2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER — Complaint #2152110
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about EXTERIOR LIGHTING filed November 26, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2152110 (ODI reference 11701653) concerns a 2021 LAND ROVER DEFENDER and was filed on November 26, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 19, 2025. The report was geocoded to Pennsylvania 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 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 assembly. Reddit discussion: [XXX] ) Here is a Youtube video showing the issue and "fix". So many people have had this same issue that this guy figured out the problem: [XXX] ) The original warranty would have covered it but my warranty just expired earlier this year and the extended warranty will not cover it. The dealership is telling me that the entire headlamp assembly will need trashed and replaced all because this small "chip" within the unit has failed. The cost to repair is close to $3,000. Seeing that the issue causes the DRL's to fail which could lead to a failed vehicle inspection, the issue should be reported more widely and a recall should be issued. Thank you for your time! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2152110 |
| ODI Number | 11701653 |
| Date Filed | November 26, 2025 |
| Failure Date | November 19, 2025 |
| VIN | SALEJ7RX1M2 |
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 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
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 n
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.