United Kingdom · NHTSA recalls & complaints
Land Rover VIN decoder
Land Rover is a British maker of luxury SUVs, sold under the names Range Rover, Defender and Discovery. It is owned by Tata Motors of India, which bought it together with Jaguar in June 2008, after periods under BMW from 1994 to 2000 and Ford from 2000 to 2008. The parent company renamed itself JLR in June 2023 and now presents Range Rover, Defender and Discovery as brands in their own right, but the VINs still carry the Land Rover code SAL.
Enter all 17 characters to see the build details NHTSA holds and the recalls for that model year.
- 19 model pages
- 155 recall campaigns
- 4,336 owner complaints
- model years 1995–2026
- 1 WMI code in vPIC
- origin: United Kingdom
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| NHTSA recall and complaint data | Yes, model years 1995–2026 |
| WMI codes in NHTSA vPIC | 1 |
| Model pages | 19 |
| Other model names in NHTSA data | 4 |
| Vehicle recall campaigns | 155 |
| Owner complaints | 4,336 |
| Complaints reporting a crash | 227 (5.2%) |
| Complaints reporting a fire | 125 (2.9%) |
| Complaints reporting an injury | 142 (3.3%) |
| Complaints reporting a death | 6 (0.1%) |
| Data updated | September 25, 2026 |
Land Rover's main plants are Solihull and Halewood in England and Nitra in Slovakia, which builds the Defender and Discovery. NHTSA's vPIC database lists no Slovak code for Land Rover: the WMI reflects the country where the manufacturer is headquartered, not the plant.
Land Rover withdrew from the United States in 1974 and returned when the Range Rover was officially launched there in 1987. Its vehicles have been sold in the U.S. since, so NHTSA holds recall campaigns and owner complaints for U.S.-market models, and this page summarises them. The notes below explain the SAL code, how Land Rover encodes the model year and where to find the VIN.
NHTSA’s files hold 155 vehicle recall campaigns and 4,336 owner complaints for Land Rover vehicles from model years 1995 to 2026, summarised here on 19 model pages. The Range Rover has the most complaints (912), followed by the Range Rover Sport (634) and the Discovery (526). Of those complaints, 227 report a crash, 125 a fire, 142 at least one injury and 6 at least one death; the figures count complaints, not people.
The World Manufacturer Identifier is the first three characters of the VIN. NHTSA’s vPIC database decodes 1 WMI to Land Rover; this is the complete list, with the manufacturer name, country and vehicle type vPIC records for each.
| WMI | Manufacturer (vPIC) | Country | Vehicle type |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAL | JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED | United Kingdom | Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle (MPV) |
See the WMI code guide for how the codes are assigned.
Each model page lists NHTSA’s recall campaigns and owner complaints for that model name, by model year and component. Models are sorted by complaints; the data covers model years 1995–2026.
| Model | Model years | Recall campaigns | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range Rover | 1995–2026 | 67 | 912 |
| Range Rover Sport | 2005–2026 | 52 | 634 |
| Discovery | 1995–2026 | 23 | 526 |
| Freelander | 2000–2005 | 6 | 455 |
| Range Rover Evoque | 2012–2026 | 26 | 387 |
| Defender | 1995–2026 | 19 | 300 |
| Discovery II | 1999–2004 | 9 | 226 |
| LR2 | 2008–2015 | 4 | 181 |
| Discovery Sport | 2015–2025 | 15 | 176 |
| LR3 | 2005–2009 | 6 | 175 |
| LR4 | 2010–2016 | 7 | 139 |
| Range Rover Velar | 2018–2026 | 13 | 113 |
| New Range Rover | 2003–2022 | 2 | 65 |
| Discovery I | 1995–1997 | 1 | 16 |
| Range Rover L322 | 2007–2012 | 1 | 13 |
| Range Rover PHEV | 2019–2025 | 3 | 4 |
| County Classic | 1995 | 1 | 2 |
| Range Rover Sport PHEV | 2019–2022 | 2 | – |
| Petrol | 1999 | 1 | – |
– means NHTSA has no records of that kind under the model name.
Other Land Rover models in NHTSA data
NHTSA also lists these Land Rover model names, but with no recall campaign and fewer than 25 complaints each, so they have no page of their own: Classic, Defender 90, Discovery 11, Rover.
Which WMI code does Land Rover use?
Land Rover VINs start with SAL. In NHTSA's vPIC database, SAL is the only WMI that carries the Land Rover make; it is held by Jaguar Land Rover Limited and classed as a multipurpose passenger vehicle (MPV), the U.S. category for SUVs. The same company holds SAJ and SAD, but vPIC assigns both of those to the Jaguar make.
| WMI | Manufacturer (NHTSA vPIC) | Country | Vehicle type |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAL | Jaguar Land Rover Limited | United Kingdom | MPV (make: Land Rover) |
| SAJ | Jaguar Land Rover Limited | United Kingdom | Passenger car (make: Jaguar) |
| SAD | Jaguar Land Rover Limited | United Kingdom | MPV (make: Jaguar) |
ISO 3779 ties the WMI to the country where the manufacturer is headquartered, so a UK prefix does not by itself tell you which plant built the vehicle. On U.S.-market vehicles, positions 4 to 8 describe the model and body and position 11 identifies the plant. Our WMI code guide explains the prefix system.
How do you read the model year from a Land Rover VIN?
Land Rover's UK ownership pages point owners to the 10th character of the VIN for the model year, with a table in the same sequence North America uses: Y for 2000, 5 for 2005, A for 2010, F for 2015, L for 2020 and P for 2023. It is the same code 49 CFR Part 565 requires on U.S.-market vehicles; see our model-year code guide. Because the sequence repeats every 30 years, check the rest of the VIN or the registration when an older vehicle is involved.
Position 9 is less predictable. U.S.-market Land Rovers must carry a calculated check digit there, while European rules required one only for vehicle types approved from 6 July 2022; before that they mirrored ISO 3779, which does not. An older UK- or European-market Land Rover VIN that fails the U.S. check-digit formula can still be genuine; the European VIN decoding guide explains why.
Land Rover says the VIN is on a plate on the driver's side of the dashboard beneath the windscreen, at the base of the driver's side B-pillar and in the vehicle documents; its U.S. site adds the label in the driver's door opening. For other places to look, see where to find your VIN.
Land Rover and Jaguar
Land Rover and Jaguar are built by the same company, which is why their WMIs sit side by side. The make is decided by the code: SAL for Land Rover, SAJ or SAD for Jaguar.
Is every Land Rover VIN supposed to start with SAL?
For vehicles in NHTSA's vPIC database, yes: SAL is the only WMI listed with the Land Rover make. If a vehicle sold as a Land Rover shows a different WMI, run a full decode and compare the result with the registration document.
Will a UK-market Range Rover decode fully here?
Often only partly. Our decoder uses NHTSA's vPIC data, which is most detailed for vehicles built for North America. The WMI will identify Jaguar Land Rover, but model and engine details for a UK-market vehicle may be missing.
Does this page show Land Rover recalls?
Yes, for U.S.-market models, using NHTSA recall and complaint data grouped by model and model year. For one specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a Land Rover retailer.
Can a Land Rover VIN show off-road damage or accident history?
No. A decode reads manufacturing information only. Accident, title and ownership records come from licensed history providers and are not part of this site.
Brands mentioned in the notes above, then other European brands, each with its own VIN notes and WMI list.
- Jaguar (19) United Kingdom · 108 recall campaigns
- Alfa Romeo (6) Italy · 34 recall campaigns
- Aston Martin (21) United Kingdom · 35 recall campaigns
- Audi (66) Germany · 214 recall campaigns
- Bentley (29) United Kingdom · 55 recall campaigns
- BMW (333) Germany · 487 recall campaigns
Data: NHTSA recalls and complaints flat files and NHTSA vPIC, updated September 25, 2026.