2016 Land Rover Discovery
Gas Compact SUV
The 2016 Land Rover Discovery is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV. The most efficient version, the Discovery Sport, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 57 complaints, most often about power train.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Sport | Gas | 4WD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 20 | 26 | 22 | $3,500 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
Out of factory warranty soon?
The 2016 Land Rover Discovery is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.
Compare coverage →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Data on this page is never influenced by that.
Recalls (2)
Suspension
highProblem: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles manufactured May 30, 2016, to August 24, 2016, and 2016-2017 Range Rover Evoque vehicles manufactured June 7, 2016, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles have front lower control arm fasteners that may fail due to an assembly error, possibly resulting in separation of the steering knuckle.
Risk: If the fasteners were to fail causing the knuckle to separate, vehicle handling may be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the hardware that connects the front lower control arm to the knuckle, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2017. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is Q650/Q651.
Exterior Lighting
moderateProblem: Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles manufactured September 17, 2014, to March 5, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the license plate illumination lamp may fall out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: Without license plate illumination, the vehicle may be difficult to identify at night.
Fix: Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace both rear license plate lamp housings, free of charge. The recall began on June 21, 2016. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P077.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (open)
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002
Owner complaints
57 complaints filed
4 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2016: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2026: 7
Most-cited components
- Power Train — 17
- Engine — 16
- Unknown Or Other — 7
- Steering — 7
- Service Brakes — 7
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Other Discovery model years
2026 Discovery
1 recalls · 1 complaints
C2025 Discovery
3 recalls · 5 complaints
F2024 Discovery
6 recalls · 7 complaints
F2023 Discovery
6 recalls · 10 complaints
F2022 Discovery
5 recalls · 13 complaints
D2021 Discovery
5 recalls · 11 complaints
F2020 Discovery
9 recalls · 30 complaints
C2019 Discovery
4 recalls · 59 complaints
D2018 Discovery
5 recalls · 58 complaints
D2017 Discovery
5 recalls · 93 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36511). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.