Thread: How reliable has your Defender been from new?

Originally Posted by scarry

That is a closed group.

Hmmm,bugga.What happened?

I looked at that vid I posted up again,and the vehicle is probably the wrong choice for the job,in my opinion only.
A bit more research and all would have been revealed before the purchase.

The weights are the biggest issue,with a few other gripes that he mentions.

It was going into limp mode occasionally. Rather than press on he decided to get it delivered to Land Rover service. Not sure but suspect it might be a DPF issue as it is consuming a lot of Adblue.

Clicked over 65,000km the other day. It’s booked in for the next service (68,000km) in a few weeks.

Only issue - 2 windshields..

Originally Posted by NT5224

Hi folks

I've started to see a few of the new Defenders around in the Top End which has peeked my curiosity. So Im curious to know what the ownership experience has been like for the new vehicle?

On the Australian product review website, Defender 2020-2022 owner reports average 2 stars. Some of the horror stories written by frustrated owners and the vitriol aimed at Jaguar Land Rover is astonishing. Are they really that bad? Im fully aware that these product review websites tend to draw complaints and negative reviews rather than those from satisfied owners.

Therefore I'm coming to this forum for an alternative perspective. I'm genuinely interested in the experience of buying and owning a new Defender. Was it was fully functional on delivery, and what has been your subsequent service and maintenance experience? Have you been impacted by the current supply chain and parts shortages?

Cheers

Alan

2021 D200 90 28,000 kms including some of the toughest off road tracks in NZ. No issues (except for 3 sidewalls in a month on those dreadful Goodyear tyres). Lovely to drive, ample power, grand touring car, Pivi sometimes unintelligible. Had the 3 previous 90 series this one a whole new ball game

MY23.5 110 D300 SE , just did 10k km in 3month.

Have the following replaced at 5k km

1. RHF Lower Control Arm
2. LHF Door Channel Seal
3. Outer Glass Weather Seal
4. Inner Glass Moulding

As of now Im hearing creaking noise from the left Safari window, so not sure if anyone have encountered this. I might have to take it back to the dealership again for a fix.

Other than the above, I love the car, it is very comfortable for long trips, and a solid car all round. I have test driven the new RRS.

I would still go for Defender because it is like an offroad version of RRS, has both the comfort (very similar to RRS) , enough luxury (interior not too far apart from RRS, RRS slightly better due to leather and Seat design) but with utility capability.

The only thing I wish to have is the Dynamic function from PIVI Pro, so I can choose COMFORT or DYNAMIC for Engine,Steering,Susspension and GearShift. I believe only the V8 has them. but in the States, it can be software activated, as well as other features.

Have a good weekend all.

Cheers
J

Hi Just ticked over 50K. Only issue is the coolant low warning light pops up randomly and turns itself off again after turning a corner or hitting a bump.Level is ok no loss. Will get it checked soon.
The defender has been off-road a few times love it.
Cheers

Just an update on my Defender. Since my last post in August 22 I became suspicious of the ride which I thought was a little bit brutal. I had driven a neighbour's Fender and the ride was luxurious nothing like mine. Many visits to the dealer who insisted that there was nothing wrong. Changed dealers who said the same. Earlier this year I knew I had a problem. Bought a GAP Diagnostics tool and with a lot of help from very knowledgable friend we finally found that Damper Current which opens the bypass valves in the damper was not as it should be. I sent these graphs to ULR together with ones that Patrick at GAP and also from a friend who had the tool. Finally ULR did another another test called a picoscope and agreed that the chassis controls module was not working correctly. They have ordered one but it's taking a long time to be delivered. This has been going on for a year now and the whole thing has been very frustrating. Why both dealers did not do the picoscope test in first place I don't know. Why the dealer's standard diagnostic tool doesn't do this test I don't know. I reckon that there must be other Fenders with this problem. It's not so noticeable in the suburbs and a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Apart from very squeaky door seals the car has been good.
In the meantime I really hope it's sorted before a big trip in October.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about the new deefers being harsh and some questioning the ride control. Good luck trying to get it resolved buddy.

Originally Posted by discojools

Just an update on my Defender. Since my last post in August 22 I became suspicious of the ride which I thought was a little bit brutal. I had driven a neighbour's Fender and the ride was luxurious nothing like mine. Many visits to the dealer who insisted that there was nothing wrong. Changed dealers who said the same. Earlier this year I knew I had a problem. Bought a GAP Diagnostics tool and with a lot of help from very knowledgable friend we finally found that Damper Current which opens the bypass valves in the damper was not as it should be. I sent these graphs to ULR together with ones that Patrick at GAP and also from a friend who had the tool. Finally ULR did another another test called a picoscope and agreed that the chassis controls module was not working correctly. They have ordered one but it's taking a long time to be delivered. This has been going on for a year now and the whole thing has been very frustrating. Why both dealers did not do the picoscope test in first place I don't know. Why the dealer's standard diagnostic tool doesn't do this test I don't know. I reckon that there must be other Fenders with this problem. It's not so noticeable in the suburbs and a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Apart from very squeaky door seals the car has been good.
In the meantime I really hope it's sorted before a big trip in October.

also described here:

Hard suspension