Internally referred to as L663, the Land Rover Defender from 2019 onward can be had in three main specifications: the two-/three-door 90, the four-/five-door 110, and the stretched 130. An estimated 121 examples of the latter version have been hit with a safety recall, namely 2023 model year Defender 130 vehicles modified by JLR North America for the 2023 edition of the TReK off-road competition.
TReK is the British automaker's way of demonstrating the off-road capability of the unibody sport utility vehicle, which received a fair share of criticism over the switch to unibody construction and reliability concerns. TReK dates back to 1996 in the image of the Camel Trophy. It should be mentioned that TReK is a North America-specific challenge in which dealers from the United States and Canada participate to bolster their off-road expertise.
Attached below, a press release from October 2023 reads that US and Canadian teams participated in this year's competition. As expected, all the Defender 130 P400 SE vehicles intended for TReK were modified with the likes of a remote control winch, additional exterior lighting, a hitch-mounted jack, a suspension lift, a set of off-road tires, a set of traction boards, a body wrap, as well as some TReK badging.
In September 2023, a vehicle unexpectedly suffered a brake caliper detachment. JLR North America immediately opened an investigation, from which the safety boffins determined that dealers may not have followed the proper reinstallation procedure. Indeed, it's the US and Canadian dealers who modified these vehicles for competition rather than Nitra, Slovakia assembly plant workers.
In case of detachment, poor braking performance is joined by the high possibility of structural damage to the wheel, therefore increasing the risk of a crash. Published on the NHTSA's website, the recall report lists the brake caliper bolts as the recalled components. The brake caliper bolts in question bear part numbers LR033274 and SYG000013.
Photo: Land Rover Monmouth on Facebook
Jaguar Land Rover's North American division isn't aware of any incidents related to this concern other than the detachment from September 2023. The remedy is pretty straightforward: take off the brake calipers and reinstall them following the correct procedure. Dealers will be informed no later than December 6 of their very own blunder, whereas the peeps who purchased TReK vehicles following the competition will be notified on January 19.
Considered a standalone brand within JLR (although it clearly isn't), the Defender can be had with a variety of powertrains, ranging from the usual 2.0-liter turbo I4 to inline-six mills and the good ol' 5.0-liter supercharged V8 we all know and love. Defender 130 vehicles modified for TReK are dubbed P400 SE, with P400 being Land Rover's vernacular for petrol (gasoline) and 400 metric ponies (395 horsepower), while SE stands for Standard Equipment.
The P400 is a mild-hybrid affair built around the Ingenium 3.0-liter turbocharged I6, a powerplant derived from the original 2.0-liter turbo I4. Manufactured in the UK and China, the Ingenium family also includes a 1.5-liter turbo I3 engine.
At press time, Land Rover wants $69,100 (excluding the destination freight charge) for the most spartan Defender 130 in production for the US market. At the other end of the spectrum, the supercharged V8 option carries a sticker price of $116,600.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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