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1997 Land Rover Discovery Recalls & Complaints

2

open safety recalls on record

Serious

41 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.73 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious12E010000

Power Train:Driveline:Driveshaft

IF THIS INCREASED VIBRATION WARNING SIGN IS IGNORED, CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE DRIVE COUPLING CAN OCCUR.

Remedy & full details

LAND ROVER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED REAR DRIVESHAFT COUPLERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 4, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA AT 1-201-818-8500.

JAGUAR LAND ROVER NORTH AMERICA, INC. (LAND ROVER) IS RECALLING CERTAIN REAR DRIVESHAFT COUPLINGS, LAND ROVER BRANDED PART NUMBER TVF100010, MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 2011 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2011, SOLD FOR USE AS SERVICE PARTS FOR CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1995-1999 DISCOVERY, 1999-2004 DISCOVERY II, AND 1995 RANGE ROVER CLASSIC VEHICLES. SOME OF THE REAR DRIVESHAFT COUPLINGS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED TO THE REQUIRED ENGINEERING DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS AND MAY EXHIBIT THE ONSET OF JOINT SEPARATION, PRECLUDED BY DRIVE LINE VIBRATION.

Serious98V040000

Air Bags:Frontal

DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG RESTRAINT SYSTEM WITHOUT WARNING CAN CAUSE A DRIVER TO LOSE VEHICLE CONTROL.

Remedy & full details

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A FUSIBLE LINK WHICH WILL PROTECT THE ROTARY COUPLER FROM OVERHEATING.

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. AS A RESULT OF CHAFFING OF A CRUISE CONTROL WIRE, THE STEERING WHEEL ROTARY COUPLER CAN OVERHEAT AND INADVERTENTLY DEPLOY THE DRIVER'S AIR BAG.

Complaint volume

41 this model-year 8 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

12Crashes
2Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths

Across 41 complaints. Severity Index 0.73.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Service Brakes, Hydraulic…11 · 27%Air Bags · Frontal5 · 12%Power Train · Automatic T…3 · 7%Engine And Engine Cooling…3 · 7%Engine And Engine Cooling…2 · 5%Vehicle Speed Control2 · 5%Fuel System, Gasoline · S…2 · 5%Seat Belts · Front · Anch…1
  1. Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip — 11 reports
  2. Air Bags:Frontal — 5 reports
  3. Power Train:Automatic Transmission — 3 reports
  4. Engine And Engine Cooling:Exhaust System:Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe — 3 reports
  5. Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — 2 reports
  6. Vehicle Speed Control — 2 reports
  7. Fuel System, Gasoline:Storage — 2 reports
  8. Seat Belts:Front:Anchorage — 1 reports
  9. Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components — 1 reports
  10. Vehicle Speed Control:Accelerator Pedal — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (4) · 1996 (3) · 1997 · 1998 (2) · 1999 (3) · 2000 (1) · 2001 (1) · 2002 · 2003 (1) · 2004 · 2006 · 2016 · 2017 (3) · 2018 (4) · 2019 (4) · 2020 (6) · 2021 (5) · 2022 (5) · 2023 (5) · 2024 (4) · 2026 (1)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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