Land Rover engineering analysis EA26003
Front Steering Knuckle Fractures. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the arm on 11 model years (2014–2022). Opened Apr 24, 2026 and still open — 6 months so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eighteen months for a engineering analysis. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is upgrading its Preliminary Evaluation (PE25006) of front steering knuckle fractures on model year (MY) 2014 through 2017 Range Rover Sport vehicles to an Engineering Analysis. ODI opened PE25006 on June 27, 2025, after receiving 12 Vehicle Owner's Questionnaire (VOQ) reports of the front aluminum steering knuckles fracturing in these vehicles. The reports describe the fractures occurring at the joint where the steering knuckle attaches to the upper control arm ball joint in one or both steering knuckles. Fracture of the front suspension knuckle can lead to detachment of the upper suspension arm. Detachment of the upper suspension arm results in the driver’s inability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. ODI reviewed information supplied by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in response to Information Request letters as well as reviewed the data with JLR on numerous occasions. ODI further reviewed relevant data on a peer vehicle with a significantly similar steering knuckle design, the MY 2014 through 2017 Range Rover. Much of the information is contradictory and requires a deeper analysis that is available in an Engineering Analysis. On August 5, 2025, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) filed safety recall 25V514. This recall covers certain MY 2014 and all MY 2015-2017 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles. The remedy for recall 25V514 addresses knuckles with and without a visible fracture. Knuckles that have developed a visible fracture will be replaced with a new knuckle of a substantially similar design. Knuckles with no fracture visibly present will have a brace attached to the upper portion of the front steering knuckle. JLR states that the purpose of the brace is to prevent the component from completely separating should a fracture develop. NHTSA continues to receive allegations of fractures occurring in the front steering knuckles of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles. Two of the most recent VOQs received by ODI involve front steering knuckle fractures occurring on MY 2020 and MY 2021 Range Rover L405 vehicles. ODI will continue to investigate the component design and assess the potential safety risk as part of this Engineering Analysis and evaluate the recall remedies for Recall 25V514. Further, the scope of this Engineering Analysis will be expanded to include MY 2018-2022 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles as they have a substantially similar component design. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Engineering Analysis is the deeper stage, usually upgraded from a Preliminary Evaluation: NHTSA tests, requests engineering documents and decides whether a safety defect exists. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2026 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2026 | |
| Filed document | INOV | 2026 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Apr 24, 2026, owners had filed 575 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 83 named the steering NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named on model years this site has no page for: 2014 Land Rover Range Rover; 2015 Land Rover Range Rover; 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport; 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EA26003 a recall?
No. A engineering analysis is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is EA26003 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Apr 24, 2026, 6 months ago.
Which vehicles does EA26003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 11 model years: 2022 Land Rover Range Rover, 2021 Land Rover Range Rover, 2020 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Land Rover Range Rover, 2018 Land Rover Range Rover, 2017 Land Rover Range Rover and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.