Land Rover / Discovery / 1996
1996 Land Rover Discovery problems
Owners have filed 111 complaints about the 1996 Land Rover Discovery with NHTSA. Service brakes, hydraulic account for 15.3% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of structure at 11.7%.
Complaints111
Crashes5
Fires0
Injuries5
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Service brakes, hydraulic 15.3% · 17
Structure 11.7% · 13
Electrical system 8.1% · 9
Latches/locks/linkages 8.1% · 9
Vehicle speed control 8.1% · 9
Visibility 7.2% · 8
Fuel system, gasoline 5.4% · 6
Unknown or other 4.5% · 5
Severity
Of those complaints, 5 describe a crash and 5 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Filings have fallen off, 8 in the last three years against 14 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 140,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Consumer has safety concern involving the anti-lock braking system on a 1996 Land Rover Discovery I. *Mr anti-lock brake light illuminated intermittently. When the brake light is off, the brake pedal is hard making it difficult to stop the vehicle. When the brake light is on, the vehicle is safe to stop however there are no anti-lock brakes. Dealer notified. *Tt Service brakes, hydraulic
Abs light is on. Brakes appear to work normal. Occasional, for no appearant reason abs kicks on and causes brakes vibrate/pulse and make it extremely difficult to stop. After that for a short period the abs light is off. Closest dealer is 3 hours away and I can't find anyone aroud to look at it. Service brakes, hydraulic · reported at 100 miles
On multiple occasions, applying the brakes has caused the engine to race, accelerating the car while causing the brake power assist to fail. Without power assist, braking requires very high pedal pressure and makes it very difficult to stop the car. Thi Service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…