Land Rover DEFENDER problems and owner complaints

WHILE DRIVING MY 1993 LAND ROVER NAS DEFENDER 110 TO AN APPOINTMENT, I NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT COMPLETELY FILLED UP WITH SMOKE MAKING VISIBILITY POSSIBLE ONLY OUT THE OPEN DRIVER'S WINDOW. UPON OPENING THE HOOD, FLAMES POURED OUT. THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ABLAZE. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF, DESPITE THE IGNITION HAVING BEEN SHUT OFF AND THE KEY HAVING BEEN REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE ONLY WAY TO SHUT THE ENGINE OFF WAS TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. THE FIRE WAS BURNING THE AC EQUIP…

Owner-reported narrative. 76,893 miles reported. Look up ODI 10162882 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE DRIVING MY VEHICLE AT HIGH SPEEDS ON AN INTERSTATE, THE BATTERY WARNING LIGHT ACTIVATED. BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER THE AIR CONDITIONER I'LL PROBABLY BEGIN TO STOP WORKING. FOLLOWING THIS, A SERIES OF MULTIPLE WARNING LIGHTS ACTIVATED. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND I WAS FORCED TO PULL OVER. FOLLOWING THIS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACTIVATE WHATSOEVER. ALL POWER WAS LOST. I COULD NOT SHIFT GEAR. THE CAR REQUIRED A TOW TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP.

Owner-reported narrative. 1,297 miles reported. Look up ODI 11353875 at NHTSA ↗

THIS IS MORE OF A GENERAL COMPLAINT REGARDING A MODEL TYPE, AS IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF INCIDENTS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT ARE NOT BEING ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE INVOLVED VEHICLES ARE THE 1993 LAND ROVER DEFENDER-110, AND THE 1994-95 LAND ROVER DEFENDER-90. IT HAS BEEN FILTERING AROUND MOST ENTHUSIAST GROUPS THAT THESE TRUCKS ARE SUFFERING SOME TYPE OF EQUIPMENT FAILURE THAT IS CAUSING ENGINE BAY FIRES WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. THESE ALL SEEM TO OCCUR ON THE FRONT RIGHT SIDE OF THE E…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10162393 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE DRIVING ON STRAIGHT HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE'S LANE KEEP ASSIST FEATURE WHICH WAS TURNED OFF (THE DEFAULT POSITION) ACTIVATED AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT DRIVER INPUT OR WARNING AND CAUSED THE STEERING WHEEL TO TURN AND ABRUPTLY MOVED THE VEHICLE FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THIS REQUIRED THE DRIVER TO TAKE CORRECTIVE ACTION TO FORCE THE VEHICLE TO REMAIN STRAIGHT. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FORCE WAS REQUIRED TO OVERRIDE THE AUTOMATIC STEERING ACTION.

Owner-reported narrative. 800 miles reported. Look up ODI 11360178 at NHTSA ↗

AT 30,000 MILES, WE TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TO BE "SERVICED" MAINLY BECAUSE ANOTHER MECHANIC TOLD US THAT THE OIL WAS 'GUNKED'. THE DEALER INFORMED US THAT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE OR THE WARRANTY AND REPLACED THE OIL AT A CHARGE OF OVER $94.00. THEN AT 34,000, THE BRAKES SUDDENLY BEGAN TO GRIND AND THE BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON, WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WAS "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR" AND CHARGED US OVER $355.00 TO FIX THE BRAKES. AFTER ANOTHER 1,000 MILES, THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, WHEN WE CALLED THEM THEY TOLD US TO LEAVE IT …

Owner-reported narrative. 30,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10173902 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE DRIVING OUR ONE-MONTH OLD RANGE ROVER DEFENDER 110SE, THE BRAKES FAILED WITH NO WARNING. THE DEALERSHIP (PATRICK JAGUAR & LAND ROVER OF NAPERVILLE IL) WAS NON-RESPONSIVE TO MY REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE AND INFORMATION WHEN CALLED FROM ROADSIDE. VEHICLE HAD TO BE FLAT-BEDDED FROM SCENE. IT WAS TERRIFYING NOT TO HAVE BRAKING ABILITY.

Owner-reported narrative. 2,041 miles reported. Look up ODI 11349162 at NHTSA ↗

IN NOV. 2005 MY 2002 FREELANDER RAN HOT. WHILE CHECKING UNDER HOOD I NOTICED THE WATER RESERVOIR BOTTLE WAS EMPTY. I NOTIFIED HILTON HEAD LAND ROVER AND CARRIED THE VEHICLE TO THE THEM. THEY CHANGED THE RESERVOIR BOTTLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE NEXT MONTH THE VEHICLE RAN HOT AGAIN AND THE DEALER REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT AND TWO WEEKS LATER IT RAN HOT AGAIN. ON THIS VISIT IN WHICH EVERY VISIT TO THE DEALERSHIP IN AN HOUR FROM MY HOME THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ONE WEEK LATER THE ENGINE FROZE UP AND WOULD NOT START AND THE VEHICL…

Owner-reported narrative. 54,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10160064 at NHTSA ↗

Engine light came on while at a stop light, engine faltered completely and car stalled. Would not restart. Shifted car into Park and tried multiple times to restart, finally got it restarted. Rolled forward per the flow of traffic and engine died again in the middle of the intersection putting me directly in harm’s way. Multiple lights including engine light and dash warnings appeared. Pictures attached. This is a major safety issue, the car died and I could not move it forward. I was almost hit and could not get the car restarted, …

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11463932 at NHTSA ↗

Vehicle suspension fault detected light turned on. Vehicle keeps adjusting on its own while on the freeway in traffic. Feels like it stalls. Hear popping noise. Vehicle only had 14k miles and was never used for off roading.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11649892 at NHTSA ↗