The picture
Discovery at 75% — Engine and Suspension Worries Stack Up
Across 173,451 MOT tests at an average of 119,792 miles, the Land Rover Discovery passes at just 75.58%. Suspension pin and bush wear is the second most common failure, and rear plate lamp faults flag frequently. Owner reports reveal deeper problems: one 2017 Discovery required three separate engine replacements by 70,000 miles, each for loss of compression in cylinder one. A windscreen leak on another 2017 model caused water ingress to footwells and a shorted battery triggering repeated false alarms. At this age and mileage, independent pre-purchase inspections are essential — and factor engine health into any offer price.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
9,214 occurrences · 5.3% of tests
- 02
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
7,942 occurrences · 4.6% of tests
- 03
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
7,338 occurrences · 4.2% of tests
- 04
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
4,801 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
- 05
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
4,671 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
- 06
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
4,122 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
- 07
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
3,442 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 08
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
3,349 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
- 09
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
2,479 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
- 10
The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
2,382 occurrences · 1.4% 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
£128–£365
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.
Tools that pre-empt a retest.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Owner reports · Honest John
What owners actually report.
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
Recent owner-reported faults
- 23 Nov 2021
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
- 18 Jan 2020
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.
- 11 Sep 2019
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.
- 13 Aug 2019
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.
- 28 Jul 2019
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.
- 8 Mar 2019
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
Buying or keeping a Discovery?
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.