Land Rover Discovery MOT failure rate and common faults
124,019 Land Rover Discovery cars aged 3 to 20 took their MOT in 2025, and 23.3% failed at the first attempt. An average car of the same age failed 28.9% of the time, which makes the Land Rover Discovery 19% less likely to fail than the typical car on the road. Here is what fails, and which years to look for.
23.3%
failed first time
124,019 MOT tests in 2025
-19%
vs same age average
average car of this age mix: 28.9%
55 of 208
age adjusted rank
among cars; 1 fails least
93.5
dangerous defects per 1,000
same age average: 106.0
What fails on a Land Rover Discovery MOT
Failure items recorded per 1,000 tests, by part of the car, set against an average car with exactly the same spread of ages. A figure well above average is a weak spot worth checking before you buy.
The most common Land Rover Discovery MOT failures
The individual failure items testers recorded most often, per 1,000 tests.
| Failure item | Area | Per 1,000 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn | Suspension | 48.7 |
| Tyres: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Tyres | 23.9 |
| Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded | Brakes | 21.8 |
| Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick | Brakes | 21.0 |
| Position lamp: not working | Lights and electrics | 19.5 |
| Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps | Lights and electrics | 17.2 |
| Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively | Windscreen, wipers and mirrors | 16.4 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm | Tyres | 15.8 |
| Drive shafts: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt | Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts | 15.4 |
| Tyres: has ply or cords exposed | Tyres | 15.3 |
Land Rover Discovery MOT failure rate by year
Every car fails more often as it ages, so each registration year is compared with the average for all cars of the same age. Years with fewer than 500 tests are left out.
| First registered | Tests | Failed | Same age average | Average mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5,760 | 14.0% | 11.4% | 33,000 |
| 2021 | 8,221 | 13.4% | 12.8% | 44,200 |
| 2020 | 5,877 | 13.8% | 14.1% | 56,400 |
| 2019 | 7,882 | 13.9% | 16.5% | 65,600 |
| 2018 | 8,449 | 14.5% | 19.1% | 73,200 |
| 2017 | 9,718 | 18.2% | 21.8% | 78,300 |
| 2016 | 9,566 | 19.5% | 25.1% | 90,900 |
| 2015 | 9,028 | 20.4% | 28.1% | 102,900 |
| 2014 | 7,281 | 23.2% | 31.4% | 111,600 |
| 2013 | 6,174 | 25.9% | 34.3% | 121,700 |
| 2012 | 6,478 | 27.3% | 36.6% | 127,500 |
| 2011 | 5,712 | 28.8% | 38.8% | 134,400 |
| 2010 | 5,910 | 29.6% | 40.7% | 140,400 |
| 2009 | 4,739 | 33.2% | 41.8% | 145,300 |
| 2008 | 4,296 | 35.3% | 42.9% | 151,000 |
| 2007 | 5,637 | 36.1% | 42.7% | 154,800 |
| 2006 | 6,562 | 37.9% | 43.0% | 162,100 |
| 2005 | 6,729 | 35.3% | 42.4% | 165,400 |
Advisories to look for in a Land Rover Discovery's MOT history
An advisory is a tester's warning that something is wearing but has not failed yet. These are the ones written most often on the Land Rover Discovery, per 1,000 tests. If the car you are looking at has one of these, ask whether it has been fixed since.
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge244.9
- Suspension arms: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement171.1
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material115.9
- Brake pads: wearing thin106.1
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened106.0
- Flexible brake hoses: has slight corrosion to ferrule55.1
Checking a used Land Rover Discovery before you buy
Against cars of the same age, the Land Rover Discovery fails more often than average on body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts and seat belts and airbags. Start there.
Body, chassis, exhaust and drive shafts
Turn the steering to full lock and look behind each front wheel: the rubber boots on the drive shafts should be whole, with no grease sprayed around. Then get down with a torch and check the exhaust hangers, sills, floor and subframes for rust.
Seat belts and airbags
Pull every seat belt out fully and let it retract, check each buckle latches, and make sure the airbag warning light goes out after starting.
Averages only take you so far. The specific car's MOT history shows whether it has already failed on any of these, how often advisories were ignored, and whether the mileage climbs steadily from test to test. Read our guide to reading a car's MOT history before you go to view it.
Land Rover Discovery MOT questions
What is the Land Rover Discovery MOT failure rate?
23.3% of Land Rover Discovery cars failed their first MOT test of 2025, from 124,019 tests on vehicles aged 3 to 20. An average car with the same age mix failed 28.9% of the time, so the Land Rover Discovery was 19% less likely to fail.
What fails most often on a Land Rover Discovery MOT?
Brakes caused the most failure items, at 117 per 1,000 tests. The single most common failure item was "Suspension arms: pin or bush excessively worn", recorded 48.7 times per 1,000 tests.
Which Land Rover Discovery year has the best MOT record?
Measured against cars of the same age, 2015 registrations did best: 20.4% failed against an average of 28.1% for cars that age. Older cars always fail more often, so compare a year with its age group rather than with newer cars.
Does this tell me whether a particular Land Rover Discovery will pass?
No. These are averages across every Land Rover Discovery tested in 2025. The car in front of you has its own record: its full MOT history shows every pass, failure and advisory it has had, and it is free to view by registration.
Other Land Rover models
- Range Rover Evoque17.7% failed
- Range Rover Sport19.3% failed
- Land Rover Discovery Sport19.0% failed
- Land Rover Freelander34.0% failed
- Range Rover19.6% failed
- Land Rover Defender22.1% failed
Ranked close to the Land Rover Discovery
- Skoda Kodiaqrank 52
- Peugeot 108rank 53
- Audi A5rank 54
- Kia Stonicrank 56
How these figures are calculated
Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 release. We count first tests of cars and small vans (class 4) aged 3 to 20, so a car that fails and is retested is counted once. A failure includes faults fixed and passed within the same visit. The same age average weights the national failure rate for each age by how many Land Rover Discovery cars of that age were tested, so a model is never penalised for having an older fleet. Make and model are as recorded at the test; trim levels are combined. Full method and rankings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.