Land Rover Discovery 2004-2016 Reliability & Common Problems

Is the Land Rover Discovery 4 reliable?

The fourth-generation Discovery 4 has a rather sketchy reliablity record, and we'd urge you to buy an example with a full service history for peace of mind – or one that has been looked after by a reputable independent specialist at the very least.

As long as the car has been meticulously maintained and repaired using geniuine Land Rover parts, you shouldn't run into any major problems. But be prepared for hefty bills should parts being to fail.

Engine: Detecting crank failure is difficult, because the engine is pretty gruff at idle anyway. But if it sounds a little lumpier than normal, take this as an early warning: full engine replacement required. Ouch.

Inlet manifolds can crack on high-mileage diesels, so venture up to motorway speeds to see if it goes into limp-home mode.

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves can also crack. They can be blanked off with plates or replaced, but the latter can involve lifting the body from the car, so not a cheap job.

Suspension: Air suspension failure is a pretty common issue. Make sure the car is level and isn’t listing to one corner and check that the ride height raises and lowers evenly. Listen out for any strange noises from a dying compressor.

Front lower control arms wear over time but should be replaced every 50,000 miles anyway.

Gearbox: Make sure the gearbox has had an oil and filter change; if not, run a mile.

An owner’s view

Charlie Knifton, Kniftons Mobile Toilets: “I bought a 2015 facelifted Discovery 4 to tow my fleet of luxury mobile toilet trailers. At present, I still have my 2015 model, as well as two 2016 Discovery 4s and a Discovery 5. They’re brilliant tow cars and regularly tasked with towing trailers upwards of three tonnes. They have plenty of power and the gearbox is really smooth. Sure, we’ve had lots of warning lights on the dashboard – failed EGR valves and cracked inlet manifolds to name just a few. Last year, one of our Discos snapped its crankshaft at 125,000 miles. I didn’t enjoy paying the £10k bill to fix it.”

Also worth knowing

When it was launched, you could have the Discovery 4 in a choice of three trims: GS was the entry-level option, followed by XS and then premium HSE.

In 2012, Land Rover added HSE Luxury, which came with silver roof rails and black trim and celebrated 25 years since the launch of the original Discovery.

Graphite and Landmark trims were added towards the end of the model’s production life, the latter being the more luxurious: it featured TV screens in the headrests and lashings of extra leather.

Sam Phillips

Title: Staff Writer

Sam joined the Autocar team in summer 2024 and has been a contributor since 2021. He is tasked with writing used reviews and first drives as well as updating top 10s and evergreen content on the Autocar website.

He previously led sister-title Move Electric, which covers the entire spectrum of electric vehicles, from cars to boats – and even trucks. He is an expert in new car news, used cars, electric cars, microbility, classic cars and motorsport.

Sam graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2021 with a BA in Journalism. In his final year he produced an in-depth feature on the automotive industry’s transition to electric cars and interviewed a number of leading experts to assess our readiness for the impending ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.

Matt Saunders

Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.