2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER — Complaint #1948045
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING filed December 5, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1948045 (ODI reference 11558558) concerns a 2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER and was filed on December 5, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 13, 2023. The report was geocoded to New Mexico based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as exterior lighting, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same LAND ROVER DEFENDER cohort independently describe similar exterior lighting failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The passenger side headlight is malfunctioning. The halo and outer bulbs do not come on which disables the daylight running lights and reduces the effectiveness of the headlight at night. There is no warning light or message indicating the failure. The vehicle has been inspected by the manufacturerâs dealer and they confirmed that the headlight is faulty. I feel like this issue should be repaired by the manufacturer and at their expense. My research has shown that this is a common issue in this vehicle and is reason for a recall.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1948045 |
| ODI Number | 11558558 |
| Date Filed | December 5, 2023 |
| Failure Date | November 13, 2023 |
| VIN | SALEY6RU8M2 |
Similar EXTERIOR LIGHTING Complaints for 2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER
Both daytime running lights failed simultaneously. Not covered by warranty and told that they would cost >$5,000 to repair. There have been hundreds of these reported and it should be a recall
The daytime running lights (DRL) have failed in the passenger side. After some quick research, it's apparent that this is a widespread issue with the "Signature" halo lights in the Defender headlamp a
The halo headlight went out, and I have an extended warranty that supposedly doesn't cover it. After researching, this seems to be a national event. The headlights need to be recalled and the manufact
1. The driver side DAYTIME Running Light has failed as of 1/20/25. 2. Some states require the DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS to be operating. (So, I need to replace this headlamp.) 3. Three auto repair c
Headlamps are faulty. Replaced the drivers side at almost the end of the 49k miles and after about another 900 miles, the passenger side went out. There is a defect with these lights and theyâre bac
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.