2012 Land Rover Range Rover: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover
On the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover, the failure owners report most often is differential or transfer case failure, with 3 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 50,000 miles. Overall it scores 70 out of 100, high risk for a 2012.
High risk for a 2012 — 171st riskiest of the 271 2012 vehicles we can rate. 23 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What breaks on the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover
Owners have reported 16 named failure modes on the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover, and the three most-reported carry 35% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Differential or transfer case failure leads with 3 reports and about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other engine problem follows with 3 reports, median 105,000 miles.
Airbag inflator rupture follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into drivetrain (3), engine (3) and electrical (3).
When these failures get reported
12 of the reports on the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 50,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 50% by 50,000 miles and 75% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 10,000 and 20,000 miles, which alone holds 25% of the dated reports.
33% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
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 16. 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, 2 mention a crash and 1 a fire. 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 4.83, 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: differential or transfer case failure at $900–$4,200, other engine problem at $300–$4,000, airbag inflator rupture at $0–$0 and other electrical problem at $250–$2,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
35% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Differential or transfer case failure | drivetrain | 3 | 2 | — | 113k | — | 0.3 | $900–$4,200 | High |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 2 | — | 105k | — | 0.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 2 | 1 | — | 10 | — | 0.2 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Harsh or jerky shifting | transmission | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $600–$4,000 | Moderate |
| Complete transmission failure | transmission | 1 | 1 | — | 55k | — | 0.1 | $2,800–$8,000 | Critical |
| Fuel pump failure | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 19k | — | 0.1 | $600–$2,600 | High |
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 14k | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 37k | — | 0.1 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Air suspension failure | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 78k | — | 0.1 | $900–$4,500 | High |
| Rust or structural corrosion | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $500–$6,000 | High |
| Door latch or handle failure | body | 1 | 1 | — | 49k | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,200 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | — | 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 2012 Land Rover Range Rover draws about 2.2 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 80th percentile of complaint rates among 2012 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 10,664 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2012 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2012 model year
NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns covering the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover, affecting an estimated 15,703 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 air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module, service brakes, hydraulic:power assist:hydraulic:hoses, line and visibility:windshield. 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.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
8,480 vehicles 2018-01-08- Defect
- Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2011-2012 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Unless included in "Zone B" above, Land Rover is recalling certain 2010-2012 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2018. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P084.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
8,711 vehicles 2017-01-10- Defect
- Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2012 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, Land Rover is recalling certain 2009 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky…
- Consequence
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assemblies, free of charge. The recall began December 18, 2017. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P082.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:HYDRAULIC:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
74,648 vehicles 2015-01-27- Defect
- Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 Land Rover Range Rover vehicles manufactured April 15, 2005, to September 4, 2012. One or both of the flexible front brake hoses may rupture causing loss of brake fluid.
- Consequence
- If one or both of the flexible brake hoses fails, the vehicle may require a longer distance to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front brake hoses, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2015. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P054.
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
36 vehicles 2012-10-04- Defect
- Land Rover is recalling certain model year 2012 Range Rover vehicles. During the manufacturing process, the windshields on these vehicles may have been installed incorrectly.
- Consequence
- In the event of a crash, the windshield may come loose from the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury to the vehicle's occupants.
- Remedy
- Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the windshields. The recall began on October 29, 2012. Owners may contact Land Rover at 1-800-637-6837.
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 2012 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
How 2012 compares with the other years
High risk for a 2012 — 171st riskiest of the 271 2012 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 26 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 61 and 2023 worst at 84, with 2012 itself at 70.
If the model year is negotiable, 1996, 2007, 2002, 1999, 2000, 2006, 1998, 2021, 2011, 2004 and 2008 score lower than 2012 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 2009–2017 generation specifically, 2011 is the strongest year at 66 and 2017 the weakest at 75.
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 2009-2017 generation, 2011 Land Rover Range Rover scores best at 66 and 2017 Land Rover Range Rover worst at 75.
What this page cannot tell you
23 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 23 reports, 12 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 52% 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".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
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 2012 Land Rover Range Rover?
The most-reported failures are differential or transfer case failure (3 reports, median 115,000 miles), other engine problem (3 reports, median 105,000 miles) and airbag inflator rupture (2 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 2012 Land Rover Range Rover reliable?
It scores 70 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 171st riskiest of the 271 2012 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2012 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 Range Rover is best?
Within the 2009–2017 generation, 2011 scores best at 66 out of 100 and 2017 worst at 75. 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