Does the Land Rover Defender fail the MOT on steering more than it should?
The Land Rover Defender records 18.77 steering failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 4.75 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+14.02, 95% interval +13.91 to +14.12). It ranks 2 of 640 models on steering (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on steering · check a Land Rover Defender by registration
What exactly fails on steering?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Land Rover Defender is “Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated”, recorded 38,905 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated | 38,905 | 6.00 |
| Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc | 33,297 | 5.14 |
| A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play | 22,783 | 3.51 |
| Steering box leaking oil | 5,788 | 0.89 |
| Power steering fluid leaking or system malfunctioning | 3,125 | 0.48 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 648,232 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Land Rover Defender gets a steering advisory, how often does it fail next time?
24.7% of Land Rover Defender MOTs with a steering advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 2,828 miles later (44,573 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 44,573 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Land Rover Defender 1998 · Land Rover Defender 1999 · Land Rover Defender 2000 · Land Rover Defender 2001 · Land Rover Defender 2002 · Land Rover Defender 2003 · Land Rover Defender 2004 · Land Rover Defender 2005 · Land Rover Defender 2006 · Land Rover Defender 2007 · Land Rover Defender 2008 · Land Rover Defender 2009 · Land Rover Defender 2010 · Land Rover Defender 2011 · Land Rover Defender 2012 · Land Rover Defender 2013 · Land Rover Defender 2014 · Land Rover Defender 2015 · Land Rover Defender 2016 · Land Rover Defender 2020 · Land Rover Defender in the Netherlands · Land Rover Defender by postcode area · Land Rover Defender body, chassis and structure failures · Land Rover Defender brakes failures · Land Rover Defender vehicle identification failures · Land Rover Defender lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Land Rover Defender noise, emissions and leaks failures · Land Rover Defender road wheels failures · Land Rover Defender seat belts and airbags failures · Land Rover Defender suspension failures · Land Rover Defender tyres failures · Land Rover Defender visibility failures