Land Rover
307,302 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Discoverys pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 1.4 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
79.0%
Pass-after-fix
4.0%
Fail
16.2%
Avg miles
121,878
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Trim variants
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 307,240 tests
Pass rate climbs 12.1 points across the cohorts — newer Discovery examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
78.2%
Fail
16.9%
PRS
4.1%
Avg mileage at test
125,994 mi
Pass
90.3%
Fail
7.3%
PRS
1.8%
Avg mileage at test
63,762 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
Generations on file · 5
Land Rover Discovery · UK market
1989–1998
1998–2004
2004–2009
2009–2017
2017–now
Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.
The picture
The Land Rover Discovery is a diesel-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.
MOT data from 173,451 tests puts this car on a 75.6% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 119,792 miles. The most common fail item is failed number plate light, followed by worn suspension pin or bush.
Buyers weighing up a used Discovery should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
38–48
out of 50
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A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
12,457 occurrences · 4.1% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
10,276 occurrences · 3.3% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
9,432 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
7,686 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
6,022 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
5,376 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
3,927 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
3,676 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Body, cab or chassis excessively corroded at a mounting point
3,243 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
2,800 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures
£168–£515
If every one of this Discovery's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
Try the calculator
Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 12.1-point gap between bands means the year you buy Land Rover Discovery has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
90.3%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 90.3% — a 12.1-point improvement. Tests in this band average 63,762 miles — roughly 62K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, has a cut in excess of the… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
78.2%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 78.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, and pin or bush excessively worn. Average mileage on test for this band is 125,994 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (90.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (78.2% pass). That's a 12.1-point spread across 287,064 older tests and 20,176 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
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Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
Where it falls short
Owner reports (6 entries) flag recurring problems with engine failure, turbo, air conditioning.
2017 Discovery now on its third engine replacement due to loss of compression in cylinder one. It had a new engine at 42,000 miles/23 months. Owner bought it at 6 5,000 miles and at 70,000 miles it needed another engine replacement. Now needs a third new engine for the same reason - cylinder one compression low 56 per cent. Dealer is replacing engine again under warranty FOC. * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018
Report of alarm of 2017 Land Rover Discovery 5 going off in September 2019. Had been standing outside for a week during a week of heavy rain. Investigation found a leak from the windscreen and water in the footwells that shorted the battery causing the alarm. Despite many attempts to fix it, the battery still shorts and drains.
Report of further spate of thefts of underslung spare wheels from Land Rover Discovery. The design had been changed so that the wheel was now held on a winch only accessible from inside the vehicle. So now the thieves simply cut this winch resulting in an increased cost to replace this as well as the wheel. Owner found that a number of people have paid to replace the wheel and winch, only to have it stolen again. This is confirmed by her insurance company who told her that they have a lot of claims for this, and many of them are repeat ones.
Report of problems with 47,000 mile 2017 Land Rover Discovery 5 bought from Land Rover dealer in April 2019. Developed a fault whereby it would stall in reverse gear and also in Drive mode. Car has been back to the dealer 3 times for analysis and repair but problem persists. Owner picked it up again 12 days ago. Turbo and crankshaft had been replaced and owner advised that extensive testing had taken place.
Report of problem with Auto Stop/Star function on June 2017 Land Rover Discovery, automatic 2.0 litre Diesel at 21,000 miles. Mobile connection issued fixed, but after this stop/start stopped working unless a/c and heating is switched off.
Report of V6 diesel engine failure of 2018 LandRover Discovery 5 on the M6 in late February 2019. Car towed to Lloyd Land Rover, Carlisle where the engine was replaced without question and owner was made a very generous offer to part-exchange into a new 2.0 litre Range Rover Velar.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 6 reports indexed
Recall history
The Discovery has 55 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Discovery and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
