Land Rover Defender Hard Top MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

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

The Land Rover Defender Hard Top passed on its first attempt in 94.0%, and its overall record sits +13.2 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Land Rover Defender Hard Top in the 2023–2025 data: 5,572 tests across 3 model years (2021–2023). 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 Hard Top 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 Hard Top, 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 Hard Top's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

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

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Land Rover Defender Hard Top, each with how many of the model's 5,572 tests it was noted on.

• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 204 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 3.7% 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 61 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 1.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too high" (Rectified) — noted on about 46 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction" (Major) — noted on about 38 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 0.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 36 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements" (Major) — noted on about 29 Land Rover Defender Hard Top tests, 0.5% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Land Rover Defender Hard Top Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Land Rover Defender Hard Top model year on record is 2023 (96.8% across 63 tests), and the weakest is 2021 (94.1%). The gap between them is 2.7 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Land Rover Defender Hard Top reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Land Rover Defender Hard Top Owners

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

• 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 Hard Top. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Land Rover Defender Hard Top MOT & Reliability