Common problems

Land Rover Defender electrical and lighting problems

How often MOT testers find lights and electrics faults on the Land Rover Defender at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 39,776 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used 2020 or later. Earlier cars sold under the same name are not included; see Land Rover Defender cars first used before 2020.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 3 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=22,687)1.7

All cars at 3 years (n=8,016,463)2.9

Lights and electrics advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=22,687)0.2

All cars, same age (n=8,016,463)0.7

What stands out

At 3 years, 1.7 of every 100 MOTs of the Land Rover Defender found a lights and electrics fail (n=22,687), against 2.9 for all cars of that age (n=8,016,463).
It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 3 years: 1.7 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars.
The lights and electrics fail item recorded most often at 3 years: headlight aimed too high, on 0.6 per 100 MOTs.

Lights and electrics fails by age

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

Land Rover Defender: lights and electrics 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
3 years	22,687	1.7	2.9	0.2	0.7
4 years	12,866	2.2	3.1	0.4	1.0
5 years	4,223	3.4	3.7	0.7	1.3

Lights and electrics fail items at 3 years

Lights and electrics fail items on the Land Rover Defender at 3 years (n=22,687), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,016,463).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Headlight aimed too high	0.6	0.9	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	0.3	0.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Headlamp cleaning device: for LED or HID headlamp inoperative	0.2	under 0.1
Headlamp aim: too low	0.2	0.6	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Daytime running lamps: not working	0.2	under 0.1

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, the lights and electrics items testers fail most are headlight aimed too high; side/position light not working; headlamp cleaning device: for LED or HID headlamp inoperative.

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

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

Questions

What are the common electrical and lighting problems on the Land Rover Defender?

At 3 years (22,687 MOTs), the lights and electrics fail items testers record most often are headlight aimed too high (0.6 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (0.3 per 100 MOTs), headlamp cleaning device: for LED or HID headlamp inoperative (0.2 per 100 MOTs).

Does the Land Rover Defender have more electrical and lighting problems than other cars?

At 3 years it has 1.7 lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars of the same age (1.2 fewer). It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with enough tests.

What does a lights and electrics repair cost on the Land Rover Defender?

For headlight aimed too high, an independent garage estimate is £16 to £39 per car (rough guide). This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Electrical and lighting 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?

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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