2002 Land Rover Defender Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 2002 Land Rover Defender. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“The engine in my 2002 land rover freelander overheated at about 65k miles and made it the 10 miles or so to the dealership service center only because I kept stopping, removing the coolant tank cap, and replacing the fluid every few miles. The dealership service center told me that the engine had…”
“I own a 2002 freelander which leaked coolant and overheated because of a defective manifold gasket. Now I have engine problems. *tr”
“In nov. 2005 my 2002 freelander ran hot. While checking under hood I noticed the water reservoir bottle was empty. I notified hilton head land rover and carried the vehicle to the them. They changed the reservoir bottle to correct the problem. The next month the vehicle ran hot again and the…”
“In nov. 2005 my 2002 freelander ran hot. While checking under hood I noticed the water reservoir bottle was empty. I notified hilton head land rover and carried the vehicle to the them. They changed the reservoir bottle to correct the problem. The next month the vehicle ran hot again and the…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Land Rover Defender as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.