2020 Land Rover Defender reliability

Is it reliable?

NHTSA's file on the 2020 Land Rover Defender holds 55 complaints after 7 years, a rate of 8 per year. That is the most complaints per year among the 5 Defender years on this site. NHTSA has 8 recalls on file, including DC/DC converter, Frontal, and Equipment.

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Exterior lighting (19 of 55), then Electrical system (12) and Steering (8). Those filings include 1 that reports a crash, 1 that reports a fire, and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2021

The 2021 Defender has 0 complaints, 0 per year. The 2020 has more complaints per year than the 2021.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2020 Land Rover Defender. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (8)

Recall DC/DC converter 2026-09-17 · NHTSA campaign 26V599000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed November 13, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is E008. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 26V248.

Recall air bags, frontal 2026-06-12 · NHTSA campaign 26V389000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will apply a protective lubricant gel to the driver’s air bag connector terminals, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed August 3, 2026. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is D120.

Recall DC/DC converter 2026-04-17 · NHTSA campaign 26V248000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will update the central software, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed June 17, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Land Rover's customer service at 800-637-6837. Land Rover's numbers for this recall are D126 and H575.

Recall Equipment 2024-12-06 · NHTSA campaign 24E102000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, remove and reinstall the RAI accessory, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed February 20, 2025. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N964.

Recall engine and cooling, engine, oil and lubrication 2023-02-02 · NHTSA campaign 23V044000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will inspect and replace the engine cam carrier and related components as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 29, 2023. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N763.

Recall Owner's manual 2021-07-29 · NHTSA campaign 21V584000

Summary Jaguar 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."

Remedy Land Rover will mail owners the correct information to insert into the owner's manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 23, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N601.

Recall exterior lighting, tail lights 2021-06-08 · NHTSA campaign 21V435000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy Dealers will replace the rear light assemblies, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 27, 2021. Owners can contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N598.

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, transmission control module 2021-06-03 · NHTSA campaign 21V424000

Summary Jaguar 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.

Remedy The Connected Diagnostic Services (CDS) and the Over-the-air (OTA) diagnostics functionality will be disabled, either by a dealer or through an OTA update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 28, 2021. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is N599.

Complaints by component (55 total)

Exterior lighting

Electrical system

Steering

Engine

Visibility and wipers

Structure

Service brakes

Powertrain

Back-over prevention

Engine and engine cooling

Forward collision avoidance

Lane departure

Speed control

Tires

Visibility

Show 7 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The contact owns a 2020 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. The following day, the contact’s spouse started the vehicle, and the message…"
Electrical system · filed 2026-09-11
"The dealership is not able to perform the recall in a timely manner."
Electrical system · filed 2026-09-09
"Our 2020 Defender's halo light on the driver's side has become inoperable & poses a safety hazard. After researching this issue, it appears that this has been reported widely online. This malfunctioning halo light…"
Exterior lighting · filed 2026-08-24
"I own a 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 HSE, and both of the vehicle’s daytime running lights (DRLs) have failed. The first DRL failed at approximately 63,000 miles, and the second DRL failed at approximately 68,000 miles.…"
Exterior lighting · filed 2026-08-11
"Driving and the steering assistance warning goes off cuts off my cruise control and my lane keep assistance causing my car deceleration on highway promptly while going 70 mph."
Steering, Speed control, Forward collision avoidance · filed 2026-08-09

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Defender 110	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	Four-wheel drive	17	20	18 MPG	$4450
Defender 110 MHEV	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	Four-wheel drive	17	22	19 MPG	$4200
Defender 90	2L, 4-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	Four-wheel drive	18	21	19 MPG	$4200
Defender 90 MHEV	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic (8-speed)	Four-wheel drive	17	22	19 MPG	$4200

Specs and fitment

L663 Defender, 2020–present

Body styles SUV

Oil 0W-20 (engine dependent; capacities vary) , 7.4 qt capacity

Tire size 255/70R18, 255/65R19, 255/60R20, 275/45R22 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 23V-044 covers certain 2020-2023 Land Rover Defender vehicles among other Land Rover models: the engine cam carrier oil channel may be blocked, which can lead to an oil leak and increase fire risk near an ignition source. Dealers inspect and replace the cam carrier and related components as necessary. The campaign's published unit count is shared across Range Rover Sport, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Velar years listed. Recall 21V-435 covers certain 2020-2022 Defender X vehicles with smoked rear light assemblies: a voltage spike can cause turn signals, brake lights, and tail lights to fail; dealers replace the rear light assemblies. Recall 26V-389 covers certain 2020-2026 Defender vehicles among other Land Rover models: the driver's air bag clockspring connector may corrode so the air bag may not deploy as intended; dealers apply protective lubricant gel to the connector terminals.

Compare

Next year 2021 Land Rover Defender See every Land Rover Defender model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2020 Land Rover Defender reliable?

What are common problems with a 2020 Land Rover Defender?

Is the 2020 Land Rover Defender more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2021 Defender has 0 complaints, 0 per year. The 2020 has more complaints per year than the 2021.

Has the 2020 Land Rover Defender been recalled?

The 2020 Land Rover Defender has 8 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2020 Land Rover Defender?

Owners have filed 55 complaints about the 2020 Land Rover Defender with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2020 Land Rover Defender get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2020 Land Rover Defender is 18.8 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What oil does a Land Rover Defender (L663) use?

Engine-dependent specs cite 0W-20 with about 7.4 qt capacity on common U.S. setups; always confirm viscosity and fill in the manual for your engine code.

What tire sizes fit the modern Defender?

Trim-dependent OE sizes include 255/70R18 through 275/45R22; check the door placard rather than assuming one size for every Defender trim.

Which NHTSA recalls mention the Land Rover Defender?

Campaigns on file include 23V-044 (cam carrier oil channel), 21V-435 (smoked rear lights on Defender X), and 26V-389 (driver air bag clockspring connector); several share unit counts across multiple Land Rover models.