California and Illinois owners and lessees of 2020–2023 Land Rover Defenders may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Jaguar Land Rover sold the SUVs with halo daytime running lights that fail early and can be fixed only by replacing the entire headlight. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Jaguar Land Rover has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Two Land Rover Defender owners sued Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC and the U.K.-based Jaguar Land Rover Limited in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on July 2, 2026. The case is Bilhorn v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-08139-EP-JRA, assigned to U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin.The lawsuit targets the ring-shaped “halo” LED daytime running lights built into the headlights of model year 2020 through 2023 Defenders. The plaintiffs allege those lights burn out years before they should, often around the end of the factory warranty, and that because the light module is not sold on its own, the only dealer fix is a new headlight assembly priced at roughly $3,000 to $4,000 before labor.
The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on October 6, 2026, after agreeing to drop their nationwide class and two warranty counts. Jaguar Land Rover North America asked the court to dismiss the amended complaint on October 23, 2026. Jaguar Land Rover has not been found liable for anything, and no class has been certified.
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What the Lawsuit Says Goes Wrong With the Halo Lights
According to the amended complaint, the problem is heat. The plaintiffs allege that the circuit board controlling each daytime running light runs hot because of how it is mounted: a layer of solder mask sits between the board and its heat sink, and no thermal compound is used to help carry heat away. Over time, the complaint says, the overheated module fails and the halo goes dark on one or both sides.The complaint alleges failures typically show up within the Defender’s 4-year/50,000-mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty or soon after it expires, generally somewhere between two and five years into ownership. It also claims that replacement headlights carry the same design, so a repaired Defender can fail again, and points to changes in the headlight part number in mid-2021 and later as a sign that Jaguar Land Rover kept revising the part.
On cost, the plaintiffs say a single headlight assembly retails for about $3,000 to $4,000 before labor, citing one left-side assembly listed at roughly $4,010. Owners whose Defenders are outside warranty, or whose warranty claims were turned down, allegedly bear that cost themselves.
The complaint also raises a safety argument. Daytime running lights exist to make a vehicle easier for other drivers to see, and the plaintiffs allege that a dark halo makes a Defender harder to see in low-visibility conditions, while drivers may not realize from behind the wheel that a light has failed.
What Jaguar Land Rover Allegedly Knew
The plaintiffs allege Jaguar Land Rover knew about the failures from its own testing, warranty and replacement-part data, complaints to federal regulators and owner discussion online, but did not disclose the issue to buyers. A pre-suit notice letter was sent to the company on March 16, 2026, according to the complaint.One document the complaint relies on is public. In July 2021, Jaguar Land Rover issued Special Service Message 75479 to dealer technicians for 2020 and 2021 model year Defenders. The message, which is posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, says the company was investigating front daytime running lights that were not working or worked only intermittently, lists the cause as unknown at that time, and tells technicians to replace the affected headlamp and keep the removed part in case engineering asked for it back. A service message is a technician communication; it is not a recall and does not by itself establish a defect.
Who the Proposed Classes Would Cover
The original complaint sought a nationwide class. After Jaguar Land Rover North America sent the court a letter in September 2026 previewing a motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs agreed to withdraw the nationwide class allegations. Judge Padin’s September 25, 2026 order recorded that agreement and dismissed, without prejudice, the counts for breach of the implied warranty of merchantability under California and Illinois law and under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.The amended complaint now proposes four groups:
- A California class of current and former owners and lessees of 2020–2023 Defenders bought or leased for personal, family or household use.
- An Illinois class defined the same way.
- California and Illinois warranty-denial subclasses, for class members who took a Defender to an authorized dealer after a daytime running light failed while it was under the new-vehicle, certified pre-owned or extended warranty and were denied a repair.
The named plaintiffs are a California owner of a 2022 Defender and an Illinois owner who bought a certified pre-owned 2022 Defender. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Jaguar Land Rover sold more than 60,000 Defenders from these model years in the United States, though only California and Illinois buyers remain in the proposed classes.
The Claims and What the Plaintiffs Are Asking For
The amended complaint asserts six counts:- Violation of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
- Violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.
- Breach of express warranty under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.
- Breach of implied warranty under the Song-Beverly Act.
- Violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
- Breach of express warranty, on behalf of the two warranty-denial subclasses.
The plaintiffs seek damages and restitution, an order requiring Jaguar Land Rover to disclose the alleged defect, an effective repair, recall or replacement program, extended warranty coverage for the lights, and attorneys’ fees. The court has not ruled that any of that relief is available.
The plaintiffs are represented by Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP and Milberg PLLC.
What Federal Safety Records Show
As of October 24, 2026, NHTSA’s recall database lists no recall of the front headlamps or daytime running lights on 2020–2023 Defenders. The only exterior lighting recall listed for those model years, 21V-435, covered rear light assemblies on certain 2020–2022 Defender X models with smoked rear lamps, a different part and a different problem. These Defenders are also part of Land Rover’s separate driver airbag recall, which has nothing to do with the lights.NHTSA’s public complaint database holds more than three dozen owner reports for 2020–2023 Defenders that describe failed daytime running lights or halo rings, most of them filed in 2025 and 2026. None of those reports describes a crash, fire or injury. Complaints to NHTSA are submitted by consumers and are not verified by the agency.
This is not the first class action over a Jaguar Land Rover component. Earlier cases over turbochargers and timing chains on other models ended in settlements, both of which have since closed to claims.
Where the Case Stands
- March 16, 2026: Pre-suit notice letter sent to Jaguar Land Rover, according to the complaint.
- July 2, 2026: Original class action complaint filed in New Jersey federal court.
- September 4, 2026: Jaguar Land Rover North America files a pre-motion letter; the plaintiffs respond September 15.
- September 25, 2026: Court order records the withdrawal of the nationwide class and dismisses the implied-warranty and Magnuson-Moss counts without prejudice.
- October 6, 2026: First Amended Class Action Complaint filed.
- October 23, 2026: Jaguar Land Rover North America moves to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8(a), 9(b) and 12(b)(6), with a motion date of November 16, 2026.
Rule 12(b)(6) lets a defendant argue that a complaint, even taken as true, does not state a legal claim, and Rule 9(b) requires fraud-based claims to be pleaded with particular detail. A ruling on the motion could narrow the case, end it, or let it proceed to discovery. As of October 24, 2026, the docket shows no appearance by Jaguar Land Rover Limited, the U.K.-based defendant.
Questions
Is there a Land Rover Defender headlight settlement?
There is no settlement. Bilhorn v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is a proposed class action at the pleading stage in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. No class has been certified, no court has found Jaguar Land Rover liable, and there is no claim form or settlement website.
Which Land Rover models does the lawsuit cover?
The amended complaint covers model year 2020 through 2023 Land Rover Defender vehicles whose headlight assemblies include the halo-style LED daytime running lights. After a September 25, 2026 court order, the proposed classes are limited to California and Illinois, with separate subclasses for owners whose warranty repair requests were allegedly denied.
Has Land Rover recalled the Defender daytime running lights?
As of October 24, 2026, NHTSA’s recall database lists no recall of the front headlamps or daytime running lights on 2020–2023 Defenders. The only exterior lighting recall listed for those model years, 21V-435, involved rear light assemblies on certain Defender X models. Jaguar Land Rover did issue a July 2021 Special Service Message, No. 75479, telling dealer technicians it was investigating front daytime running lights that did not work or worked intermittently.
Why does the lawsuit say the repair costs $3,000 or more?
According to the amended complaint, Jaguar Land Rover does not sell the daytime running light module as a separate part, so a dealer repair means replacing the whole headlight assembly. The complaint puts the retail price of an assembly at roughly $3,000 to $4,000 before labor. Those figures are the plaintiffs’ allegations and have not been tested in court.
What happens next in the Land Rover Defender DRL lawsuit?
Jaguar Land Rover North America moved to dismiss the amended complaint on October 23, 2026, and the motion is set for November 16, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin. If any claims survive, the case would move toward discovery and, later, a contested motion for class certification. A settlement, if one is ever reached, would come with its own notice and claim process.
Sources
- Bilhorn v. Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC, No. 2:26-cv-08139 (D.N.J.) — CourtListener docket, including the complaint (ECF 1), the September 25, 2026 text order (ECF 18), the First Amended Class Action Complaint (ECF 22) and the notice of motion to dismiss (ECF 25).
- Jaguar Land Rover Special Service Message 75479 (July 2021), hosted by NHTSA
- NHTSA recall and complaint search for 2020–2023 Land Rover Defender, checked October 24, 2026
