The Land Rover Defender is loved for its ruggedness and go-anywhere abilities but it’s not impervious to issues, as evidenced by a new recall issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Fortunately, the recall does not impact regular customer cars.
Instead, the recall impacts 121 examples of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 that were modified by Jaguar Land Rover North America for the recent TReK off-road competition hosted by the company. This year’s competition was held at Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls, Texas, and featured 109 teams of Land Rover Retailer employees from the U.S. and Canada. All vehicles used in the competition were given identical modifications.
Read: Land Rover Defender 90 Marine Blue Edition Capped At 25 Units In Germany
A recall notice reveals that JLR North America did not reinstall the brake calipers as per the published repair procedure. What this means is that there is a risk the calipers could detach, reducing braking performance and possibly causing structural damage to the wheel, plus obviously increasing the risk of a crash.
During the TReK event, one of the vehicle’s brake calipers became detached. The car manufacturer quickly inspected the vehicle and later determined that the fault could impact other Defender 130s modified for the event. The impacted vehicles were manufactured between January 4, 2023, and May 31, 2023, and fortunately, the brake issue has not caused any crashes or accidents.
As part of the recall action, JLR will remove the brake calipers on impacted vehicles and reinstall them using the correct procedure. The fix will be performed free of charge.
Each of the Defender 130 models used at this year’s TReK event was equipped with a special matte black wrap and included off-road tires, a remote-controlled electric winch, custom LED lighting, a hitch-mounted hi-lift jack, and a suspension lift.
