The key phrase in all of this is '...discovered during internal engineer testing...'
Why wasn't the testing done before the issue became a mass recall on cars already sold to customers...like during the assembly process and before they left the factory?
It's not like this potential safety issue spread over so many models and model years will only effect sales on new Land Rovers across the entire range but also used car sales.
I expect Volvo and BMW execs will still be mopping up the coffee they spat out when they read the bulletin...
So far, I've only seen this referring to American vehicles. Do UK/EU vehicles also have the same problem?
The articles I've seen also say that the airbags still work correctly so it's not a safety issue - if that's true, what is the problem and why does it need a recall?
MY2026 D5 Metropolitan D350 - finally arrived after the cyber attack.
MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - sold....MY2019 D5 HSE SD6 - sold
I think the phrase used was 'no recorded instances of airbags failing to deploy'. It doesn't mean it's not a safety issue...it's certainly enough of a concern that a safety recall has been initiated by Land Rover across a wide range of their top selling vehicles in the US.
For it to become serious enough for a mass recall means the issue has been detected on several vehicles across the entire Land Rover range of models using the same part or system. They don't announce a recall because they found one airbag that failed a safety process...or part of one...during internal testing.
As to whether this is strictly a US issue or limited to left hand drive models... there's no clear indication and as to whatever 'internal engineering' process was used to discover this safety concern...the information is decidedly vague. Was it initiated by Land Rover, the US transport safety board or via some external testing through a third party?
The effected range of vehicles sold in the US are imported ...as far as I know without looking it up... and not manufactured or assembled in country.
The fact that this serious safety issue has gone unnoticed or undetected/unreported for over 6 years across such a wide range of high end Land Rover models and apparently only in the US (for now) is strange (it almost triggers my bullsh*t detection meter) since EU and UK vehicle and component safety testing are some of the most rigorous on the planet...but...this is a very genuine public safety concern whether it's a storm in a teacup being recorded in the US or not.
Now that it's been made official and very public, besides the further of erosion of public confidence in Land Rover products internationally, a single instance of a suspected airbag failure resulting in death or serious injury would be disastrous.
We'll have to wait and see if there's further information from Land Rover or the EU/UK transport safety organisations whether it's solely a US issue or whether UK/EU vehicles or those sold world wide are effected or not.
Hell...in the current epoch of the orange man child, it could be a MAGA ploy to sell more Ford Rangers and Humvee's. Whatever the reason for this recall initiative, corporate Land Rover's hands are tied.
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Last edited by Mole HD on 24th Jun 2026 5:39 pm. Edited 3 times in total
This sounds preventive vs reactive. Land Rover puts millions of miles on their test fleets. Sometimes vehicles need to age before problems become evident - it could be that there is some premature wear item that is only now becoming noticeable.
In the US, the spectre of the Takata airbag recall resulting from people literally having their throats slashed with shrapnel when airbags went off hangs heavy, so any automaker would want to get way ahead of any risk, especially JLR who is struggling financially.
I dropped my car off at the dealer's this morning to have a minor oil leak fixed. Apparently it's also getting a new airbag module. I think they said the diver's side but then digressed in to talking about the passenger side on other vehicles (previous Evoque recall??).
There IS a recall in the UK. The dealers have been told to start doing vehicles as they come in for other reasons and there is going to be a letter going out to owners probably in August to round up other affected vehicles.
MY2026 D5 Metropolitan D350 - finally arrived after the cyber attack.
MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - sold....MY2019 D5 HSE SD6 - sold
Thanks Jon. At least I know the Bling Barge won't be recalled this time as it's way too old. The N-877 security update was enough of a major expedition to put me off heading to the dealership any time soon.
So far, I've only seen this referring to American vehicles. Do UK/EU vehicles also have the same problem?
The articles I've seen also say that the airbags still work correctly so it's not a safety issue - if that's true, what is the problem and why does it need a recall?
A member of my family works at JLR powertrain development and they have told me it is something to do with chemicals used within the air bag deployment. These chemicals are showing to be unstable in that sometimes a deployment fails to have sufficient energy to work correctly or the other extreme - they go off like a bomb with too much energy.
If it is chemicals in the airbag deployment it will fall back on the airbag manufacturer to pay the recall costs. Sounds like another Takata air bag fiasco.
The air bag campaign is D121. Done free of charge, obviously, but the invoiced cost to LR was only £23.20.
This low cost seems to correlate with this information that I was able to find online:
Quote:
Actual problem:
The issue is not the airbag inflator itself. It is the driver’s airbag clockspring connector — the rotating electrical connection behind the steering wheel that keeps the airbag connected while the wheel turns.
The US NHTSA document says the driver’s airbag clockspring connector may corrode, which can cause the driver’s airbag not to deploy as intended in a crash. It covers certain 2020–2026 Defender, 2021–2026 Discovery and 2022–2026 Range Rover vehicles, with 250,857 affected in the US filing.
The mechanism being reported is fretting corrosion: tiny movement/vibration at connector terminals creates oxidation, increasing electrical resistance in the airbag circuit. If resistance becomes too high, the SRS system may not be able to fire the driver’s airbag correctly. Carscoops reports that JLR saw increased warranty claims for airbag warning lamps, found oxide on returned clockspring connector pins, and linked this to increased resistance in the driver airbag circuit.
Remedy:
The published US remedy is surprisingly simple: dealers apply a protective lubricant gel to the driver’s airbag connector terminals, free of charge.
MY2026 D5 Metropolitan D350 - finally arrived after the cyber attack.
MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - sold....MY2019 D5 HSE SD6 - sold
Got the letter for this recall today. As stated above, the solution is just some lubricant gel on the electrical contacts at the clock spring. Don't know what they have to do to access the contacts though.
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