Fault File
All models / All cars / Family & large SUVs / Land Rover Discovery Sport

Land Rover Discovery Sport

All generations and engines together · 109,421 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 67k

Reliability verdict
CBy age
DBy miles

Graded against its peers

Middling for its age among SUVs, though worse than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and emissions/leaks. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.

First-time failure at age 7
18.3%
Across 19,940 tests. The average for SUVs is 16.4%.
First-time failure at 50-60k miles
17.5%
Across 16,133 tests. The average for SUVs is 15.1%.
Rank in its class
29 of 38
1 = lowest failure rate among the 38 SUVs we can rank.
Typical mileage at age 7
67k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Diesel oil dilution from DPF regen cycles

Confirmed pattern

The Ingenium diesel can let raw fuel wash past the piston rings during frequent forced regenerations, especially on cars doing mostly short runs. The oil level actually rises and thins out, and on the worst cases the interval between changes drops from the quoted 21,000 miles to as little as 3,000-12,000. Land Rover put out a Service Compliance Notification on 16 and 17 plate cars in July 2017 and a separate bulletin covering an oil pump fault (May 2018, cars built roughly VIN 748576-771222). Ignored for too long, the fix runs from a full flush and injector reset up to a rebuilt or replaced engine.

Reported from new, worsens with short journeys · sources: Honest John owner reports and Service Compliance Notification

B-pillar rattle and seatbelt anchor noise

Confirmed pattern

A creak or rattle from the B-pillar trim, worse in warm weather, traced to the seatbelt anchor point moving inside the pillar. It is common enough that Land Rover issued a technical bulletin (reference LBT00827) with a repair that has gone through more than one revision, up to drilling out welds and riveting the anchor in place. Owners report it from fairly early in the car's life, not just high mileage cars, and it can take several dealer visits to actually cure it.

Reported from 2015 onwards, any mileage · sources: Honest John owner reports and TSB LBT00827

Front suspension knocks, creaks and towing wander

Partly in the MOT data

Owners describe knocks and creaks from the front end, plus a wandering, unstable feel when towing that some say their previous car never had, most often flagged once the car is a few years old. Suspension is also the fault that shows up most in the measured MOT data for this class of large SUV, so the folklore and the numbers point the same way. What isn't clear from owner reports alone is whether it's bushes, drop links, top mounts or a mix wearing together; buyers should treat any knock as worth quoting for, not assume it's one cheap part.

Reported from around 3 years/40k miles · sources: Honest John owner reports, cross-checked against measured MOT suspension data

Gear selector faults and PTU/driveline failures

Emerging

A smaller but recurring set of owners report the automatic gear selector sticking or failing to respond in D or R, in a couple of cases seizing while moving at around 30mph, plus separate reports of the power transfer unit (PTU) needing new seals or a transfer gearbox. These aren't officially acknowledged as a pattern and seem to hit a minority of cars, but when they happen they're not cheap or quick to sort. Worth an extra careful test drive rather than a reason to walk away on its own.

Reported at varying mileages, no clear pattern yet · sources: Honest John owner reports

Electrical gremlins: flat batteries and infotainment reboots

Emerging

Owners doing mostly short trips report the battery going flat within a few weeks, sometimes needing more than one replacement before the parasitic drain is traced. Separately, the Touch Pro infotainment screen randomly rebooting or going blank, and the reversing camera cutting out intermittently, both come up repeatedly in owner reports. Neither is officially flagged as a fault pattern by Land Rover, and a battery or infotainment module swap usually clears it, but it's an annoyance rather than a one-off.

Reported at any age, worse on short-journey cars · sources: Honest John owner reports

Heavy AdBlue use on the diesel

DisputedDiesel only

Some diesel owners report the AdBlue tank needing topping up far more often than the roughly 11,600-mile figure quoted at launch, in some cases every 4,000 miles. It ties into the same emissions system that prompted a September 2015 EU6/SCR-related issue on early cars. It's a running-cost annoyance rather than a big repair bill, but worth asking about if you're buying a diesel and don't want surprise trips to top up.

Diesel models only, reported from new · sources: Honest John owner reports

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Bushes and ball joints Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 6.2% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 5.9%
Warning lights on ignitionRuns high on this model Turn the ignition on without starting the engine and watch the dash. Every warning light should appear, then go out once it is running. Be more suspicious of a light that never comes on at all than of one that stays on; warning bulbs have been known to vanish before a sale.Recorded on 2.0% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.4%
Underneath, with a torchRuns high on this model Get down and look at the sills, the subframes and the rear suspension mounting points. Flaking scale and bubbling matter; light surface rust does not. On older cars this is the one check that finds the fault that scraps them.Recorded on 1.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.6%
Brake pipes underneathRuns high on this model Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 1.6% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 0.4%
Dampers Look for oil misting on the damper body behind each wheel, then push down hard on each corner of the car. It should settle in one bounce. A floaty or crashy ride on the test drive is the same fault felt from the driver's seat.Recorded on 2.0% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.3%
Leaks Look at the ground where the car usually stands, then glance under the engine after your test drive. Fresh drips of oil or coolant are the cheapest warning you will ever get about a car.Recorded on 1.9% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%
Coil springs Look through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 1.3% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 1.4%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 25.7% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 20.1%
Pads and discsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 21.5% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 10.1%
Windscreen and wipers Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 2.4% of tests at age 6-9 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Check the dipstick on a diesel car: pull it when the engine's been off a few minutes and smell for fuel, and check the level hasn't crept above max. A diesel smell or overfull oil points at regen-related oil dilution.
Look through the service history for oil changes done well before the scheduled interval. Frequent early oil changes usually mean the dealer was already chasing dilution.
Tap and press the B-pillar trim near the seatbelt anchor, and ask if the car's had any rattle repairs done there. A creak here, or a repair already logged, is the known B-pillar fault.
Push down hard on each front corner and bounce it, then drive over a speed bump or rough patch listening for knocks. Any clonk or creak means front suspension components are due for a proper inspection, budget for it.
On an automatic, select D then R a few times from standstill and pull away firmly. Hesitation, a clunk, or a delay engaging drive suggests a selector or PTU/driveline fault worth investigating further.
Turn the infotainment screen on and off and check the reversing camera comes up cleanly. A slow boot, freeze, or blank camera feed is the known infotainment flakiness.
On a diesel, ask how often the AdBlue warning comes on and check the fuel receipts if available. Frequent AdBlue top-ups point to heavier-than-normal consumption on that particular car.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Land Rover Discovery SportClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 78,944 tests in this band.

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
6.2%class 5.9%
A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded
Advisory
3.2%class 1.3%
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
Advisory
2.0%class 2.3%
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
Fail
2.0%class 0.4%
Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users
Advisory
1.9%class 2.0%
A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded
Advisory
1.6%class 0.4%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Fail
1.3%class 1.4%
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
Fail
1.2%class 0.8%
An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source m
Fail
1.1%class 0.4%
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
1.0%class 1.3%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
28.9%class 22.9%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
21.5%class 10.1%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
15.9%class 8.7%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
12.1%class 13.4%
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt
Advisory
3.9%class 2.2%
A tyre seriously damaged
Fail
2.7%class 1.4%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Fail
2.5%class 1.6%
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
Minor
2.4%class 2.0%

Others in its class

Same segment (Family & large SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.

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How it compares

Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.

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