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

Pass rate, every year

93.7% Above average

2,178 tests across 2 model years, 2021–2022.

+12.7 pts vs the national average

MOT PASS RATES

How the Land Rover Defender Xs really fares

93.7% of its MOTs pass — over 2,178 class-4 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rates

Every figure on this page comes from the DVSA's MOT test record.

The Land Rover Defender Xs MOT pass rate is 93.7%, +12.7 percentage points above the UK average. That is 2,178 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2021 and 2022. This page lists the most common Land Rover Defender Xs MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Land Rover Defender Xs MOT pass rates does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

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

The Land Rover Defender Xs passed on its first attempt in 93.3%, and its overall record sits +12.7 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Land Rover Defender Xs in the 2023–2025 data: 2,178 tests across 2 model years (2021–2022). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

MeasureThis model
Tests analysed2,178
Overall pass rate93.7%
Passed on first attempt93.3%
Average mileage at test32,569 mi
Model years covered2021–2022 (2 years)
Versus UK national average+12.7 pts above

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

Most Common Land Rover Defender Xs 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 Xs, the Visibility section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Inspection section Share of failures Est. recorded instances
Visibility 40% 68
Tyres 33% 56
Identification of the vehicle 10% 17
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 9% 15
Brakes 4% 6
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems 3% 5
Noise, emissions and leaks 2% 4

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

Visibility

Around 40% of the recorded Land Rover Defender Xs failures fall in the Visibility section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (2.7%), "Wipers blade defective" (0.4%) among the Land Rover Defender Xs's visibility faults.

Tyres

Around 33% of the recorded Land Rover Defender Xs failures fall in the Tyres section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (1.8%), "Has ply or cords exposed" (0.5%), "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (0.3%) among the Land Rover Defender Xs's tyres faults.

Identification of the vehicle

Around 10% of the recorded Land Rover Defender Xs failures fall in the Identification of the vehicle section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements" (0.8%) among the Land Rover Defender Xs's identification of the vehicle faults.

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

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Land Rover Defender Xs, each with how many of the model's 2,178 tests it was noted on.

  • "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 59 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 2.7% 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 39 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 1.8% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements" (Major) — noted on about 17 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 0.8% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Has ply or cords exposed" (Major) — noted on about 10 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 0.5% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 9 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 0.4% of the model's MOT record.
  • "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 7 Land Rover Defender Xs tests, 0.3% of the model's MOT record.

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

The strongest Land Rover Defender Xs model year on record is 2022 (93.7% across 1,555 tests), and the weakest is 2021 (93.6%). The gap between them is 0.1 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Year Tests Pass rate First attempt Avg mileage Most common failure
2022 Defender Xs 1,555 93.7% 93.3% 30,479 mi Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting drive
2021 Defender Xs 623 93.6% 93.2% 34,658 mi Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting drive

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

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Land Rover Defender Xs Owners

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

  • 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 number plates — “registration plates does not conform to the specified requirements”

    Check both plates are present, legible and correctly spaced, with the postcode of the supplier and the BS AU 145e mark. A private plate in the wrong style is a fail before the car is even looked at.

  • the wipers and washers — “wipers blade defective”

    Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.

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

Frequently Asked Questions: Land Rover Defender Xs MOT & Reliability

What is the Land Rover Defender Xs MOT pass rate?

93.7% of the 2,178 recorded Land Rover Defender Xs MOT tests ended in a pass, +12.7 percentage points above the national average. 93.3% of those passed on the first attempt.

Which Land Rover Defender Xs model years pass the MOT most often?

2022 is the strongest Land Rover Defender Xs year on record at 93.7%, while 2021 is the weakest at 93.6%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.

What are the most common Land Rover Defender Xs MOT failures?

The most recorded Land Rover Defender Xs failures are "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" and "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" — together around 5% of tests, mostly in the Visibility section.