Land Rover Defender — reliability by registration year
1985–2023 · 36 registration years · 115,413 first tests
2022
breaks the run — 2.2 pp worse than the years either side
Registration years
First-attempt MOT results for every Defender registration year with at least 500 first tests in 2025. Pass rates rise with newer cars, so read a year against its neighbours rather than against the top of the table. Years without their own report are listed here with the same figures.
| Year | First tests | First-attempt pass | Incl. PRS | Most common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 504 | 97.4% | 97.6% | |
| 2022 | 9,369 | 92.0% | 93.5% | Tyres — Condition (front) 23.7% |
| 2.2 pp worse than the years either side What failed 2022 Defenders most often: Tyres — Condition (front) (23.7%) · Registration plates (front) (8.3%) | ||||
| 2021 | 8,065 | 91.0% | 92.7% | Tyres — Condition (rear) 17.6% |
| 2020 | 3,949 | 88.5% | 90.6% | Tyres — Condition (rear) 14.9% |
| 2016 | 1,702 | 83.4% | 89.2% | Position lamp (front) 20.2% |
| 2015 | 6,269 | 78.8% | 84.8% | Position lamp (front) 15.3% |
| 2014 | 5,513 | 75.6% | 82.0% | Position lamp (front) 14.0% |
| 2013 | 4,093 | 71.9% | 79.3% | Shock absorbers (rear) 12.9% |
| 2012 | 3,640 | 71.2% | 77.7% | Headlamp aim 13.3% |
| 2011 | 3,708 | 69.4% | 75.0% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.3% |
| 2010 | 3,642 | 67.8% | 73.1% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.8% |
| 2009 | 3,179 | 67.7% | 73.0% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.4% |
| 2008 | 3,433 | 68.1% | 73.3% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.8% |
| 2007 | 3,638 | 66.4% | 71.1% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.8% |
| 2006 | 3,488 | 65.9% | 71.2% | Shock absorbers (rear) 10.1% |
| 2005 | 3,841 | 66.5% | 71.8% | Visibility — Washers 10.0% |
| 2004 | 3,936 | 63.5% | 68.8% | Visibility — Washers 11.0% |
| 2003 | 4,027 | 64.8% | 69.6% | Visibility — Washers 10.8% |
| 2002 | 3,505 | 65.2% | 70.2% | Headlamp aim 10.7% |
| 2001 | 2,819 | 64.1% | 69.2% | Visibility — Washers 10.1% |
| 2000 | 2,705 | 63.8% | 69.2% | Visibility — Washers 11.5% |
| 1999 | 2,695 | 64.3% | 69.8% | Visibility — Washers 12.5% |
| 1998 | 3,149 | 63.9% | 68.9% | Rear fog lamp 10.2% |
| 1997 | 3,075 | 66.0% | 70.7% | Rear fog lamp 10.7% |
| 1996 | 3,132 | 64.6% | 69.9% | Rear fog lamp 11.7% |
| 1995 | 2,615 | 63.9% | 70.2% | Rear fog lamp 11.0% |
| 1994 | 2,099 | 63.3% | 69.0% | Rear fog lamp 11.4% |
| 1993 | 1,673 | 65.9% | 70.1% | Stop lamp 10.9% |
| 1992 | 1,367 | 65.0% | 70.2% | Headlamp aim 11.1% |
| 1991 | 1,585 | 65.0% | 71.5% | |
| 1990 | 1,520 | 68.0% | 73.5% | Visibility — Washers 11.2% |
| 1989 | 1,750 | 67.5% | 73.4% | Rear fog lamp 11.3% |
| 1988 | 1,395 | 64.7% | 70.4% | Visibility — Washers 13.3% |
| 1987 | 1,517 | 67.4% | 72.2% | Visibility — Washers 12.8% |
| 1986 | 1,630 | 68.0% | 72.4% | Rear fog lamp 11.5% |
| 1985 | 1,186 | 71.2% | 76.0% | |