2023 LAND ROVER DEFENDER — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 – 60 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shuddered and vibrated with several unknown warning lights illuminated and flashing before the vehicle abruptly stalled and lost power in the middle of the freeway. The vehicle lost steering and braking functionality and was unable to accelerate. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that several vehicles almost crashed into the rear of the vehicle, and a semi-truck came to a screeching halt behind the vehicle. The contact experienced an extreme panic attack and severe anxiety during the failure. The Emergency Services were called to the scene and with the help of the Fire Department, Police, and Ambulance Services, the vehicle was moved from the roadway to safety. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the DC-to-DC converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the part was on back order and that the vehicle could not be immediately repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

An electrical component called the DC DC converter failed in my 2023 Land Rover Defender. I discovered the failure after starting the car after work. A warning that the battery was not charging presented itself. I didn't think it was a major issue and could be something reset easily. I was able to get the car home safely but shortly after the car was completely non functional and could have potentially shut down right on the interstate on my drive home. Currently my car has been at the dealership for over two weeks waiting on a new converter because it is on backorder. This part is quite fragile and its failure can leave drivers stranded on the highway.

The dc dc converter failed and had to be towed away. The incident happened while I was driving the vehicle.

Vehicle was started, while still in park, an alert appeared on the dashboard “stop safely electrical fault detected”. Vehicle was turned off and restarted, with the same warning light on. Called LR dealer, Vehicle was backed out of garage at service advisors advice, parked and flatbed tow truck called.

While driving on the freeway I recieved and elctrical fault detected please pull over when safe. The issue is the DC to DC converter failed resultign in the loss of charging for the car and relaince on stored elctricity in the battery to drive systems. I was on the highway at freeway speeds and had to exit the highway quickly to avoid the vehicle completly shutting down on the freeway. The dealer has verified the issue. There is significant discussion on owner boards about the numerous failures across all years of the mhev defender resulting in owners being stranded on the side of the road. Land Rover needs to issue a recall to replace this defective part.