Which Land Rover Discovery Sport years should you avoid?

No Land Rover Discovery Sport model year in 2016–2020 scores in the flagged band. The weakest are 2017 and 2016.

What is the best year for the Land Rover Discovery Sport?

2018 is the best-scoring Land Rover Discovery Sport model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 88.7 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

How many recalls does the Land Rover Discovery Sport have?

8 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Land Rover Discovery Sport model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

Which Land Rover Discovery Sport years to avoid

No Land Rover Discovery Sport model year in 2016–2020 falls into the flagged band. The weakest are 2017 and 2016, and even those sit close to this model’s own median.

Ownership label · Land Rover Discovery Sport Full report

Grade 2016–2020

2017 vs model median 1.4×

Model median3× median

Engine 8

Body & Interior 3

Electrical 2

Weakest

2016 · 2017

Best

2018 · 2020

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Severity-weighted complaint volume and grade by model year for the Land Rover Discovery Sport
Year	vs median	Reports	Grade
2016	1.20×	18	C
2017	1.37×	22	C
2018	0.35×	10	A
2020	0.80×	14	C

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2016 C 18 reports · median 37,986 mi

Drivetrain 5

Pulled into parking spot. Put car in reverse. Pressed gas. Car jumped forward at a fast speed. Rolled over curb and through fence. Hit brake. Stopped an inch before going down a 5 foot drop. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Engine 4

Twice now, I have come out of the auto start/stop mode after being idle. The engine seems to lag on engaging and both times my steering has been lost. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Steering 2

The contact owned a 2016 land rover discovery sport. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled in traffic and the transmission warning indicator illuminated with a beeping noise. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

5 crash

2017 C 22 reports · median 28,000 mi

Engine 8

My 2017 discovery sport with 22k miles, randomly shuts off while driving. The first time was on the freeway in traffic, and the car shut off, I had to put it in park and restart the car to put it back in gear. owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Body & Interior 3

I purchased a brand new 2017 land rover discovery sport hse for my daughter on may 20, 2017 from rusnak jaguar/land rover in anaheim hills, california and it has been at the land rover dealership more than it has been… owner complaint filed with NHTSA
Electrical 2

I was driving from westchester county, ny to long island via I-695 heading toward the throgs neck bridge on 12/12/18. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

The best year for the Discovery Sport

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2018 is the best-scoring Discovery Sport model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 88.7 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Best-scoring model years
Year	vs median	Reports	Grade
2018	0.35×	10	A
2020	0.80×	14	C
2016	1.20×	18	C

Recalls

8 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Recall campaigns, largest first
Campaign	Component	Model years	Units affected
26V248000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:DC/DC CONVERTER	2020	170,169
21V668000	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR	2020	32,687
16V274000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	2016	14,731
16V942000	SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER	2017	13,500
18V087000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAIL	2018	8,211
20V683000 Park it	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE	2020	3,048
16V889000	SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER ARM	2016, 2017	220
20V751000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE	2020	23

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2017 were reported at a median of 28,000 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Land Rover Discovery Sport years should you avoid?: No Land Rover Discovery Sport model year in 2016–2020 scores in the flagged band. The weakest are 2017 and 2016.
What is the best year for the Land Rover Discovery Sport?: 2018 is the best-scoring Land Rover Discovery Sport model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 88.7 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Land Rover Discovery Sport have?: 8 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Land Rover Discovery Sport model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2017 Discovery Sport

Complaints in window: 22
Severity-weighted: 44.5
Model median (weighted): 33
vs model median: 1.37×
Recall campaigns (weighted): 2
Open investigations: 1

Score 57.4 C