2025 Land Rover DEFENDER

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Excellent Reliability

Quick Summary

The 2025 Land Rover DEFENDER has 15 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.2x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is visibility problems (40% of all complaints), specifically: front windshield has cracked. defender has less than 10k and has only been driven on city roads and highway. no offroad. chip left of center occurred from pebble while driving on freeway back february. took vehicle to safelite for repair within a week. two months later chip expanded into a la. ⚠️ 1 fire report filed.

1 fire report

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

0.2x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

VISIBILITY

6 complaints

40%

• Front Windshield has cracked. Defender has less than 10K and has only been driven on city roads and highway. No offroad. Chip left of center occurred from pebble while driving on Freeway back February. Took vehicle to Safelite for repair within a week. Two months later Chip expanded into a la
• Driving down the road and my windshield spontaneously cracked. No road debris, no rock, no trauma or accident.
• 30 years of car ownership have never had a chipped or cracked windshield. 2025 Land Rover Defender has had 3 rock chips in a year and now a 20" crack from very minor impact from a pebble. This windshield has a design flaw and is extremely fragile.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“Front Windshield has cracked. Defender has less than 10K and has only been driven on city roads and highway. No offroad. Chip left of center occurred from pebble while driving on Freeway back February. Took vehicle to Safelite for repair within a week. Two months later Chip expanded into a la”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

3 complaints

20%

• The transfer case on my new 2025 LR Defender 130 went out at 5,000 miles. This unit distributes power to the axles. I was told that if I continue to drive it, it could seize up, possibly leading to a loss of control of the vehicle. Land Rover is aware that they installed a bad batch of transfer case
• The DC converter went bad and within 30 seconds while driving on the highway I got a battery warning and then the car went into neutral and stopped and went into park and the car turned off in the middle of the road and couldn’t be moved at all. Luckily some cops came and protected the car from behi
• While driving on Back Rd in New Hampshire at approximately 30 mph on Saturday, Feb 14, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering assist and simultaneously shifted into neutral. I received warning messages and immediately lost propulsion. Luckily, there was no traffic on the road with me, but that is

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“The transfer case on my new 2025 LR Defender 130 went out at 5,000 miles. This unit distributes power to the axles. I was told that if I continue to drive it, it could seize up, possibly leading to a loss of control of the vehicle. Land Rover is aware that they installed a bad batch of transfer case”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

2 complaints

13%

• The DC converter went bad and within 30 seconds while driving on the highway I got a battery warning and then the car went into neutral and stopped and went into park and the car turned off in the middle of the road and couldn’t be moved at all. Luckily some cops came and protected the car from behi
• While driving on Back Rd in New Hampshire at approximately 30 mph on Saturday, Feb 14, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering assist and simultaneously shifted into neutral. I received warning messages and immediately lost propulsion. Luckily, there was no traffic on the road with me, but that is

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“The DC converter went bad and within 30 seconds while driving on the highway I got a battery warning and then the car went into neutral and stopped and went into park and the car turned off in the middle of the road and couldn’t be moved at all. Luckily some cops came and protected the car from behi”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

1 complaints

• I was driving on [XXX] In Sarasota County, Florida, at approximately 70mph I witnessed flames coming from passenger rear portion of the car, I pulled over and jumped out at the interior was filled with smoke. In less than 15 minutes the car completely burned to nothing but black molten metal. The

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“I was driving on [XXX] In Sarasota County, Florida, at approximately 70mph I witnessed flames coming from passenger rear portion of the car, I pulled over and jumped out at the interior was filled with smoke. In less than 15 minutes the car completely burned to nothing but black molten metal. The ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

1 complaints

• I had the car while driving loss of power then engine light came on. Dealer twice checked and stated no issue until they tested and found that the replacement of the Hybrid battery system was issue. I've found this same issue with Converter system showing up with others on the facebook 'The New De

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“I had the car while driving loss of power then engine light came on. Dealer twice checked and stated no issue until they tested and found that the replacement of the Hybrid battery system was issue. I've found this same issue with Converter system showing up with others on the facebook 'The New De”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

VISIBILITY(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 15 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
VISIBILITY: Front Windshield has cracked. Defender has less than 10K and has only been driven on city roads and highway. No offroad. Chip left of center occurred from pebble while driving on Freeway back February. Took vehicle to Safelite for repair within a week. Two months later Chip expanded into a la
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TRANSMISSION: The transfer case on my new 2025 LR Defender 130 went out at 5,000 miles. This unit distributes power to the axles. I was told that if I continue to drive it, it could seize up, possibly leading to a loss of control of the vehicle. Land Rover is aware that they installed a bad batch of transfer case
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: The DC converter went bad and within 30 seconds while driving on the highway I got a battery warning and then the car went into neutral and stopped and went into park and the car turned off in the middle of the road and couldn’t be moved at all. Luckily some cops came and protected the car from behi
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
FUEL SYSTEM: I was driving on [XXX] In Sarasota County, Florida, at approximately 70mph I witnessed flames coming from passenger rear portion of the car, I pulled over and jumped out at the interior was filled with smoke. In less than 15 minutes the car completely burned to nothing but black molten metal. The
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)