Land Rover Defender: suspension MOT failures
Of the 669,569 Land Rover Defender MOT tests in this dataset, 7.7% recorded at least one suspension failure. It shows up most on 1996 and 2000 cars.
Worn drop links, bushes, springs or shocks — listen for knocks over bumps and check for uneven tyre wear. Typical repair cost: £150–£450 per corner (rough UK ballpark, not a quote).
Suspension failures by year
| Model year | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 1,192 | 8.6% |
| 1984 | 4,289 | 8.8% |
| 1985 | 7,759 | 8.0% |
| 1986 | 9,850 | 8.1% |
| 1987 | 9,722 | 8.9% |
| 1988 | 9,100 | 9.7% |
| 1989 | 11,706 | 9.5% |
| 1990 | 9,948 | 9.1% |
| 1991 | 10,457 | 9.5% |
| 1992 | 9,263 | 10.5% |
| 1993 | 11,781 | 9.8% |
| 1994 | 14,590 | 10.1% |
| 1995 | 18,225 | 10.6% |
| 1996 | 22,120 | 11.2% |
| 1997 | 21,153 | 10.9% |
| 1998 | 21,447 | 10.8% |
| 1999 | 18,948 | 11.1% |
| 2000 | 18,892 | 11.2% |
| 2001 | 19,713 | 10.4% |
| 2002 | 24,326 | 9.9% |
| 2003 | 27,528 | 9.3% |
| 2004 | 26,530 | 9.3% |
| 2005 | 25,845 | 9.0% |
| 2006 | 23,321 | 8.8% |
| 2007 | 24,576 | 8.1% |
| 2008 | 22,696 | 7.9% |
| 2009 | 21,539 | 7.7% |
| 2010 | 24,354 | 6.9% |
| 2011 | 24,127 | 6.4% |
| 2012 | 23,330 | 5.9% |
| 2013 | 25,605 | 5.1% |
| 2014 | 33,538 | 4.0% |
| 2015 | 37,493 | 3.5% |
| 2016 | 10,257 | 2.6% |
| 2017 | 302 | 5.6% |
| 2019 | 388 | 4.4% |
| 2023 | 545 | 0.4% |
Methodology & source. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.