Photo: Mr.choppers / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
2020 Land Rover Defender: common problems and reliability
One of the better Defender years.
The best Land Rover Defender year. All Defender years
55 owner complaints, most about exterior lighting. 8 recalls.
Should I buy a 2020 Defender?The 2020 Land Rover Defender has 55 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 8 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are exterior lighting and electrical system.
Safety record for the 2020 model year
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for 2020 Land Rover Defender vehicles (US, public record).
The Year Score compares this year with other Defender years only. How we score it
Is 2020 a good year for the Defender?
Across the 10 Defender model years we track, complaint volume runs from 1 (2001) to 243 (2023). With 55 complaints, the 2020 Defender sits about the same as the model's median of 55.
These are raw NHTSA complaint totals, not adjusted for how many cars sold or how long each model year has been on the road. Older and higher-selling years accumulate more complaints.
Where owners report problems
Recalls affecting the 2020 Defender
exterior lighting:tail lights
Campaign 21V435000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Defender X vehicles equipped with smoked rear light assemblies. A voltage spike, triggered by a bright light shining on the rear of the vehicle, can cause the turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights to fail.
equipment:other:owners/service/other manual
Campaign 21V584000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles. The owner's manual incorrectly states that the third-row seating is equipped with LATCH child seat restraints with top tethers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems."
power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
Campaign 21V424000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with 6-cylinder engines. The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) may unexpectedly switch off while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in an engine stall with no warning.
engine and engine cooling:engine:oil/lubrication
Campaign 23V044000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2019-2023 Range Rover Sport, 2020-2023 Range Rover, Defender, 2022-2023 Discovery, and 2023 Range Rover Velar vehicles. The engine cam carrier oil channel may be blocked, which can lead to an oil leak.
Show 4 more recalls
equipment
Campaign 24E102000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Land Rover Defender vehicles equipped with Raised Air Intake (RAI) aftermarket accessory equipment, with part number VPLEP0543. The raised air intake may not be secured properly, which can allow the intake to detach from the vehicle.
electrical system:propulsion system:dc/dc converter
Campaign 26V248000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery, 2020-2023 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, 2019-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Range Rover, 2020 Land Rover Discovery Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Defender, 2021-2024 Jaguar F-Pace, and 2021-2022 Jaguar E-Pace mild-hybrid electric vehicles (MHEVs). Insufficient electrical load balancing during times of high demand can lead to a current overload condition and malfunction of the DCDC converter. A failure of the DC-DC converter will result in a loss of 12-Volt system charging and can lead to complete loss of drive power and exterior lighting.
air bags:frontal
Campaign 26V389000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2020-2026 Land Rover Defender, 2021-2026 Discovery, and 2022-2026 Range Rover vehicles. The driver’s air bag clockspring connector may corrode, which can cause the air bag not to deploy as intended.
electrical system:propulsion system:dc/dc converter
Campaign 26V599000Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2019-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, 2020-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Land Rover Defender, 2021-2024 Land Rover Range Rover Velar, Jaguar E-Pace, F-Pace, and Land Rover Discovery vehicles. The DC-DC converter may malfunction due to an electrical overload that can occur during high power demand. Additionally, a software error can cause the DC-DC converter to stop functioning at vehicle start-up under certain circumstances. Failure of the DC-DC converter will result in the loss of 12-Volt system charging and can lead to complete loss of drive power and exterior lighting.
What owners say across generations
Sentiment is sharply divided by generation.
Owner insights cover all generations of the Defender. See the full Defender owner picture and every model year.
Typical used price
Used Defender listings typically run $38,704–$52,889.
Other Defender model years
Compare every Defender year side by side to see how 2020 ranks against the rest.
Compare the Defender against its rivals
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