Common problems

Land Rover Defender (before 2020) suspension problems

How often MOT testers find suspension faults on the Land Rover Defender (before 2020) at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 291,433 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used before 2020. Later cars sold under the same name are not included; see Land Rover Defender cars first used 2020 or later.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

Suspension fails per 100 MOTs (n=20,497)5.2

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)9.7

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=20,497)14.2

All cars, same age (n=9,049,507)18.2

What stands out

At 10 years, 5.2 of every 100 MOTs of the Land Rover Defender (before 2020) found a suspension fail (n=20,497), against 9.7 for all cars of that age (n=9,049,507).
It is above the all-car rate at 1 of the 20 ages with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 16 years: 9.5 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars.
The suspension fail item recorded most often at 10 years: shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush, on 3.0 per 100 MOTs.
The most common suspension advisory or minor defect: shock absorbers: has a slightly worn bush, on 8.0 per 100 MOTs.

Suspension fails by age

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

Land Rover Defender (before 2020): suspension fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
6 years	1,902	3.2	2.9	6.3	6.1
7 years	8,529	3.7	4.4	9.8	8.7
8 years	14,244	4.1	6.1	11.0	11.8
9 years	18,539	4.3	7.9	11.8	14.9
10 years	20,497	5.2	9.7	14.2	18.2
11 years	17,896	6.1	11.6	15.7	21.6
12 years	16,016	7.3	13.4	17.1	24.9
13 years	15,281	8.2	14.9	20.2	27.9
14 years	15,080	9.1	16.0	22.1	30.4
15 years	15,057	9.4	16.7	23.3	32.3
16 years	14,742	9.5	17.1	24.1	33.7
17 years	15,548	10.7	17.2	25.5	34.7
18 years	16,022	11.2	17.2	27.3	35.3
19 years	16,519	11.1	16.9	28.1	35.4
20 years	16,718	11.8	16.5	28.1	35.2
21 years	15,682	12.0	15.9	28.5	35.0
22 years	14,450	12.8	15.2	28.1	34.4
23 years	12,960	13.1	14.5	28.4	33.8
24 years	12,663	12.9	13.5	27.7	32.5
25 years	13,088	12.8	12.8	29.4	31.5

Suspension fail items at 10 years

Suspension fail items on the Land Rover Defender (before 2020) at 10 years (n=20,497), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush	3.0	0.2	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)

Suspension advisories and minor defects at 10 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Suspension advisories and minor defects on the Land Rover Defender (before 2020) at 10 years (n=20,497), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,049,507).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Shock absorbers: has a slightly worn bush	8.0	0.3	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Wheel bearings: has slight play	2.1	0.4	£103 to £276 per wheel (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	1.2	5.8	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Coil spring: corroded	0.8	2.9

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

What to check on a viewing

On the Land Rover Defender (before 2020), the suspension items testers fail most are shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush.

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a suspension advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common suspension problems on the Land Rover Defender (before 2020)?

At 10 years (20,497 MOTs), the suspension fail items testers record most often are shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush (3.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common suspension advisories or minor defects are shock absorbers: has a slightly worn bush (8.0) and wheel bearings: has slight play (2.1).

Does the Land Rover Defender (before 2020) have more suspension problems than other cars?

At 10 years it has 5.2 suspension fails per 100 MOTs against 9.7 for all cars of the same age (4.5 fewer). It is above the all-car rate at 1 of the 20 ages with enough tests.

What does a suspension repair cost on the Land Rover Defender (before 2020)?

For shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush, an independent garage estimate is £122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Suspension problems on other Land Rover models

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Land Rover Defender (before 2020)?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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