Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Land Rover Discovery Sport 2018: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 82 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (rear).

Summary

The 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 17,890 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
82 in every 100
Did not pass first time
18 in every 1003,256 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
7 yearsabout 60,027 miles
First tests counted
17,890

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (rear)15 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Diesel engine warning light12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Brake pads (rear)10 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: rear fog light, 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,255 of 3,256 failed first attempts that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Rear fog light

Failed on 120 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

Two faults. The strongest is the diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014): 5.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/01/2014)

Failed on 93 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 399 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake discs (rear), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake discs (rear)

Failed on 107 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before it is rejected, and being worn below the manufacturer's recommended limits is not a reason in itself. Significantly and obviously worn is Major, as is contamination with oil or grease. A disc or drum that is fractured, insecure, seriously weakened or missing is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Flexible brake hoses (rear)

Noted on 38 first tests6.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
82in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
15in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 81.8% of 17,890 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 85.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 15 not fixed make the 18 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel16,30761,185 miles8282
Petrol1,58247,284 miles8483

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

40608010020152016201720182019202020212022Older carsNewer cars
4060801002018Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 83 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201579 in every 10014,194
201679 in every 10020,602
201781 in every 10021,517
2018 This car82 in every 10017,890
201982 in every 10015,804
202083 in every 10010,484
202183 in every 1006,363
202283 in every 1003,288

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2018 Discovery Sport.

Of 2018 Discovery Sport vehicles with under 44,000 miles, 87 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 78,000 miles or more, 78 in every 100 did.

Under 44,0003,563 tests
87
44,000–55,0003,592 tests
84
55,000–65,000 Typical car3,500 tests
81
65,000–78,0003,729 tests
80
78,000 and over3,505 tests
78

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 44,00055,000–65,00078,000 and over
Tyre condition (rear)2.22.92.6
Diesel engine warning light1.62.13.2
Brake pads (rear)1.22.12.6
Tyre tread depth (front)0.61.01.8
Headlight aim0.51.21.6

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

55in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

18in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

5in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (rear), about 15 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 81.8% of 17,890 first MOTs on the 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 85.5%. Among 3,256 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Rear fog light appears more often than on similar cars (3.7% of those tests; 120 observed failures; about 5.9× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport at the first attempt were Tyre condition (rear) (14.6%), Diesel engine warning light (12.3%) and Brake pads (rear) (10.3%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Rear fog light (3.7% of those tests; 120 observed failures; about 5.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Rear fog light shows up more often than on similar cars (3.7% of those tests; 120 observed failures; about 5.9× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport include Rear fog light, Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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