2023 Land Rover Defender Electrical Problems

Mileage when the problem started

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2023 Land Rover Defender owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 - 60 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shuddered and vibrated with several unknown warning lights illuminated and flashing before the vehicle abruptly stalled and lost power in the middle of the freeway. The vehicle lost steering and braking functionality and was unable to accelerate. The vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that several vehicles almost crashed into the rear of the vehicle, and a semi-truck came to a screeching halt behind the vehicle. The contact experienced an extreme panic attack and severe anxiety during the failure. The Emergency Services were called to the scene and with the help of the Fire Department, Police, and Ambulance Services, the vehicle was moved from the roadway to safety. …

The contact owns a 2023 Land Rover Defender. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle shut off unintendedly. There was an unknown electrical warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failure with the DC converter Part Number: 433123464. The contact was informed that the part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the part was on backorder. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 61,000.

The vehicle experienced a sudden and complete electrical failure while driving, related to the DC converter. Warning lights did appear prior to the failure; however, I was driving down a mountainous road and do not recall the exact messages. Shortly after, the vehicle shut down and lost power, causing it to roll to a stop in active traffic. At the time of the incident, I was partially in the roadway and unable to safely move the vehicle out of traffic. The vehicle became inoperable and could not be restarted. I had two children and two dogs in the vehicle at the time. The vehicle had to be towed approximately two hours back home. The required part was on backorder for approximately two months due to so many vehicles having the issue, leaving my vehicle unusable for an extended period. …

Vehicle: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 P400 (MHEV) Component Failure: Failure of the 48V DC-DC converter module (L8B2-14B227-AD), which converts 48V to 12V and maintains the vehicle's 12V electrical system. The component is available for inspection. What Happened: Vehicle displayed "Charging System Fault" and red battery warning. Shortly after, the vehicle became inoperable and left driver stranded. Diagnostics showed: 48V battery retained voltage (~45V) No current output from the 48V system No 12V charging DTC: P065B-16 (Generator Control Circuit Voltage Below Threshold) The DC-DC converter reported "Failure / Standby" and would not initialize. High-voltage contactors did not close, preventing power delivery from the 48V system. Safety Risk: Failure disables 12V charging and can render the vehicle inoperable without warning. …

We purchased this vehicle new on 3/22/23. On 3/23/24 we started having "Charging System Fault" Red Warning Lights on the dash. Our first service to remedy this issue was on 3/23/24 with 288 miles on the vehicle. We have continued to have these issues, which has ultimately been determined to be related to the current open recall (NHTSA Recall Number 26V-248). We have been in the shop 5 times over the past 3 years for the same issue. Most recently, at 50,873 miles last week, the DC-DC converter failed and left us stranded. We had to have the vehicle towed to Land Rover Albany. Land Rover Corporate is stating that the issue is the DC-DC Converter per the open recall, but that because the vehicle is now out of warranty and they still dont have a remedy for the recall issue, that we have to pay out of pocket to have the vehicle repaired. …

DC-DC Converter failed, battery light came on mid-drive and I continued to drive to try and make it to my destination. Car systems started one by one shutting down, first my seat heater then eventually my steering and gas petal. The Vehicle then died and left me stranded in the middle of the road while cars were passing me leaving me unsafe and blocking the road for more than an hour untill a tow truck could arrive. I could have easily been in an accident if I was on a different road do to the steering assist and gas pedal not continuing to work. Making it unsafe for me and many people on the road. The car would also not turn on or go into neutral so I could push it off to the side. Making it a hazard blocking a major road. …

While driving the vehicle warnings alerted me that the battery was low and to start the vehicle ( it was running as I was driving) then the alert changed to pull over when possible. At this time the power steering and power brakes started to fail by the time I pulled into a parking lot the vehicle completely died and I had to push it into a parking spot. I called Land Rover they towed it to a dealership. The dealership in Orlando Florida said that the DC to DC converter failed and that it would need a new one (but the part is on a back order because it's a common issue and they have no idea how long it will take to get the part) it will take at least 30 days or more to get a new part. …

Car only has 42K miles on it- we were driving down the highway at approx 75mph, when the dash alarms started going off indicating an electrical system failure. A few minutes later all systems started flashing failures (lane keep assist system, braking system, etc)....then suddenly the gear box system failure alerted and the gears disengaged, the RPM's shot up and red-lined, and the CAR lost power in the middle of the highway. Fortunately we were able to get off to the shoulder without getting hit by a semi-truck. The car was completely dead. It had to be towed to a dealer, to find out that the DC/DC converter had failed- and these parts have been on back order for months- apparently this is a common issue with these cars, and people have been talking about it online...many have been without their car for 3-4 months waiting these parts.

On December 29th 2025 my car displayed an alert "Electrical Fault Detected: Please Pull Car Over Safely". I was in rural New Hampshire at the time so continued driving (for about 5 minutes) until I lost all power steering, stability controls and ability to drive the car - luckily by this point I had made it to Gorham, NH. Luckily it was just me in the car and not my family as the temps were below 10 F that day and Land Rover couldn't get a tow until the next day. Since then the car had to be towed to Land Rover Bedford and has been in the shop since as they dont have any DC Converters (Part number 433123464) in the US. Apparently there are 1400 Land Rover Defenders all sat in garage lots as nobody can get this part in the US from the manufacturer. There is no ETA on when the part will arrive in the US and I will have my car back.

A warning sign appeared stating the battery was not charging (something like that). When I turned off the car, another warning said to keep the car turned on the battery was low. I kept the car on and began to drive home, very quickly more warnings appeared, power was diminished, so I pulled into a parking lot and the car completely stopped. Tried to turn engine back on to get it into a parking spot, It would not start. Could not put the care in neutral to push it out of the way. Tried to put my hazard lights on, but they would not turn on. Had it towed to a shop, they told me it was a recall, towed it to JLR (Flatirons), and there it sits. Called JLR USA, they told me not to drive it until the recall repair is made, and it looks like January 2027 is the date there will be a fix.

Related recalls

Electrical complaints in other Defender years