Skip to content
My MOT CheckerSources

113,520 tests in 2025

Land Rover Defender reliability and MOT pass rate

77.5% passed first time. The 22.5% fail rate is 0.1 points better than the all-car average, on a median example 18 years old with 88,954 miles.

MOT pass rates / Land Rover

Pass rate

77.5%

22.6% of all cars failed; 22.5% of these did.

Fixed on the day

4.7%

Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.

Median at test

88,954 mi

18 years old.

Fail rate by age

Age at testTestsFail rate
3-5 years20,8107.3%
6-9 years1,64511.2%
10-13 years18,67918.3%
14+ years71,92428.3%

What the Defender fails on

Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment787 dangerous47.1%
  2. Suspension790 dangerous33.8%
  3. Brakes2,786 dangerous31.3%
  4. Body, chassis, structure1,032 dangerous26.8%
  5. Steering566 dangerous26.1%
  6. Visibility24 dangerous20%
  7. Noise, emissions and leaks133 dangerous9.9%
  8. Tyres1,926 dangerous8.6%

Is the Defender getting worse?

The fail rate fell 2.3 points to 24.7% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.

YearTestsMedian ageFail rate All cars
2022104,5201827%22.5%
2023103,442—26.4%22.8%
202493,011—26%23.2%
202598,658—24.7%22.6%

Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Defender at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.

The exact defects that fail it

Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Defender in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.

  1. 1Position lamp: not working2,565 tests
  2. 2Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush2,341 tests
  3. 3Rear fog lamp: not working2,041 tests
  4. 4Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded1,783 tests
  5. 5Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively1,765 tests
  6. 6Stop lamp: not working1,717 tests
  7. 7Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength1,391 tests
  8. 8Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt1,378 tests

What wears out first

Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Defender collects 3.21 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.

  1. 1Engine oil leaks: leaking excessively from engine17,108 tests
  2. 2Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded12,208 tests
  3. 3Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened7,542 tests
  4. 4Wheel bearings: has excessive play6,788 tests
  5. 5Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush6,281 tests
  6. 6Transmission oil leaks: leaking excessively from transmission6,129 tests
  7. 7Condition: webbing significantly weakened cut greater than 4mm6,126 tests
  8. 8Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure6,098 tests

Questions

What is the Land Rover Defender MOT pass rate?

77.5% of the 113,520 Land Rover Defender first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 22.5% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 4.7% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.

What does a Land Rover Defender usually fail on?

The single most common failure is "Position lamp: not working", recorded on 2,565 failed tests, followed by "Shock absorbers: has an excessively worn bush" and "Rear fog lamp: not working". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 47.1% of failures, suspension appears in 33.8% of failures, brakes appears in 31.3% of failures.

Does age change the odds?

Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 7.3%; at 14+ years it was 28.3%. The median Land Rover Defender tested in 2025 was 18 years old with 88,954 miles.

Is the Land Rover Defender getting less reliable?

The fail rate fell 2.3 points to 24.7% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.

First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Defender trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.

DVSA has published 29 safety recalls naming the Land Rover Defender: Land Rover Defender recalls.

Other Land Rover models

Checking a particular Defender?

The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.

Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.