Land Rover Recalls 250,000 Vehicles in the U.S. over Faulty Airbags

• This recall involves 250,857 units of the 2022-2026 Range Rover, 2021-2026 Discovery, and 2020-2026 Defender.

• The driver airbag’s connector can corrode and prevent deployment during a collision.

• The number of vehicles affected in Canada is unknown at the moment.

Land Rover issued a recall for over 250,000 of its vehicles in the United States earlier today, relating to an issue with the driver’s airbag.

Indeed, the Indian-owned British automaker warns that the driver’s airbag in 250,857 units of the 2022-2026 Range Rover, 2021-2026 Discovery, and 2020-2026 Defender might not deploy in a collision.

This is reportedly due to fretting corrosion of the airbag’s connector in the steering wheel clockspring, which is caused by vibrations that happen under normal driving conditions.

According to tests performed by Land Rover and the supplier of the connector, this type of corrosion can increase the resistance of the connector and thus prevent the airbag from deploying when the airbag module sends current to the inflator during a collision.

Of course, an airbag not deploying when it is supposed to can significantly increase the risk of injuries and their severity, which is what prompted this recall.

Fortunately, Land Rover hasn’t received any reports of airbag non-deployment in the United States, and no injuries related to this recall have been reported either.

The problem was discovered after an internal investigation was launched a year ago following an increase in warranty claims for an illuminated airbag warning lamp.

It was found that the warning lamp usually comes on at least 483 to 644 kilometres (300 to 400 miles) before the airbag could fail to deploy in a crash.

To prevent fretting corrosion from forming on the connector’s surfaces, Land Rover added a lubricant gel to the components in vehicles produced from the end of May and the start of June.

This same solution will be employed by dealerships on customer vehicles.

Since the investigation couldn’t identify a specific population of vehicles that was more at risk than others of presenting this problem, all of the recalled Range Rovers, Discoveries, and Defenders will receive the lubricating gel, without relying on an inspection to determine if it is necessary.

Owners of the affected models in the United States will be notified by mail on or before August 7^th, 2026.

It is still unknown how many vehicles might be recalled in Canada for this issue, as Transport Canada hasn’t issued a recall notice at the time of writing, but we expect the number to be significant.

Source: NHTSA