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

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

The Land Rover Defender HSE passed on its first attempt in 95.0%, and its overall record sits +14.2 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Land Rover Defender HSE in the 2023–2025 data: 397 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 HSE 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 HSE, 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 HSE's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

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

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Land Rover Defender HSE, each with how many of the model's 397 tests it was noted on.

• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 20 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 5.0% 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 7 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 1.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 4 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 1.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too low" (Rectified) — noted on about 3 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Rectified) — noted on about 2 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 0.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Daytime running lamps not working" (Major) — noted on about 2 Land Rover Defender HSE tests, 0.5% of the model's MOT record.

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

The strongest Land Rover Defender HSE model year on record is 2021 (95.5% across 247 tests), and the weakest is 2020 (94.7%). The gap between them is 0.8 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 HSE Owners

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

• 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 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.

• the lights — “headlamp aim too low”

  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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions: Land Rover Defender HSE MOT & Reliability