Land Rover Defender D MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Land Rover Defender D MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Land Rover Defender D passed on its first attempt in 91.0%, and its overall record sits +10.6 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Land Rover Defender D in the 2023–2025 data: 838 tests across 2 model years (2020–2021). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Land Rover Defender D MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Land Rover Defender D, the Visibility section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Land Rover Defender D's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Land Rover Defender D DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Land Rover Defender D, each with how many of the model's 838 tests it was noted on.

• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 28 Land Rover Defender D tests, 3.3% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (Major) — noted on about 16 Land Rover Defender D tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too high" (Rectified) — noted on about 16 Land Rover Defender D tests, 1.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction" (Major) — noted on about 9 Land Rover Defender D tests, 1.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 7 Land Rover Defender D tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (Major) — noted on about 7 Land Rover Defender D tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Land Rover Defender D Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Land Rover Defender D model year on record is 2021 (91.9% across 384 tests), and the weakest is 2020 (91.4%). The gap between them is 0.5 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Land Rover Defender D Owners

These checks follow this Land Rover Defender D's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Land Rover Defender D.

• the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”

  Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.

• the lights — “headlamp aim too high”

  Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

• the brakes — “brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”

  Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Land Rover Defender D. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Land Rover Defender D MOT & Reliability