2000 Land Rover Discovery: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2000 Land Rover Discovery
On the 2000 Land Rover Discovery, the failure owners report most often is ABS module or sensor failure, with 5 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 90,000 miles. Overall it scores 63 out of 100, high risk for a 2000.
High risk for a 2000 — 238th riskiest of the 327 2000 vehicles we can rate. 36 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2000 Land Rover Discovery, and the three most-reported carry 36% of everything filed.
ABS module or sensor failure leads with 5 reports and about 0.5 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other powertrain problem follows with 5 reports, median 40,000 miles. 1 of those report mention a fire.
Overheating follows with 3 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into brakes (9), transmission (5) and electrical (4).
The mileage the reports cluster at
11 of the reports on the 2000 Land Rover Discovery came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 90,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 9% by 50,000 miles and 64% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 60,000 and 70,000 miles, which alone holds 27% of the dated reports.
0% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, so this is mostly a story about older, higher-mileage cars.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 17. The full list is in the table below.
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 11 mention a crash, 2 a fire and 5 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 7.33, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: ABS module or sensor failure at $500–$2,400, other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, overheating at $400–$3,500 and loss of braking at $400–$3,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
33% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 5 | 2 | — | 96k | — | 0.5 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 5 | 1 | — | 39k | — | 0.5 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Overheating | cooling | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 3 | 3 | — | 102k | — | 0.3 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 3 | 2 | — | 74k | — | 0.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Head gasket failure | engine | 2 | 1 | — | 65k | — | 0.2 | $1,400–$4,000 | Critical |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 2 | 1 | — | 90k | — | 0.2 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Electrical fire or melted wiring | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $1,500–$9,000 | Critical |
| Oil leak | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,200 | Moderate |
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Seat belt or retractor failure | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$900 | High |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 148k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Loss of power steering | steering | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $600–$2,800 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2000 Land Rover Discovery draws about 3.6 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 78th percentile of complaint rates among 2000 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 9,907 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2000 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
ABS module or sensor failure
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 land rover discovery. He stated that while driving 10mph when the ABS ,traction and hill light came on he felt slippage on the front right tire whenever he engaged the brakes. The dealer stated that he needed a new right hand wheel speed sensor and an ecu on the vehicle. Recall NHTSA campaign id number: 02v022000 component: service brakes, hydraulic:antilock is related to the failure; however, the dealer stated that the VIN was not included. The vehicle will be repaired at the owners expense for $1,200.00. For one week the dealer has been repairing the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 101,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 land rover discovery. While driving 40 MPH up an on ramp, the accelerator pedal became stuck to the floor. As a result, the speed increased to 120 MPH. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle for approximately five minutes. She experienced several unrelated issues with the vehicle prior to this incident. The ABS warning lights illuminated when the vehicle was purchased and remain lit until the vehicle is serviced. After the repair, the light would illuminate again. Land rover commended the contact for dealing with the situation, but have not offered to assist. Land rover stated that they would consider assisting according to the lemon law, but have not gotten back to the contact. The dealer replaced the missing part, provided a loaner vehicle, and gave the contact a list of defects with the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 90,000.
Other powertrain problem
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 land rover discovery. The vehicle was parked and the hand brake was applied. The vehicle automatically shifted into gear and crashed into a tree. The vehicle is currently at the dealer, but they are unsure as to what caused the failure. The current and failure mileages were 39,000.
Recalls on the 2000 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2000 Land Rover Discovery, affecting an estimated 9,907 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover power train:automatic transmission. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
59,445 vehicles 2000-11-16- Defect
- Vehicle description: certain sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of fmvss no. 114, "theft protection." water contamination of the automatic transmission oil can lead to various failure modes of the transmission. One of these failure models results in incorrect operation of the park lock function that could allow a vehicle to roll away if parked without the handbrake properly set.
- Consequence
- Unintentional vehicle movement could result in a crash or personal injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will check the park lock function; reposition the automatic transmission breather tube; and test the automatic transmission fluid and flush if necessary.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2000 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 2000 — 238th riskiest of the 327 2000 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 14 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1999 comes out best at 57 and 2018 worst at 78, with 2000 itself at 63.
If the model year is negotiable, 1999, 2022, 2021 and 1997 score lower than 2000 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 1996–2000 generation specifically, 1999 is the strongest year at 57 and 2000 the weakest at 63.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 1996-2000 generation, 1999 Land Rover Discovery scores best at 57 and 2000 Land Rover Discovery worst at 63.
Where these figures stop being useful
36 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 36 reports, 11 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 31% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2000 Land Rover Discovery?
The most-reported failures are abs module or sensor failure (5 reports, median 95,000 miles), other powertrain problem (5 reports, median 40,000 miles) and overheating (3 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2000 Land Rover Discovery reliable?
It scores 63 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 238th riskiest of the 327 2000 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2000 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Land Rover Discovery is best?
Within the 1996–2000 generation, 1999 scores best at 57 out of 100 and 2000 worst at 63. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed