16442.1%
200520 years in 202532.5%4,08142.8%
200619 years in 202533.1%3,69543.2%
200718 years in 202532.6%3,86043.3%
200817 years in 202531.2%3,62443.1%
200916 years in 202531.5%3,37342.6%
201015 years in 202531.2%3,86041.6%
201114 years in 202529.8%3,88540.3%
201213 years in 202528.4%3,79938.3%
201312 years in 202527.6%4,25636.0%
201411 years in 202524.1%5,71033.3%
201510 years in 202520.8%6,50230.3%
20169 years in 202516.3%1,76927.1%
20205 years in 202511.2%4,22315.3%
20214 years in 20258.9%8,64813.4%
20223 years in 20257.9%9,89412.1%

More on the Land Rover Defender

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Land Rover Defender?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources