2025 Land Rover Defender Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 3about this part
- Share
- 23%of 13 total for the year
- Median mileage
- —not reported
- Trend
- Too newThis model year is less than 4 years old, so a trend is not meaningful yet.
NHTSA recorded 3 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2025 Land Rover Defender, 23% of the 13 complaints for this model year.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“While driving on Back Rd in New Hampshire at approximately 30 mph on Saturday, Feb 14, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering assist and simultaneously shifted into neutral. I received warning messages and immediately lost propulsion. Luckily, there was no traffic on the road with me, but that is not always the case on this particular road. I had to manually steer the vehicle without power assist and muscle it to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was disabled in the road and required towing. …”
NHTSA complaint #11718508, filed 2026-02“The transfer case on my new 2025 LR Defender 130 went out at 5,000 miles. This unit distributes power to the axles. I was told that if I continue to drive it, it could seize up, possibly leading to a loss of control of the vehicle. Land Rover is aware that they installed a bad batch of transfer cases on their new vehicles. They have the batch number(s), and have apparently issued a 'service bulletin,' but not a recall. Nor did they contact owners to let them know of this problem proactively. Given the potential danger in the failure of this unit, a recall is the only safe option.”
NHTSA complaint #11708566, filed 2026-01“The DC converter went bad and within 30 seconds while driving on the highway I got a battery warning and then the car went into neutral and stopped and went into park and the car turned off in the middle of the road and couldn’t be moved at all. Luckily some cops came and protected the car from behind until a tow truck came. The part needed is out of stock and may not be in stock for months!”
NHTSA complaint #11717995, filed 2026-02Related service bulletins
- 11033270May 26, 2026Amber MIL being displayed on the Instrument Panel Cluster on vehicles equipped with a Gen4 transmission.
- 11033267May 21, 2026Amber MIL being displayed on the Instrument Panel Cluster on vehicles equipped with a Gen4 transmission.
- 11033264May 12, 2026Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is illuminated on the instrument panel.
- 11022429Aug 22, 2025Malfunction Indicator Lamp
- 11022471Aug 15, 2025Audible clunk noise from rear driveline during low-speed throttle inputs.
- 11021656Jul 12, 2025Coolant Level Low message displayed on the instrument panel cluster.
- 11021655Jul 12, 2025Clicking noise from the rear of the vehicle.
- 11021654Jul 12, 2025Stop Safely Electrical Fault Detected warning message on the instrument panel.
- 11020210Jun 14, 2025When selecting low range or off-road driving mode, customers may experience the following warning message displayed on the instrument panel Traction Reduced - 2 Wheel Drive Only.
- 11020212Jun 13, 2025Customer reports of a low-speed clonk type noise from the rear driveline, audible during low-speed throttle inputs, often coupled with up/down gear changes. The noise is audible…
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2025 Land Rover Defender
7 complaintsElectrical system
2 complaintsOther or unknown
2 complaintsEngine
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsSteering
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2025 Land Rover Defender
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology