Vehicle recall R/2003/180

Land Rover Defender and Land Rover Discovery recall: Possible loss of service brake

DVSA recall R/2003/180 names the Land Rover Defender and Land Rover Discovery. It was launched 31 March 2004. It covers vehicles built 1 October 1998 to 1 December 2003.

Recall data updated 22 September 2026

Recall: R/2003/180
Launched: 31 March 2004
Issued by: LAND ROVER
Manufacturer reference: ABD148
Vehicles: DVSA lists 59,616 on each model line

What can go wrong

A potential fluid leak from the brake modulator may result in a reduction in the efficiency of the service brake or in the most serious case complete failure of the service brake system.

The fix

Recall all potentially affected vehicles and fit stronger valve covers to the brake modulator.

Models and build dates

As listed in the DVSA recall file. DVSA lists the same vehicle number on each line: 59,616. It may be a figure per line or for the whole recall.
Model	Built	Vehicles
Land Rover Defender	1 October 1998 to 1 December 2003	59,616
Land Rover Discovery	1 October 1998 to 1 December 2003	59,616

Is a specific car affected? A recall lists models and build dates, not individual vehicles, so these pages cannot tell you whether one car is included. Enter the registration on the DVSA vehicle recall checker on GOV.UK, or give the vehicle identification number (VIN) to the manufacturer or one of its dealers. Buying used? Ask the seller for proof that any recall work was done.

Other recalls for these models

R/2003/179 Possibility of underbonnet fire 31 March 2004, Land Rover Discovery
R/2003/178 Throttle may stick in open position 31 March 2004, Land Rover Discovery
R/2004/093 Possibility that the rear fuel line may chafe against harness 11 August 2004, Land Rover Discovery
R/2003/054 Sticking throttle 30 April 2003, Land Rover Discovery
R/2004/069 Possibility of stress cracks in the plastic fuel tank 5 May 2005, Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover Range Rover
R/2005/144 Vehicle may become unstable if jacked 9 November 2005, Land Rover Discovery

Found one you might buy?

A recall is one part of the picture. See how often it fails its MOT at each age, or what the VetTheCar Buying Report tells you about a specific car.

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Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA vehicle recall records (RecallsFile.csv), recalls launched 1992 to 2026. Recall data updated 22 September 2026.

Recall wording is DVSA's, with capitals and punctuation tidied and American spellings such as tire, center and windshield given in British English. On this page we also replaced a word that reads as a rating or an endorsement with a plain one. We list a recall when its make and model match a car or van family with at least 1,000 DVSA MOT tests from 2022 to 2025, and when the maker of the vehicle issued it.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. Methodology · Data sources