JLR (the company formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover) has issued a recall for just 121 copies of its 2023 Defender 130 for the best reason to recall a car – the brake calipers can fall off.
Yeah. Let’s get those back to the shop. Carefully.
The problem isn’t quite as scary as it sounds.
JLR tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it is aware of no accidents or injuries related to the problem, and it’s limited to a tiny subset of vehicles that are all probably still found at Land Rover dealers.
The cars were modified for an off-road competition, the JLR North Americas TReK, in which dealership employees compete. They modify the SUVs for better off-road performance. “During the vehicle modification for the TReK event, reinstallation of brake calipers did not follow the published repair procedure,” JLR says.
As a result, “there is a risk the calipers may detach, resulting in degraded braking performance and possible structural damage to the wheel, increasing the risk of a crash.”
So this likely doesn’t affect your Land Rover. But if you happen to be driving one owned by a dealership and prepped for the race, stop driving it. Maybe come to a stop gradually. Ease off the gas on a long, empty straightaway and brake very, very gently. Then call for a tow.
Dealerships never charge for recall repairs. Manufacturers attempt to contact every owner, but they don’t always reach them all with the news. Find out if your car has ever been recalled at our recall center.
